Edinburgh Witches and History Old Town Walking Tour

The Royal Mile and the Mercat Cross

The Royal Mile is the spine of the Old Town, running roughly one Scots mile downhill from Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Its sections still carry their old names: Castlehill, Lawnmarket, High Street and Canongate. Your walk begins on the High Street opposite the Mercat Cross, the octagonal stone platform topped by a unicorn where royal proclamations have been read to the people for centuries. In the age of the witch trials this was the noisy heart of town, where markets, punishments and public announcements all took place in front of the crowd.

Your guide uses this square to set the scene: who held power, how accusations spread and why fear took hold in the late sixteenth century. If you are planning a Royal Mile history tour, starting here gives you the context you need for everything you see afterwards, and you can return later at your own pace to explore the shops and museums along the street.

St Giles' Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh

Right beside the meeting point rises St Giles' Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh, crowned since about 1495 by its stone crown spire. A church has stood here since the twelfth century, and in the years after the Reformation of 1560 its preachers shaped the strict religious climate in which the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563 was enforced. That act made witchcraft a crime punishable by death, and it stayed in force until 1736.

On this tour you see St Giles' from the outside while your guide explains how church, crown and burgh worked together in the trials. Entry to the cathedral is free, with a suggested donation, so it is easy to step inside after the walk to see the stained glass and the richly carved Thistle Chapel. Allow around 30 minutes if you go in.

Old Town Closes and Lady Stair's House

Off both sides of the Royal Mile run dozens of closes and wynds, steep alleys that once led to crowded tenements rising ten storeys or more. Many are named after a trade or a resident, and walking through them is the best way to feel how tightly people lived in medieval Edinburgh, where rumours travelled fast and neighbours could become accusers. Your guide also tells the old legend of the young piper sent into the tunnels beneath the street, whose music faded and who was never seen again.

One close opens into a quiet courtyard where Lady Stair's House has stood since 1622. Built for a wealthy merchant and later named after Lady Stair, it now houses the Writers' Museum, dedicated to three of Scotland's best-loved writers. It is a brief stop on this Edinburgh witch walking tour, but the museum is free and worth a later visit.

Castlehill, the Witches' Well and Edinburgh Castle Views

At the top of the Royal Mile, Castlehill opens onto the esplanade in front of Edinburgh Castle. This was the main place of execution for people convicted of witchcraft in Edinburgh: most were strangled and their bodies burned in front of a crowd. On the wall nearby, a small cast-iron fountain called the Witches' Well, added in 1894, marks the spot and remembers those who died. Here your guide tells the stories of real people, such as the young servant from Tranent whose forced confession set off the North Berwick trials of 1590, and a woman from Fife who died in prison in 1704 before her trial.

It is the most moving moment of the walk, and the view up to the castle walls is one of the finest on the route. In 2022 the Scottish government formally apologised to everyone accused under the old law.

Victoria Street

From Castlehill the route drops down to Victoria Street, the curving, sloping street of brightly painted shopfronts that links the upper Old Town with the Grassmarket. It was built in the 1830s as part of an improvement scheme that cleared some of the oldest and most crowded alleys, and the raised walkway of Victoria Terrace runs along its upper side. Today it is one of the most photographed streets in Edinburgh, lined with independent shops selling tartan, books, sweets and crafts.

Your guide uses the descent to explain how the medieval town changed after the witch-hunting era, and why so much of the old street pattern survives. Stop for a moment at the top of the curve: the view down the coloured facades towards the Grassmarket is the classic picture of this street. Early morning or late afternoon light gives the best photos with fewer people.

The Grassmarket, Where the Tour Ends

The walk finishes in the Grassmarket, a wide open square below the cliffs of Castle Rock that served as a market from 1477 and as a place of public execution until 1784. A round stone memorial set into the paving marks where the gallows stood. Here you hear the story of a young woman hanged in 1724, who revived in her coffin on the road to burial and lived on for many years, earning the nickname Half-Hangit Maggie.

After the tour you are free to stay: the square has cafes, restaurants and the best low-level view of the castle above. A Grassmarket history tour usually ends here because the place gathers so much of Edinburgh's darker past into one view. From here, Greyfriars Kirkyard and the National Museum of Scotland are each a few minutes' walk away if you want to continue on your own.