A book of photography, 'Edinburgh: The Silent City', which features stunningly eerie shots of Edinburgh during lockdown has raised £20,000 for St Columba’s Hospice Care.

Edinburgh resident Stuart Montgomery, published the book in November 2020 after documenting the deserted city centre during his daily exercise hour. The book contains an amalgamation of photographs, capturing everything from the iconic Dean Bridge to the colourful steps of Ramsay Garden. Stuart dedicated the book to his father and decided to donate all proceeds from sales to St Columba’s Hospice Care in memory of his mother, Nancy Montgomery, who was a patient of the Hospice 27 years ago.  

Stuart, said: “I started off uploading the images I was capturing on my daily walks online in a series called ‘Beautiful Edinburgh’. The response I got was truly unexpected; I began receiving hundreds of positive messages from people across the globe. The photo’s paint a unique perspective of the city and one that’s unlikely to be experienced again. The sales of the book have been fantastic and I’m delighted that I’m able to donate proceeds to St Columba’s Hospice Care. They looked after my mum so wonderfully in her last weeks and I’m very grateful for the care and support my family received.”  

Stuart has now commissioned a run of a further 1,000 copies - with all proceeds to go to the Hospice which delivers vital palliative and end-of-life care to people across Edinburgh and the Lothians.  

Diane Ewart, Community Fundraiser for St Columba’s Hospice Care, said: “We’re so impressed that Stuart has used his passion and creativity to turn a challenging year into something so positive. A heartfelt thank you goes out to him for all of his hard work on the book and for the amazing sum he’s donated to the hospice. The funds will help us reach many more families in the community who need us.” 

'Edinburgh: The Silent City' is available to buy on our online shop here and in the Hospice’s Iona Cafe and Cannonmills bookshop.