The Gatehouse of Edinburgh Castle is recognizable by the two bronze statues standing in niches on its facade, one of King Robert the Bruce and the other of Sir William Wallace. Built between eighteen eighty-six and eighteen eighty-eight,…
Jacobite Rebellion Sites
Follow the footprints of the 1745 Jacobite rising down the Royal Mile, from the gates of Edinburgh Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. You'll see where Bonnie Prince Charlie held court, how highlanders breached the city gates, and where prisoners of war were held.
Listen to this tour in the Mira app →Walk it in street view
1. The Gatehouse
2. Gladstone's Land (National Trust for Scotland)
Gladstone's Land is a six-storey tenement building on the Royal Mile that you can identify by the golden sculpture of a hawk clutching a mouse hanging above the entrance. Built in fifteen fifty, the house underwent a major redevelopment in…
3. Mercat Cross
The Mercat Cross is an eight-sided stone structure topped by a pillar and a crowned unicorn, the national animal of Scotland. It stands in Parliament Square, next to Saint Giles' Cathedral, where it serves as the official site for royal…
4. Nether Bow Plaque
The Nether Bow Plaque is a stone relief embedded in the wall of the Scottish Storytelling Centre on the Royal Mile. It bears the carved inscription, "sixteen oh six, God save the King," and serves as a direct relic from the Netherbow Port,…
5. Canongate Tolbooth
The Canongate Tolbooth is marked by a prominent clock that hangs on wrought iron brackets, suspended directly over the street. Built in fifteen ninety-one, this stone building served as the courthouse, town jail, and administrative hub for…
6. White Horse Close
White Horse Close is an enclosed courtyard defined by its distinctive cluster of crow-stepped gables and external stone staircases. Tucked off the Canongate near the foot of the Royal Mile, it contains the remnants of the…
7. Abbey Strand
Abbey Strand is a short, historic street leading directly to the main gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. You can identify the site by the brass letter S symbols embedded in the cobblestones, which mark the boundary of what was once a…