Witches and History Old Town Walk review
My verdict: the highest-rated tour on this site at 4.8 from 1,375 ratings, and the only one of the six with no vault stairs in it. Seventy-five minutes at street level with a costumed character guide, ending in the Grassmarket. It is not a vaults tour and it does not claim to be — which is exactly why it is here.
Why a walking tour is on a vaults site
Because every vault tour in Edinburgh has a spiral staircase in it, and a lot of people who want the Old Town’s dark history cannot do a spiral staircase, or will not do a small dark room, or are travelling with someone who will not. This is the honest answer for them, and it happens to be the best-reviewed of the lot. I would rather send somebody to a tour they can enjoy than to one that will end with them sitting on a step.
You meet at Caffè Nero on the Royal Mile, opposite the Mercat Cross, which makes it the easiest meeting point of the six to find. The route runs the closes and wynds off the Royal Mile, past the castle and St Giles’, and finishes down in the Grassmarket, below the castle rock at the foot of Victoria Street, with the story of Half-Hangit Maggie.
What it covers
The subject is the Scottish witch trials, told through named women rather than a general shudder: Janet Horne, Geillis Duncan, Lillias Adie. That specificity is what lifts it. The guide is in costume and in character, and there are nods to the Outlander and Harry Potter filming connections along the way, which some people book it for and others tolerate.
Usually included
- A costumed character guide for the full 75 minutes
- The closes and wynds off the Royal Mile, at street level
- The stories of Janet Horne, Geillis Duncan and Lillias Adie
- Edinburgh Castle and St Giles’ Cathedral from the outside
- A finish in the Grassmarket with Half-Hangit Maggie
Not included
- Any underground section — there is no vault on this tour
- Entry to the castle, St Giles’ or any paid attraction
- A drink, a museum or artefacts
- Anything that could be called a jump scare
- Genuinely accessible ground: cobbles and steep closes are unavoidable
What works
- 4.8 from 1,375 ratings — the best score of the six
- No spiral stair and no two-foot step, so no vault-tour barrier
- Real named history rather than an anonymous procession of witches
- Ends in the Grassmarket, which is where you probably wanted to end up anyway
- Runs rain or shine, and there is no queue at a locked cellar door
Worth knowing
- It does not go underground, which is what most people arrive wanting
- Cobbles and steep closes still rule it out for some mobility impairments
- A costumed character guide is a taste, and not everybody shares it
- The Outlander and Harry Potter material is padding if you came for the trials
- Seventy-five minutes outdoors in Edinburgh weather is a real commitment
What reviewers say
Juniper was amazing — her energy and knowledge was unmatched.
Perfect balance of humour and respect.
Angelica was informative, entertaining and educational all at once.
Natasha’s three words are the reason this tour rates 4.8. The women it talks about were strangled and burned on evidence that would not survive five minutes now, and a guide who can be funny without being flippant about that is doing something difficult. Marina from France said she came away having learnt a lot about the history of the witch hunt in Edinburgh, which is not a sentence you often get out of a costumed tour.
Who it suits
Anyone who cannot manage a spiral staircase, and anyone travelling with them. People who have read the claustrophobia page and decided the chambers are not for them. Families, since there is no age minimum of the kind the vault tours carry. And people who want the Old Town explained above ground before or instead of going below it.
Book something else if you want the vaults
This is the part I will not soften: if you came to Edinburgh to stand inside the chambers under the South Bridge, this tour will not take you there and no amount of good storytelling changes that. Book the Underground Vaults Tour for the South Bridge rooms in an hour, or the historic small-group tour for the Blair Street chambers with a museum and artefacts. Then do this one as well if you have the evening. They are not competing for the same slot.
Wear shoes with grip. Old Town cobbles and the closes off the Royal Mile are steep and polished, and they are worse in the wet than any vault floor. The accessibility page is blunt about what that means.
If you also want to go underground
Most bookedEdinburgh: Underground Vaults Tour
History, not ghostsEdinburgh: Multi-Sensory Small-Group Historic Vaults Tour
Small groupEdinburgh: Underground Vaults Evening Ghost Tour with Whisky
Frequently asked questions
Does the Witches and History tour go into the vaults?
No. It stays at street level the whole way, which is why it is the only one of the six with no vault stair. For the chambers themselves you need one of the underground tours listed on all tours.
Is it suitable if I cannot manage stairs?
There is no spiral staircase and no two-foot step, so it clears the barrier that rules out every vault tour. It is still cobbles and steep closes for 75 minutes, though — the accessibility page spells out what that involves.
Where does the tour finish?
In the Grassmarket, below the castle rock at the foot of Victoria Street, with the story of Half-Hangit Maggie. It starts at Caffè Nero on the Royal Mile, opposite the Mercat Cross.