Edinburgh, Scotland - Real Mary King's Close & St. Giles Cathedral - August 2024

In the morning of our second day, we first visited Real Mary King's Close. We'd had to make reservations months and months in advance, as it was voted the UK's best attraction by TripAdvisor for 2024. Afterwards, we crossed the street (which just happened to be the Royal Mile) to visit the beautiful, gothic St. Giles Cathedral, built in 1124.

Mary King's Close was a "close" (one of the many steep, winding streets off of Old Town). The close is named after a merchant lady who lived in one of the more "extravagent" homes on the close in the 17th Century. We toured everything from some of these rich homes (including one where an imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots was held briefly before being transported to England), to filthy, crowded rooms that homed dozens of residents. We learned about the Bubonic plague and how it affected residents and was dealt with, as well as visiting what are considered some of the most haunted rooms in the world. We left a token for Annie, one of the ghost children. We also got to walk out through the Royal Exchange, which was just built on top of the close sometime in 1753.

No photos are allowed inside of Real Mary King's Close, so I took some photos of the door outside and some related items. Descriptions below the photos.

This door is the entry way to the Close; I'm not sure I was even supposed to take a picture of this.

Alice hitting on a plague doctor.

This plague mask did not come home with us, but some plague doctor earrings did.

This is Long Meg. She was our tour guide, and she was absolutely fantastic.

A and I were the people who got suckered into buying their photo taken inside the actual Close. She IS taller than me, but maybe not quite as much as it shows here? But close. (Get it? Close?)

Looking at the front of St. Giles' Cathedral, across the Royal Mile from the Close. It was crazy busy even at 9:30am due to the Fringe.

The interior gives off super Gothic vibes, but with a Scottish, austere flair.

A and I visited the memorial candles in each of the cathedrals we visited. She is lighting a candle for my grandma Impecoven here, and I lit one for Madeleine shortly after.

I love the ceilings of old European churches and cathedrals. Full-on love them. Be prepared for more in coming posts.

Or maybe you don't have to wait for future posts - look at this! The chandeliers are so perfectly spaced, light up the arches precisely.

Look at that juxtaposition of the stone arches and ceiling with the blue vaulted section. Breathtaking!