Taking a walk into Edinburgh's dark and sometimes spooky past, was quite an experience and defiantly one not to be missed. We stayed in Edinburgh for our anniversary weekend and not being a shopaholic and more into history, I searched for something to do and found the vaults tour. We opted to go through Mercat Tours (but there are other tour companies that offer this service) they offer several walking tours of Edinburgh, both daytime and night and specialise in ghost walks.
The cost of the vaults tour is £6 per person and takes approximately 1 hour and in my opinion is worth every penny. Tickets can be obtained from their shop, on line, over the phone or you can just turn up at the cross 15 minuets before the tour begins.
The tour started at the mercat cross on the high street where we were meet by their guide who was a local historian (as are most of the guides for Mercat) as we had opted for the 4 o'clock tour she told us that this was not a ghost walk or a ghost tour but centred more on the history of the vaults, with just a few of the ghost tails being told. Walking down the High street towards the vaults she filled us in about Edinburgh's colourful past and how the closes and the tenements and also the vaults had come into being.
Arriving at the South Bridge I was confused to say the least. For a start I could not see any bridge only shops and streets (the whole bridge has been built on and round, over the years.) Entry to the vaults is via a small door between two run down shops, but before we entered our guide told us that she would not be telling us any of the experiences that people had had in the vaults so that our minds could not play tricks on us, but if we wanted she would tell us when we left the vaults. To get down to the vaults you have to go down a very tight staircase, which is not very even in places and bares the deep ruts of many feet passing over it. Then you are in the dark, damp and silence surrounds you it is SPOOKY. Used at first as workrooms and storage rooms by the shops above then as brothels inns and homes in later years and also as a place to store dead bodies (which would later to be sold to the medical collage over the other side of the bridge for dissection)
I will not tell you any of the stories that we were told when we left just in case you should decide to visit yourself. But I will say that 3 people in our party of 6 did hear something and the guide took details to put in mercats log (we all heard the same thing at the same time) and I have 3 very strange pictures I can not explain.
If you suffer from claustrophobia stay away from this one or if you have a nervous disposition I would also give it a miss. And I would not recommend this for anyone under the age of 15 (they will take children from the age of 8) not unless you like sleepless nights this really is one for the grown ups.
And just in case you are wondering about the title OH MY GOD ITS BEHIND YOU THIS WAS PART OF ONE OF THE STORYS that she told us when we returned to the surface.
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