Experience Old Edinburgh

Whilst, sadly the 2014 Commonwealth Games are over, Scotland showed once again that we can keep up with the best of them by taking 19 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze medals, landing in fourth place overall.

We at The Real Mary King’s Close had some fantastic visitors this year, who came along to share The Real Mary King’s Close experience in-between watching their chosen events during the Games. We had visitors from many of the Commonwealth countries, and they had a great time as we took them on a historical and spooky trip through the underbelly of Edinburgh life in 1600's.

All about the Dark Truth

We offer a number of bespoke tours that takes guests on an one-hour experience with an interesting spin on all the ‘true' stories of the history of darkest deepest Edinburgh. Normal groups are about twenty in size, but we do also offer private tours for those wishing to experience the close alone. The ‘Dark Truth' tour ran as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe  throughout August, therefore those who stayed after the Commonwealth Games could spend time learning about the darker Edinburgh history. However, despite the gruesomeness of some stories, we’ve been told that many of our foreign visitors went away extremely happy and satisfied with their experience!

Meet Dr. George

You will hear stories about a number of different residents of the close including Dr. George Rae who kept people safe from the plague. You will also meet the Craig family, who were not so lucky, but hey, what are a few sores and warts among family, eh?  Dr. George and his faithful assistant the Foul Clenger will protect our guests from the Black Death that awaited the people of 1600 Edinburgh and see them out safely in the end. Check out our Trip Advisor reviews to see what our summer guests thought and then come along and enjoy the fun for yourself – we’re open all year round!