Elgin Cathedral – Medieval Ruins and Afternoon Tea
A few hours, from Elgin station and back.
The route
Elgin Cathedral is the town's great sight, a soaring red sandstone ruin by the River Lossie that was once called the Lantern of the North.
A short walk away, the Weavers Coffee Shop at Johnstons of Elgin, the cashmere mill on the riverbank, serves afternoon tea with mini scones and sweet treats. It's a gentle afternoon on foot from the station.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book Weavers Coffee Shop, Johnstons of Elgin
Book afternoon tea at the Weavers Coffee Shop, Johnstons of Elgin, on 01343 554090 at least 24 hours ahead, for about 2pm: it's served every day from 2pm to 4pm, from £16.95 for one or £29.95 for two at the time of writing.
Book Elgin Cathedral online with Historic Environment Scotland for the lower price, from £10 an adult at the time of writing: from October to March it opens 10am to 4pm, last entry 3pm, and shuts on Thursdays and Fridays.
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The day
Elgin
An unhurried afternoon in Elgin, all of it on foot: an hour or so among the cathedral's towers and gravestones, then a long, sociable tea at the mill by the river.
About three and a half hours
Elgin Cathedral
An attraction
It's 16 minutes' walk north from Elgin station to the cathedral's visitor entrance on King Street. Driving in, park at Cooper Park, 7 minutes' walk away: it charges only from 8am to noon, Monday to Saturday, and is free on Sundays. The cathedral moved here in 1224, and its west front, with twin towers around a great doorway, is the place to stand and look up. Look for the octagonal chapter house and the carved Pictish slab. From October to March it opens 10am to 4pm, with last entry at 3pm, and shuts on Thursdays and Fridays, and from 24 December to 4 January. Book online for the lower price, from £10 an adult at the time of writing. The way in has stone steps with a handrail and a level route round them: ask the staff. Allow an hour or so.
8 min on foot
Weavers Coffee Shop, Johnstons of Elgin
Afternoon tea
Afternoon tea is 8 minutes' walk east at the Weavers Coffee Shop in the Johnstons of Elgin mill. It's served every day from 2pm to 4pm: sandwiches, a sausage roll, quiche, mini scones and sweet treats. It costs from £16.95 for one or £29.95 for two at the time of writing. Book it at least 24 hours ahead. It's level throughout, with a children's tea too. If you couldn't book, the Ditsy Teacup on Thunderton Place, 9 minutes from the station, does tea and cakes until 4pm, Monday to Saturday.
If it rains
Much of the cathedral is open to the sky, though the vaulted chapter house is roofed, and the tea is indoors. On a wet afternoon keep the cathedral short and browse the Mill Shop's cashmere before tea.
Photograph by Johnstons of Elgin via Google