Attraction30 minutes to 1 hour

Greyfriars Kirkyard

About

The seventeenth-century burial ground behind Greyfriars Kirk, open free around the clock, and one of the most storied acres in Scotland: the National Covenant was signed at the kirk in 1638, and the kirkyard holds centuries of Edinburgh's dead beneath some of Britain's finest carved monuments. Its most famous resident is Greyfriars Bobby, the terrier who reportedly kept watch by his master John Gray's grave for fourteen years until his own death in 1872 (historians dispute the details, which locals will happily tell you too). The little statue outside the gates has a nose rubbed gold by tourists; the council asks you not to, and locals judge you if you do.

Photos

Highlights

✓Greyfriars Bobby's grave and statue
✓The 1638 National Covenant's signing site at the kirk
✓Seventeenth-century carved monuments and the Flodden Wall
✓Entry to the kirk itself is free, donations encouraged

Tips

→The kirkyard is open 24 hours and free; the kirk keeps its own visiting hours
→Don't rub the Bobby statue's nose; the wear is damaging it and the council has asked visitors to stop
→Several headstone names are claimed as J.K. Rowling inspirations; treat the tours' claims with a pinch of salt
→Combine with the National Museum, two minutes away on Chambers Street