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Bakehouse Close

A cobbled close off the Canongate, through a pend behind Huntly House into one of the few corners of 17th-century Canongate to survive.

Welcome

Halfway down the Canongate, a low stone arch beside the Museum of Edinburgh leads off the busy Royal Mile into another century.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Bakehouse Close is a short cobbled lane that opens into a small courtyard, hemmed in by tall harled and rubble walls, timber-fronted upper floors, crow-stepped gables and a square stair tower, with a wrought-iron lamp on the wall.

The Canongate was a burgh of its own, founded by the canons of Holyrood Abbey in 1140 with the king's leave, and its long, narrow plots ran back from the street on either side. In the 1600s the wealthy built their houses towards the back of those plots, away from the noise and dirt of the street, and this close shows how that looked. Step in on a quiet morning and it is easy to picture the lower Royal Mile before the traffic, a crowded, working neighbourhood a few minutes from the royal palace.

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Before you go

The close opens off the south side of the Canongate at number 146, through a pend beside the Museum of Edinburgh in Huntly House.

It is free and open to walk through.

Where
146 Canongate, on the lower Royal Mile.
Next door
Huntly House, now the Museum of Edinburgh, and Acheson House.

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Did you know

A cobbled courtyard in Edinburgh's Old Town, timber-fronted and stone buildings rising around an archway.
Did you know

Three houses made one.

Huntly House, at the mouth of the close, began as three tenements of the early 1500s, joined into a single house around 1570 by John Acheson.

Timber-fronted and stone tenements rise on either side of a cobbled close, an archway opening onto the street ahead.
Did you know

A marquis gave it the name.

It is called Huntly House after George Gordon, 1st Marquis of Huntly, who bought it around 1630, although it was never built as a great town house.

A pedestrian walking through a cobbled Old Town courtyard in Edinburgh, timber and stone buildings framing the archway ahead.
Did you know

The hammermen's house.

From 1647 the house belonged to the Incorporation of Hammermen, the metalworkers' guild, who had the front extended by Robert Mylne, master mason to the Crown.

A cobbled Old Town courtyard in Edinburgh, timber and stone buildings rising around an archway passage.
Did you know

A courtier's house of 1633.

Acheson House, across the close, was built in 1633 and 1634 for Sir Archibald Acheson, a London-based MP and Privy Councillor.

A narrow cobbled close runs between timber-fronted and stone buildings, an archway opening onto the street beyond.
Did you know

Painted beams from Pinkie.

Inside, the museum keeps late 16th-century painted beams brought from Pinkie House in Musselburgh, and panelled rooms and fireplaces rescued from Edinburgh town houses long since demolished.

A narrow cobbled close in Edinburgh's Old Town, timber and stone buildings framing an archway ahead.
Did you know

Saved in the 1920s and 30s.

The city bought the buildings in 1924 and restored them as a museum; Acheson House followed in 1936 and 1937, leaving one of the few corners of 17th-century Canongate still standing.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Edinburgh

Fans of historical drama Outlander might recognise this courtyard from several key scenes – on screen, Alexander Malcolm’s print shop is based here, and it’s also where Jamie is reunited with Claire – but the close’s real-life past is rather more salacious, as a notorious red-light area.

Read more
Pedestrians crossing the street beyond a stone archway in Edinburgh, a blossoming tree in full bloom opposite.
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01 / 08
Where it is

Off the south side of the Canongate, on the lower Royal Mile.

Close byThe places nearest the close, on the Canongate.
  1. Scottish Poetry LibraryScottish Poetry LibraryA library of poetry founded by the poet Tessa Ransford in 1984.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Antique plates and framed portraits line the walls of a lace-tabled tea roomClarinda's TearoomHomemade scones and china teacups on the Canongate since 1976.Under a mile 3 min by road
  3. Painted figure of a newsboy shouting above The People's Story signThe People’s StoryThe story of Edinburgh's working people from the 18th century to today.Under a mile 3 min by road
  4. Dunbar's Close GardenDunbar's Close GardenA hidden garden tucked away off the Royal Mile.Under a mile 4 min by road
  5. Canongate Tolbooth's turret and projecting clock rise above Edinburgh's Royal MileThe Tolbooth TavernA tavern in the 16th-century Canongate Tolbooth.Under a mile 4 min by road
  6. Cadenhead'sCadenhead'sScotland's oldest independent whisky bottler, founded in 1842, with a shop on the Royal Mile.Under a mile 3 min by road
  7. Roofless nave of Holyrood Abbey, gothic tracery window framing bare stone ruinsHolyrood AbbeyThe ruined abbey founded by King David I in the 12th century.Under a mile 4 min by road
Directions
The counter at Santu on the Canongate, green tiles below and an espresso machine behind, with canelés and croissants on wooden boards.CafeSantuA step away
Angular rusted-metal sculpture rising from a grassy bank beside a curved stone pathAttractionsDynamic EarthA step away
The front of the Black Grape on the Canongate, its sign over arched windows in a white building.RestaurantsThe Black GrapeA step away
Scottish Textiles Showcase, EdinburghShoppingScottish Textiles Showcase0.5 miles
Woven willow flowerbeds and box topiary line a stone garden pathAttractionsPhysic Garden0.5 miles
Café interior with yellow chairs, wooden tables and a chalkboard menu on the wallCafeEdinburgh Larder0.5 miles
Edinburgh's Royal Mile and Hub spire framed through a stone archwayAttractionsThe Royal Mile0.5 miles
The front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, a long stone building with a pointed-roof tower at each end, seen across the forecourt.AttractionsHolyrood Palace0.5 miles
Wrought-iron gates lead to the turreted towers of Holyroodhouse PalaceAttractionsHolyrood Palace0.5 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

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

A 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 Bakehouse Close
Check datesA 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 Bakehouse Close
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
  • Under a mile from Bakehouse Close
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from Bakehouse Close
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Make a day of it

Old Town Walking Tour

Bakehouse Close is stop 14 of 18 on a day we have planned, with the drives worked out.

  1. Greyfriars Bobby01Greyfriars BobbyA short walk
  2. Greyfriars Kirk02Greyfriars Kirk5 min by road
  3. Vennel Steps03Vennel Steps5 min by road
  4. Writers' Museum04Writers' MuseumA short walk
  5. Gladstone’s Land05Gladstone’s LandA short walk
  6. The Heart of Midlothian06The Heart of MidlothianA short walk
  7. St Giles’ Cathedral07St Giles’ CathedralA short walk
  8. Advocate's Close08Advocate's Close5 min by road
  9. Pedestrians walk along the Grassmarket, with Biddy's pub sign visible on the right09Mercat Cross5 min by road
  10. Cockburn Street10Cockburn StreetA short walk
  11. The World’s End11LunchThe World’s EndA short walk
  12. John Knox House12John Knox HouseA short walk
  13. Ivy trimmed into a heart shape on a townhouse wall beside blossom13Chessel’s CourtA short walk
  14. Bakehouse CloseYou are here14Bakehouse Close5 min by road
  15. White Horse Close15White Horse CloseA short walk
  16. The front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, a long stone building with a pointed-roof tower at each end, seen across the forecourt.16Holyrood PalaceA short walk
  17. Scottish Parliament Building17Scottish Parliament Building10 min by road
  18. Holyrood Park and Arthur’s Seat18Holyrood Park and Arthur’s SeatThe end of the day
See the whole day
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