The Mercat Review of 2015

The turn of the year can be an oddly reflective time. Whilst January is filled with exciting plans and (usually shortly held) resolutions about healthy living and new hobbies, the end of the year is often the time to look back. We at Mercat are no exception.

Ring in the changes

January saw the retirement of Mercat’s Managing Director Des Brogan, one of the company’s founding fathers. Des had been at the helm since the former teacher had decided that history was a damn good story that just needed a damn good telling back in 1985, and saw the company grow from the grain of an idea to the first five- star rated walking tour company on the Royal Mile. The business is still very much a family affair however with Des’ daughter Kat taking the reins, with exciting plans for the future.

Vive la difference!

April saw not only some fresh faces joining us as guides, but new tours being added to our repertoire. The Edinburgh Outlander Experience followed the adventures of Jamie and Claire in our Old Town, while Fossoyeur D’histoire was our first public scheduled tour in French, taking visitors to the darkness of the Canongate Graveyard.

Happy Birthday to us!

July marked the 30th birthday of Mercat Tours, and we partied like it was 1985! Throughout the myriad of political, social, and technological changes the last 30 years have seen, Mercat has shown our beautiful city to thousands of visitors, bringing history to life time and time again. Here’s to the next 30 years.

Hallow-wow...

We always throw ourselves at the ghostly spectacular that is Halloween with a certain degree of gusto, but this year we really pulled out all the stops. We ran an incredible 39 tours on October 31st, with our guides dressed to the spooky nines. It’s not often you’ll find Nosferatu at the Mercat Cross, and the Queen of Hearts checking tickets!

2015 has been a fabulous year for Mercat Tours, and 2016 is looking even more exciting still. We hope you’ll be able to join us in the near future, for a journey into Edinburgh’s past.

See you in 2016!

(Award-winning Gillian, bottom right)