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Edinburgh

Vennel Steps

A steep stepped lane up from the Grassmarket beside the Flodden Wall, with one of the best-known views of Edinburgh Castle from the top.

Welcome

At the west end of the Grassmarket, a gap between the buildings opens on a steep flight of stone steps.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Most people come for one thing, and it is behind them: climb to the top, turn round, and the castle fills the sky, rising on its rock above the rooftops and chimneys, framed by the old stone walls of the lane and an iron lamppost.

It is lovely at any hour but best early, before the crowds, or on a misty morning when the castle comes and goes above the steps and the blossom along the wall glows pale. In snow it is magical. Take your time on the way up, stop at the landings to look back, and at the top follow the old wall along Heriot Place.

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Before you go

The Vennel is a public way, free and open at any hour.

The steps are steep and can be slippery in the wet.

Bottom
The south-west corner of the Grassmarket.
Top
Off Lauriston Place, beside George Heriot's School; the way in at the top is step-free.

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Did you know

A lamppost and stepped path lead down toward Edinburgh Castle rising above rooftops.
Did you know

A little street.

Vennel is an old Scots word from the French venelle: a small street squeezed between two larger buildings.

A stepped lane with a lamppost leads down past sandstone buildings toward Edinburgh Castle.
Did you know

The edge of the old city.

The Vennel once marked the boundary of Edinburgh, with the Flodden Wall running up beside it.

A snow-dusted Georgian tenement with a teal door stands behind an iron railing.
Did you know

Brown's Place.

In the 1820s James Brown, who owned stables beside the lane, opened up the ground around them into a square of houses, Brown's Place, facing the steps.

A stepped street lined with sandstone buildings leads toward Edinburgh Castle on its rock.
Did you know

Miss Jean Brodie's steps.

A scene of the 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was shot on these steps, and in 2018, on Muriel Spark's hundredth birthday, they were named the Jean Brodie Steps.

Edinburgh Castle rises above rooftops and bare trees, seen from below.
Did you know

Nearly 150 steps.

It is nearly 150 steps from the bars of the Grassmarket to the top, where the castle stands clear above the rooftops.

Two people walk down a misty stepped lane toward Edinburgh Castle, blossom trees along the wall.
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Where it is

Between the south-west corner of the Grassmarket and Lauriston Place.

Close byThe places nearest the Vennel, around the Grassmarket.
  1. Flodden WallFlodden WallThe last standing tower of the town wall raised after Flodden, at the top of the steps.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Turreted George Heriot's School with Edinburgh Castle on the hill beyondGeorge Heriot's SchoolA Renaissance school behind the Telfer Wall.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Armchair BooksArmchair BooksA family-run secondhand bookshop on the West Port.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Covenanters' MemorialCovenanters' MemorialA circle of stone where the Grassmarket gallows stood.Under a mile 2 min by road
  5. Greyfriars KirkGreyfriars KirkThe first church built in Edinburgh after the Reformation.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Edinburgh CastleEdinburgh CastleThe royal castle on its rock, the view from the top of the steps.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
The red front of W. Armstrong & Son at 83 Grassmarket, established 1840, with a vintage bicycle and dressed mannequins outside.ShoppingW. Armstrong & SonA step away
A breakfast roll with fried egg and cheese and two scones with jam and butter on a table at Preacher's Patisserie.CafePreacher's Patisserie0.2 miles
Inside Lovecrumbs on West Port: a plywood counter with a pink coffee machine, shelves of cups and coffee, plants, and old iron pillars.CafeLovecrumbs0.2 miles
Whirlybird's dining room on Victoria Street, with wooden tables and chairs, a stone wall, fringed lamps and a tall window onto the street.RestaurantsWhirlybird0.2 miles
The blue front of Hey Palu on Bread Street in the sun, with its red sign, wooden slatted windows and the words Modern Italian Bar on the glass.BarsHey Palu0.2 miles
The painted 'No Half Measures' sign on the pale green wall inside Half-Cut Coffee, above a rack of prints and cards.CafeHalf-Cut Coffee0.2 miles
The marble shopfront of Thomas J Walls on Forrest Road, its old opticians' lettering above wide windows and a bronze door.CafeThomas J Walls0.2 miles
The dark front of the Source Coffee Roasters at 4 Spittal Street, with a caffeine molecule drawn on the window and benches along the pavement.CafeThe Source0.2 miles
Dragonfly sign above wooden doors on a stone Edinburgh buildingBarsDragonfly0.3 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the Vennel, and when each is next free.

A round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the Vennel
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the Vennel
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the Vennel
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from the Vennel
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Edinburgh.

From the magazinePeople of the Past who Shaped Scotland TodayCollectionUnusual and Interesting things to do in EdinburghCollectionThings to Do in Edinburgh on a ShoestringCollectionThe Best Views in Edinburgh
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