Private Old Edinburgh Tour: Historic Walk

Step into the past on a private Old Edinburgh Tour. Walk in the footsteps of Royals and Rogues, from Mary, Queen of Scots to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Discover the city’s rich history with a local guide dressed in a kilt and explore iconic landmarks with archive images.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Greyfriars Kirkyard - Your tour starts just inside the main gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard. You’ll find out about Edinburgh’s famous ‘wee dug’; Greyfriars Bobby. There are a number of versions of his story. We’ll let you make your own mind up!
  • Grassmarket - Candlemaker Row and the Grassmarket will be next on your route. You’ll find out about one…
What's Included
  • Local guide
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Join us at Historic Edinburgh Tours for a captivating walkabout through the time-honoured lanes of the Old Town. You’ll have the chance to traverse the same pathways where some of Scotland’s most renowned (and notorious) figures once resided and strolled. From Mary, Queen of Scots to Bonnie Prince Charlie, Deacon Brodie and beyond, this is a can’t-miss…

Location
Greyfriars Kirkyard
Candlemaker Row
Just inside the main entrance, next to the grave of Greyfriars Bobby (the pink headstone which you see as soon as you enter the Kirkyard). Greyfriars Kirkyard, Candlemaker Row, EH1 2QQ
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(221 Ratings)
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Timothykt4752pu
Jul 3, 2025
Private tour - Robert was a great guide and the tour was phenomenal. Tailored the tour to us, including little things like tieing it into our jobs and family history, and knew the history!! Highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Laurenj1232023
May 26, 2025
Incredible school trip - We had an amazing time on a school trip with our P5’s with Robert on our Old Edinburgh tour to link in with our history topic about Mary Queen of Scots. From the beginning, the children were hooked as Robert made everything come alive and his passion and depth of knowledge shone through. The children were absolutely captivated by the whole experience and it was an amazing way for them to learn more about key aspects of history. We would 100% recommend Robert and will definitely be back next year!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
912shaylas
May 18, 2025
Fabulous walking tour! - Robert was a fantastic guide! We chose private tour and it was exactly what I was hoping for. Robert is extremely knowledgeable of the city and was very attentive. He had a folder with illustrations on the city to help visualize what the area would have looked like when certain events had occurred which made all the stories come full circle. I can not recommend going on a tour with Robert enough! (I failed to take any photos as I was so engrossed in the tour but there are many photo opportunities! But Robert was kind enough to offer to take one for me!)
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Cynthiad465
May 6, 2025
Robert is an outstanding tour guide! - Robert was a FANTASTIC tour guide. Learned so much and the time flew by. I could have listened to his stories all day. And I loved learning so much history. Robert was courteous, looked out for our safety on the cobblestones/pavements of the city. If you come to Edinburgh be sure to book Robert! I wish I'd done all his tours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Melollis
Mar 26, 2025
Learning and Laughing - We spent a wonderful tour with Robert today. He tailored the walking tour to our interests and shared historic, cultural and current literature/theatrical references. We enjoyed his delivery, laughing and learning throughout. He was also very respectful often asking how “rude” (his words) we were comfortable in him sharing some shadier sides of Scottish history so he could customize his delivery. A wonderful outing!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vanessavw7644ae
Nov 28, 2024
Lovely walk through history - So very informative, I would say, pleasant walk while getting to know the city and it's history. This tour was really a pleasure.
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Y9373sfjohns
Oct 21, 2024
Jacobite Tour of the Old Town of Edinburgh with Robert Howie - We and our friends very much enjoyed a private Jacobite tour of the Old Town with Robert which lasted two hours. He is an excellent raconteur and has a wonderful knowledge of that period. He brought to life the events leading up to the Jacobite occupation of the city and the characters involved in it. He showed us places and sites we did not know existed, such as the Flodden Wall and Tweedale Court and he embellished his talk with amusing poetical ditties. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
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Louis_a
Sep 16, 2024
A fantastic tour of Edinburgh - This was a fabulous tour. Our guide, Robert, a life-long citizen of Edinburgh and a teacher by trade, shared his immense knowledge about the history and people of the city (including some of its famous canine residents) and showed us the lesser traveled venues and passages with the most amazing views. I highly recommend it!
Review provided by Viator
Louisax8490sa
Sep 16, 2024
Fantastic Edinburgh tour - Robert was a fantastic guide. He was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining, bringing us to the most interesting places. I highly recommend his Edinburgh tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jetsetexplorer
Sep 15, 2024
Excellent tour! - We very much enjoyed our 2 hour private tour with Robert. He was funny, very knowledgeable and told great stories about the city he clearly loved. I appreciated that he asked us what we were interested in. I would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $112 (Per Group)
up to 10 guests
1 - Traveler
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).