Bringing Edinburgh History to Life
17th Apr 2025When you visit Edinburgh, Scotland, you might not realise that most of the streets you walk are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
A huge portion of the city is protected for cultural and historical significance. From Old Town to New Town, 4.5 square kilometres and thousands of buildings are included.
This World Heritage Day, we’re mulling over how we explore these places’ stories.
The Historical Places We Explore
Mercat Cross
Each one of our tours begins at the Mercat Cross: an 8-sided monument topped by Scotland’s national animal, the unicorn.
At one point in time—since at least the 14th century—the Edinburgh Mercat Cross was a place for business. Notices would have been hung from its sides, caddies would be available to act as guides, capital punishment would have been doled out, royal proclamations would have been shouted from its platform.
The structure we see today is a Victorian reconstruction, built in the 1880s. Though it’s not the original, it gives us a glimpse into Edinburgh’s colourful past.
Edinburgh Vaults
Further down the Royal Mile is our favourite Edinburgh hidden gem, which you can visit on tour: the Blair Street Underground Vaults. Part of the South Bridge Vaults, these underground rooms and corridors were once home to workshops and storage spaces.
Built in the 1780s, the Edinburgh vaults are located underneath South Bridge. Unfortunately, due to their lack of weatherproofing, conditions swiftly deteriorated. By the 1820s, legitimate businesses had fled the underground world.
In their wake, illegal business—like illicit whisky stills—and poor residents alike moved in. Though few written records exist for them, plenty of archaeological evidence remained after they vacated in the mid-19th century.
The Real Places of Outlander
Though Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander is a fictional story, much of the history it explores is very real.
On our Edinburgh Outlander Experience tour, we dive into Scotland’s real Jacobite history. It’s a chance to discover how Claire and Jamie’s story relates to the real history of Edinburgh.
From Canongate Kirk to the Tolbooth Jail and 18th century taverns that still exist, the places in Old Town’s World Heritage Site are perfectly preserved history. It’s like being transported back in time.
Within these places are countless stories of witchcraft, the Jacobites, Royal Stuarts, curses, clans and more.
How We Tell Their Stories
How do you go about telling the stories of centuries of people?
It takes more than simply narrating the life of someone. To create a lasting connection, you must be fully immersed in the story.
When our master Storytellers begin a tour, they do so ready to reveal the secrets of the past, both the light-hearted titbits and Edinburgh’s darker history.
They are a modern-day Orpheus, each day treading into the underworld of Edinburgh’s past before leading you back out again—but don’t worry, our Storytellers aren’t cursed. We promise you'll make it back aboveground in no time.
Beyond traditional oral storytelling, we also try to bring to life other sounds of the past. Medieval crowds. Early modern pyres. Victorian gallows. Ageless, ghostly whispers...
It makes for an experience even richer than a regular tour. Better even, dare we say, than a Hollywood-produced film. Each sound is chosen by the Storyteller, each tour slightly different as it’s tailored to different listeners.
Down in the Edinburgh vaults, you might even notice the scent of an older time, too. Not fish oil, of course, but something that brings to mind the leather workers that once huddled away in the dark and the fireplaces that once burned.
Not only do you hear the stories that bring to life Edinburgh’s past, you’re fully immersed in the atmosphere of the past, making for a richer memory that’ll endure long after your visit to Edinburgh.
On World Heritage Day, and every other day of the year, let us immerse you in the sights, sounds and smells of Edinburgh’s past in a way you’ll never forget.
Explore the real Jacobite history of the Outlander novels and visit the historical locations that were used in the filming of the TV series on an Edinburgh Outlander Experience tour. 26-27 April.