Calm down - it's just a bit of snow - and not nearly enough for my liking. Merry Christmas!
Calm down - it's just a bit of snow - and not nearly enough for my liking. Merry Christmas!
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While I am not a fan of guided tours, there are some places that cannot be visited unless you are part of an organised group. In Edinburgh I was interested in visiting the old vaults and the only way to do this was by taking a guided tour with Mercat Tours. Mercat Tours offer several tours that put the spotlight on different historical aspect of Edinburgh, mainly things with a sinister edge.
It's easy to book a place on one of their tours. You can contact the company directly by telephone (in which case you will need to pay in advance by credit card) or by means of their website, or through the Tourist Information Centres in Edinburgh. It's also possible to turn up at the departure point on spec but there may not be places left in the height of summer when Edinburgh hits its tourism peak. If you do join a tour this way you can pay by cash or credit card.
We tried to book at the TIC but it was before 10.00am so the staff couldn't phone Mercat Tours to check on availability. We were given a phone number for the company but when we phoned them it was then that we learned they required credit card details for phone reservations and we were reluctant
to give them out as we were in a busy place at the time. After 10 we went back to the TIC and booked the tickets there. No booking fee is charged by the TIC for this service. We were given a map on which the meeting place for the tour was highlighted. It was also pointed out to us that the tour involved some steep steps and walking in dark, narrow passageways.
All of the tours offered by Mercat start at he Mercat Cross situated next to St Giles Cathedral at the top of the Royal Mile. This is easy to find, right in the heart of old Edinburgh. The Mercat staff member was easy to spot and checked our ticket against the names on his list before asking us to wait nearby while we waited for other members of our group and our tour guide. The tour started promptly at the appointed time and Jodie, our friendly guide put everyone at ease immediately. I could easily have done without the enforced joviality but nobody else seemed to mind it.
First we were taken a little way down the Royal Mile into one of the "closes", the narrow lanes that provide access to the tenement buildings; here Jodie explained the geography of the city and why it looks like it does. It was really fascinating and she explained it brilliantly.
We were then taken to the vaults and on the way Jodie pointed out how the road the vaults now lie under was once a bridge and that in the 18th century the vaults were created by filling in the arches to provide commercial accommodation for the city's craftsmen such as bookbinders, jewellery makers and metal workers. In the 1980s the landlord of the Tron pub wanted to enlarge his cellar and discovered that one of the walls of his own cellar was in fact hollow. Behind it was a series of vaults, some had been separated with rough walls made of rubble. He approached the local council, to find out who owned the vaults and was able to buy the whole lot for just £100. Needless to say the man is now a millionaire, imagine the money one can make selling all that space in a city like Edinburgh! Some of the vaults have been made into nightclubs and bars and part is now used by Mercat Tours.
As soon as you go in you are plunged into darkness. There are a few candles and a couple of electric lights but it takes a while to adjust to the light (or lack of it). As we moved from vault to vault Jodie told us stories about how the vaults were used and really brought the place to life. She explained how the vaults were originally lit by "cruise lamps" that burned fish oil and gave off the faintest of light as well as a very unpleasant aroma. She told us how parts of the vaults became office for lawyers; Edinburgh was well known as a centre for the legal profession but the men who practiced law did not have their own offices and so they operated from the drinking holes in the vaults, mostly under the influence of claret which was *the* drink of the time.
From time to time Jodie involved group members as she illustrated different points and kept everyone engaged. One vault is pretty much like the next; they are all completely empty and any items of note found during the excavations have been removed to museums or to the Mercat Tours "Interpretation Centre" upstairs.
I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this tour but I was a bit disappointed. I learned lots but I didn't feel like I'd *seen* much. The tour was also fifteen minutes shorter than the hour and a quarter advertised.
The "Interpretation Centre" turned out to be a single room with a few boards on the wall mostly repeating what Jodie had told us. There was a replica of a sedan chair and a glass case containing a few of the items found in the vaults. Next door was the inevitable gift shop.
At £6.50 each for adults the price seemed just about fair; any more would certainly have been too much. There were about twelve people on our tour which was a good number given that some of the vaults were very small indeed.
Our guide was very good although I did feel she over-used some expressions ("Not pleasant!") which became quite irritating after a while. The background information she gave was excellent and she expertly mixed factual stuff with some good anecdotes; some of the stories are a little risqué, this tour is not really suitable for under-thirteens, I would say.
It was a fun and interesting way to spend an hour, especially if you have visited Edinburgh before and are now looking for something a bit different to do. However, I probably wouldn't recommend it if you are a first-timer because there are much better things to see in the city.
Other Mercat Tours include: (Details can be found on their website)
Secrets of the Royal Mile Gallows to Graveyard Ghostly Underground Paranormal Underground
http://www.mercattours.com
As usual Ciao have included irrelevent questions, please disregard
Pictures of Mercat Tours, Edinburgh
The "interpretation centre" and gift shop stand next to the vault entrance
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Advantages: An excellent place to spend a weekend or more. Lots to see and do. Plenty of places to spend your money. Great pubs, great people. Nice scenery surrounding the city. Easy to get to. Disadvantages: Quite a lot of hills. Some of them are viciously steep.
lyricalt 13.02.2001 ·
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