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Private Walking Tour: Unmasking the Gruesome History of Edinburgh's Old Town
5.0
7 Ratings
Edinburgh
Discover Edinburgh's dark past on a private walking tour. Uncover hidden gems, hear tales of body-snatchers, witches, and the Scottish Enlightenment.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Greyfriars Kirkyard - We will walk through one of the oldest graveyards in Edinburgh and will tell tales of some of its most famous inhabitants.
- Grassmarket - Brief photo stop.
- Edinburgh Castle - We will stop here for approximately 15 minutes to allow your guide to explain about the Castle and the surrounding landmarks. We do not enter the Castle.
- Royal Mile - The Royal Mile stretches from the Castle to the Palace and we will walk our way downhill stopping at numerous locations listed below.
- St Giles’ Cathedral - The area of St Giles Cathedral was considered to be the very heart of medieval Edinburgh. We will spend approximately 30 minutes here while your guide “paints a picture” of life in this area.
- Mercat Cross - Considered to be the main public meeting place for the townspeople of Edinburgh but here we will tell you the other significant features of this area.
- John Knox House Museum - Commonly believed (mistakenly) to be the property of Scotland’s most famous Protestant reformer, John Knox. This is the oldest building on the Royal Mile and here we will tell you who really lived here.
- The Museum of Edinburgh - This free-to-enter museum is housed in another of the oldest buildings on the Royal Mile and is a treasure trove of historic artefacts related to the history of Edinburgh’s Old Town.
- Canongate Kirk - We will take a brief look inside the Canongate Kirk (when open). This has been a place of worship since 1688 and is where our present Queen Elizabeth II goes when she is in residence.
- Palace of Holyroodhouse - This is the official residence of our Queen when she is in Edinburgh. However, its history stretches right back to the early 1500s but the abbey adjacent to it dates back to the early 12th century. Let your guide explain the most important periods in history associated with the Palace.
What's Included
- Private guide
What's Not Included
- Pay-to-enter attractions.
Additional Information
What better way to acquaint yourself with the layout of Edinburgh’s medieval Old Town than a private tour with your own experienced guide. In 3 hours your guide will cover all of the highlights of the Old Town as well as the hidden gems that the unwary visitor misses. Your guide will scratch under the surface of each location helping the visitor to understand why the city has such a gruesome history. Although many people think it is just about the Castle, it is much more than that. It is about the people who lived and died in the Old Town. You will hear stories of body-snatchers, of witches and the religious zealots that sent them to their deaths. We will explain how Scotland went from independent country to becoming part of the United Kingdom and its impact on Edinburgh. The 18th century was a period that saw the rebirth of Edinburgh through learning and education. This period became known as the Scottish Enlightenment. Come on this tour to be entertained and enlightened.
- Please note that this tour operates as a private tour only. We believe this is essential particularly whilst social distancing measures are in place.
- We will follow any COVID-19 measures that are recommended by the Scottish Government at the time of your tour.
Location
8 Grassmarket
Grassmarket
The meeting point is outside Cafe Jacquees at the western end of the Grassmarket.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(7 Ratings)
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Jann_m
May 15, 2024
Guide is a walking encyclopedia! - Our guide was extremely prepared and knowledgeable about everything we saw and visited. All of us enjoyed Andy and highly recommend securing him when visiting Edinburgh.
Review provided by Viator
Siesserj
Jun 6, 2023
The best tour experience! - We enjoyed a few tours with Andy from Edinburgh Cab Tours including a walking tour of Old Town, Stirling Castle and the Kelpies. Throughout each tour, Andy was friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, sharing a wealth of history and local lore. He also shared with us a few of the Outlander filming locations which was fun. We were never rushed and Andy ensured that we had a wonderful experience on each tour. We would give him our highest recommendation.
P.S. The 6 seater Mercedes was extremely comfortable!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patricia_e
Apr 7, 2023
Not to miss! - Superb!! What a lovely, lovely experience! Andy was not only knowledgeable but rather quite entertaining. Had a marvelous time - thank you Andy!
Review provided by Viator
Michelle
Apr 1, 2023
Entertaining and fact filled tour of Edinburgh’s Oldtown - Adam was our guide. He crammed a lot of information into the tour in an interesting, informative and entertaining way. He began with a fast history lesson of Scotland and then we began our walk around Edinburgh’s old town. Stopping to look at the outside of St Giles Cathedral and hear about its foundations. Next stop was a gruesome monument where thieves were discouraged. He went onto show us some key motivating sites for JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books. There were very few dry eyes after Adam relayed the story of Bobby the Greyfriars dog. An excellent tour and highly recommended
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Martinlm3664nv
Aug 2, 2021
Great 3hr City Walking Tour - We were recommended Andy by a colleague had done a similar tour and was raving about how interesting and engaging Andy and his tour was. When we were booking the tour Andy's communication was great and we arrived at the Green Steps with high expectations. From the start he was so entertaining, friendly and the tour was really interesting.
The 3 hours went without us even noticing and he was kind enough to even drop us for afternoon tea at PrestonField House in his new Merc people carrier.
We learnt so much but it was far from just a history lesson, Andy was great company and there was lots of laughter.
There seem like there a lot of tours in Edinburgh but I would challenge you to find a better person to do it than Andy.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cashmonz
Jul 27, 2021
Fantastic waking tour of Edinburgh Old Town with Andy! - My friend and I have recently been to Edinburgh for a few days on a bit of a jolly up / gastro tour and we wanted to plan a tour of the city for during the day.
I found Edinburgh Cab tours and Andy on trip advisor and the reviews were good so I booked it as a surprise for my mate!
Well it was BRILLIANT! We had a great time - so informative and interesting and Andy is a real gent! Such a nice guy and so passionate about Edinburgh and the history of the old town. We did 3 hrs walking tour and it was perfect.
I strongly recommend to anyone who wants to see the city and learn its history!
Thanks Andy 👍🏻
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andrewmv8827hf
Jul 4, 2021
Walking tour of the Old Town - Had this tour with a friend on our short two day trip to Edinburgh. Andy was absolutely brilliant. His knowledge, passion and enthusiasm shone through and gave us a fantastic experience and education.
Would not hesitate to recommend to anyone looking for a engaging and informative tour of he old town and all its glory.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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