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Culross

Cats Close

A narrow walled lane climbing between high stone walls in Culross, once the way up to the abbey.

Welcome

Cats Close is one of the old lanes of Culross, squeezed between tall walls of rubble stone some ten feet high and climbing the hill from the lower town.

In the days when the abbey on the hilltop was at the centre of life in the burgh, this close was the way up to it, and today it is still a short cut between the town's central streets.

Its walls are listed buildings in their own right, part of what makes Culross the most complete burgh of the 1600s and 1700s in Scotland, and walking up it gives a good sense of how tightly the old town was packed onto its slope above the Forth. Look for the pantiled roofs peering over the walls, and pause at the top to look back over the rooftops to the water. It is a quiet corner, best combined with a walk up to the abbey and down again past the palace and the Mercat Cross.

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The Daily for 30 October, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a teal-coloured lochan cupped in a forested hollow, a scree slope rising on one side and autumn-tinged pines ringing the shore.
Not farFortitude CoffeeThe Stockbridge coffee house of Fortitude, an Edinburgh roaster, on Hamilton Place, with seasonal coffees roasted in the city.18 milesSee itFortitude Coffee
Before you go

An open lane; any time, free.

Open
Any time; free.
Going
Steep cobbles.

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Where it is

Culross, below the abbey.

Close byIn Culross.
  1. Ochre gabled houses overlook a walled garden with clipped topiary and gravel pathsThe Hanging Gardens CulrossCared for by the National Trust, the Hanging Gardens at Culross Palace incorporate many of the features typical of 17th-century gardensUnder a mile 1 min by road
  2. The Gallery at Culross on its street in the old burgh.The Gallery at CulrossA gallery of contemporary craft in Culross, run by two jewellers, with paintings, glass, ceramics, textiles and jewellery.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. The Culross Town House, a grey stone tolbooth with a tower, facing the Forth.Culross TolboothThe Town House of Culross, a tolbooth of the 1620s by the palace, now the National Trust's shop and visitor centre.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Culross PalaceCulross PalaceThe ochre-coloured merchant's house of 1597 at the heart of Culross, with painted ceilings, panelled rooms and a 17th-century garden.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. The Mercat Cross and its unicorn finial among white houses.Culross Mercat CrossThe market cross of Culross, crowned with a unicorn, in the little square where the cobbled streets meet.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Ruined stone walls and arches beside a church tower with a Saltire flagCulross AbbeyThe ruins of a Cistercian monastery of the 1200s on the hill above Culross, open all year, with its abbey church still used as the parish kirk.Under a mile 1 min by road
Directions
The Red Lion's whitewashed front and door on the cobbles of Culross.RestaurantsThe Red Lion, CulrossA step away
CafeThe Mercat, CulrossA step away
The Lockit Well set into a stone wall in Culross.AttractionsThe Lockit WellA step away
Pink, white and ochre cottages line a narrow cobbled street in the rainAttractionsTanhouse BraeA step away
Haggs Wynd climbing past the palace wall.AttractionsHaggs Wynd Culross0.3 miles
Parleyhill House's curved gable with its two oval attic windows, Culross.AttractionsThe House with the Evil Eyes0.3 miles
The alabaster monument to Sir George Bruce with his children kneeling before it, Culross Abbey.AttractionsThe Bruce Vault, Culross Abbey0.3 miles
Cochrane's bust with the Scottish and Chilean flags behind.AttractionsAdmiral Thomas Cochrane Statue Culross0.3 miles
The grave of Lilias Adie, a flat sandstone slab on the sands of Torryburn Bay at low tide.AttractionsGrave of Lilias Adie2.3 miles

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Stay nearby

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

A grand stone mansion with multiple gables and chimneys stands behind a lawn set with wicker chairs, seen through overhanging leaves.Cromlix
  • To stay
  • In Kinbuck
  • 18 miles from Cats Close
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Culross
  • 18 miles from Cats Close
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
  • 19 miles from Cats 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
  • 19 miles from Cats Close
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in CulrossAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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