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A Walk Around Edinburgh Castle

Luckily I have visited inside Edinburgh Castle before but for a typical family (two adults two children) gaining entry it can be quite pricey, setting you back £50 to £60 pounds for not just the castle but most of the major attractions in that city which is undeniably a top UK tourist attraction. I remembered my sole visit inside the castle as a teenager fairly well, however, so thought a better use of my day visit to the city was a circumnavigation of the castle itself and this proved a very enjoyable walk in its own right.

Flat Balcony Trail. Edinburgh Castle Gardens Walk

Circumnavigation of Edinburgh Castle

Autumn In Princes Street Gardens. Edinburgh.

Not too long or taxing with plenty of great views and much historical interest. Some ups and downs on the walk – allow 2 hours with stops at an easy pace. Three hours if going into a nearby pub for lunch or visiting churches and historic graveyards on the route, which I did.

Wojtek the Polish War Bear

Wojtek. The Polish War Bear

You can start anywhere on the walk but Princes Street Gardens is where most folk will arrive. Leafy and green with views up to the castle cliffs and walls there’s plenty of interest here. The statue of Wojtek the Polish War Bear is here, rescued and adopted as an orphaned cub by Polish soldiers on their travels during WW11 he helped carry ammunition crates in battles in Italy and became a celebrity. After the war he lived peacefully in Edinburgh Zoo and eventually died there. I’d never heard of him until now but there’s statues and sculptures dedicated to him all over Europe, including Poland.

Views from the Castle

Edinburgh Castle From The Grassmarket

The rest of the walk goes up to the gates of the castle itself with great views from the Esplanade, down stairs to the Grassmarket… or West Bow… along King’s Stables Road… Into the graveyard and church near the West End (public toilets here if required) then back into the gardens again by a different path, or along Princes Street or Rose Street as an alternative. Well worth doing and totally free.

West Bow

If going up or down the curving West Bow (highly recommended) there’s a semi hidden stair in the eight level high building that leads onto a terrace near Maxies then out into the Royal Mile through another subterranean passage.

Edinburgh View. Garden Balcony Trail Under Castle Rock

Gothic Edinburgh

Gothic Edinburgh.Princes Street Architecture

Looking online the lurid story of ‘The Wizard of West Bow’ begs the question was he one of the inspirations behind Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as the author Robert Louis Stevenson certainly knew about this case intimately. Robert Burns also stayed nearby and would have been inspired by this darkly gothic side of old Edinburgh.

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