The Old Town Below the Mile – Greyfriars and Two Museums
A day on foot, from Waverley station and back.
The route
Below the Royal Mile, the Old Town drops south to the Grassmarket and the Cowgate, and this day walks it from top to bottom.
It starts early on Victoria Street, before the shops open, and follows its colourful curve down into the Grassmarket, where the town's gallows stood. It climbs the Vennel for the view back to the Castle, beside the last tower of the Flodden Wall. Then it drops into the Cowgate for Magdalen Chapel and its rare old stained glass, and up Candlemaker Row to Greyfriars, its kirkyard and its famous little dog. The middle of the day belongs to the free National Museum of Scotland, and Surgeons' Hall takes the late afternoon. It's about 2 miles on foot from Waverley and back, with steps at Fleshmarket Close and the Vennel, and an easy way round both.
Before you go
Book a bed near the Old Town
Nothing on this day needs a ticket in advance: the National Museum, the kirk and the chapel are free, and Surgeons' Hall sells at its own desk. Stay near the Old Town or in the New Town and both ends of the day are a short walk from your door.
The day
Grassmarket
A day on foot through the lower Old Town, starting early on Victoria Street before its colourful shops open. It winds down into the Grassmarket, where the gallows stood, along the Cowgate and up to Greyfriars Bobby and his kirkyard. The National Museum of Scotland fills the middle of the day, and Surgeons' Hall the late afternoon, a short walk from Waverley.
Victoria Street
It's an 8-minute walk from Waverley's Market Street exit up the steps of Fleshmarket Close, or by Cockburn Street with no steps, to the top of Victoria Street on George IV Bridge. Be there by 9.30am, before the shops open. Its colourful fronts, built from 1829, curve down to the Grassmarket. From the top, walk out along Victoria Terrace, level above the shops, for the view down the curve, and take its steps down at the far end. J.K. Rowling has said no real street inspired Diagon Alley.
About 2 min on foot
Covenanters' Memorial
Two minutes down is the Grassmarket, the market square under the Castle rock and, until 1784, the town's place of execution. The Covenanters' Memorial at its east end marks where the gallows stood, for the more than a hundred Covenanters hanged here. Maggie Dickson was hanged in 1724 for concealing a pregnancy and her baby's death and, the story goes, came round on the cart to her burial. Burke and Hare's murders were done off the West Port, but Burke was hanged on the Lawnmarket.
4 min on foot
Vennel Steps
An attraction
It's a 4-minute walk west along the Grassmarket and up the Vennel, a long flight of steep stone steps from its south-west corner, slippery in the wet. At the top, turn round for the view of the Castle over the rooftops. Beside you stands the only surviving tower of the Flodden Wall, begun in 1514 after the Scots' defeat at Flodden, with George Heriot's School behind it. For no steps, leave the climb out: the Castle stands over the whole Grassmarket, and the chapel is a few doors along.
About 6 min on foot
Magdalen Chapel
An attraction
Go down the Vennel and east through the Grassmarket into the Cowgate, 6 minutes on foot, to Magdalen Chapel, by the arch of George IV Bridge. Janet Rynd built it for the Hammermen, the metalworkers' guild, from 1541. Its window roundels, with the Royal Arms, are the only pre-Reformation stained glass in Scotland still in its original place. Later, the bodies of executed Covenanters were made ready for burial here. Volunteers aim to open it 10am to 4pm on weekdays, so ring ahead, and ask while you do whether there's a step at the door.
3 min on foot
Greyfriars Kirk
An attraction
It's a 3-minute walk, uphill all the way, by Candlemaker Row to Greyfriars Bobby's statue and the kirkyard gate beside it. The story goes that the little terrier kept watch on his master's grave for fourteen years; please don't rub his nose, as it's wearing the bronze away. His own headstone is just inside the gate. The kirk, free and open from 10.30am on weekdays, is where the National Covenant was signed in 1638. In the kirkyard, look for the mortsafes, iron cages put over graves against the bodysnatchers.
About 5 min on foot
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland, on Chambers Street, is a minute's walk across George IV Bridge, free and open daily from 10am to 5pm. Go up to the roof terrace first, for the Castle and Arthur's Seat; its lift is at the back of the Kingdom of the Scots gallery. Then find the Lewis chessmen, the Maiden, the town's old beheading machine, and Dolly the sheep, with lunch in one of the cafés. Leave by about 3pm, as Surgeons' Hall takes two hours and its last entry is 4.30pm.
7 min on foot
Surgeons’ Hall Museums
An attraction
Surgeons' Hall Museums, on Nicolson Street, is 7 minutes' walk past Old College, £10 an adult. With human remains on show, it's recommended for ten and over, a choice left to parents. With younger children, swap in St Cecilia's Hall on Niddry Street, a free museum of musical instruments. Burke's death mask and a pocketbook said to be of his skin are here. J.K. Rowling wrote much of the first Harry Potter book at Nicolson's café, a few doors north. Waverley is 11 minutes back down the bridges.
If it rains
This day is its own rain plan: the National Museum of Scotland is free, warm and big enough for a whole wet day. Keep Victoria Street and the Grassmarket short, leave out the Vennel, whose steps are slippery in the wet, and give the museum the extra time. Add the National Library of Scotland's free exhibition across George IV Bridge, a 3-minute walk, open until 7pm Monday to Thursday. Skip the roof terrace in low cloud or high wind.
Worth a detour
- National Library of Scotland
Across George IV Bridge from the museum, a 3-minute walk, the National Library of Scotland has a free exhibition of its treasures, open until 7pm Monday to Thursday and until 5pm on Friday and Saturday. It's shut on Sundays.
- Dovecot Studios
A 6-minute walk from the museum, in the old Infirmary Street Baths, Dovecot's weavers make tapestries and rugs on the looms below a viewing balcony. The balcony opens from noon to 3pm on weekdays and all day on Saturday; the gallery and shop from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday. It's a swap for Surgeons' Hall if you'd rather see craft than anatomy.
- Talbot Rice Gallery
In the corner of Old College's quad, passed on the way to Surgeons' Hall, the university's free gallery of contemporary art opens Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, when a show is on. It shuts between exhibitions, so check its page first.
EdinburghArcade BarHaggis and whisky bar
EdinburghCafé RoyalA restaurant
EdinburghAngels with BagpipesRoyal Mile family restaurant
EdinburghDishoomA restaurant
EdinburghOinkA restaurant
EdinburghHula Juice BarA café
EdinburghHowies Victoria StreetTraditional Scottish cooking
EdinburghMaxiesA café
EdinburghThe OutsiderBistro with castle views
EdinburghMary's Milk BarA café
EdinburghDeacon's House CafeA café
EdinburghOrigin Coffee, South College StreetA caféMake it a weekend
