Take your learning
outdoors with our
Old Edinburgh activity tours

“I went on a private tour with Robert and he brought the city to life.. I loved his old etchings with gave you insight to what places looked like in the past. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is super bright. One of the best times ever!!”

Lesliebd9- Class Teacher
 

Take your learning outdoors with our teacher-designed and led activity tours

Edinburgh was the stage for many fascinating episodes in Scotland’s history.    Your guide, Robert, will take your classes on a carefully planned exploration of places directly linked to the project your class is undertaking. He’s a primary school teacher with over twenty-four years of classroom teaching experience.

Robert will use various props, A3 pictures and evidence sheets with your class, encouraging your pupils to use the evidence to make assumptions about the past. 

​

There’s nothing quite as motivating as learning about history at the very places in which it happened.  Our A3 images and evidence sheets will help your pupils understand how your tour area has changed over time.  We’re expert storytellers and will immerse your pupils in the lives of the people who lived here.   Images, props and historical evidence are all used to give your class a clear understanding of the past.

​

Come with us as we explore Edinburgh’s history!

As a former professor of education, I was highly impressed by how front-man Robert incarnated all of the best principles of pedagogy. He has obviously done boodles of research on his topics, and can offer penetrating insights, often by comparing different versions, into the stories behind the gravestones and the mean streets of Edinburgh. He has mastered his delivery to the point where he can bring out the humour in what might otherwise be grim and depressing stories. He has an engaging personality, a strong, clear voice, and is considerate of his audience.

Joseph P - Tripadvisor - April 2015

Curriculum for Excellence - First Level
- Castles Tour

Perfect for an early years class studying castles and castle life!

Our ‘Castles’ tour was initially designed for P2 classes at South Morningside Primary School and is now available to book for other schools.
Your guide will take your pupils on an exploration of the concept of ‘castles’.  We’ll look at the structure of a Castle, what makes it a ‘castle’ and not merely a ‘house’, and we will use laminated cards to work out how we would defend or attack a castle.  Usually, we recommend Craigmillar Castle.  This is a brilliant place to explore and is considerably quieter than Edinburgh Castle. 
Please note that your booking fee for the castle is not part of our fee.
Click here to learn more about this tour.

£3 per pupil.  

No cost for adults.

Tour lasts for an hour.

Can take place at either Edinburgh Castle or Craigmillar Castle.

School has to book the castle (not included in our price)

Curriculum for Excellence - First Level - Old Edinburgh Tour

Perfect for an early years class which has been studying Old Edinburgh

Old Edinburgh tour - First Level

Join us on an exploration of Edinburgh’s fascinating Old Town!
Throughout the tour, your pupils will work with partners to use different types of evidence such as old maps, archive images, cartoons and the streets as well as buildings we will see around us.   

We’ll look at stories of famous Edinburgh people buried in the Kirkyard, we’ll visit the site of a long lost prison and explore an Old Town close.  This one and a half-hour activity tour includes stories about Greyfriars Bobby, Deacon Brodie and Mary Queen of Scots. 

Click here to learn more about this tour.

£3 per pupil.  

No cost for adults.

Tour lasts for an hour and a half.

Maximum of 36 people allowed with me in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

We can 'dovetail' your tour times (and finish location) around any workshops you have booked at Edinburgh Castle, Riddle's Court or the Museum of Scotland.

Curriculum for Excellence - Second Level - Old Edinburgh Tour

Perfect for an older primary class who have been studying Old Edinburgh

Old Edinburgh walking tour - Second Level

Our Second Level tour will take your class on an evidence-exploring journey around parts of the Old Town.

Your pupils will work in pairs to analyse and evaluate different pieces of historical evidence.  They’ll have opportunities to check and critique the accuracy of various sources of evidence as they walk the streets of Old Edinburgh.

Your class will explore Greyfriars Kirkyard, visit the Grassmarket, West Bow and Royal Mile and an Old Town close.  We may even be able to attempt a recreation of the old prison!

Click here to learn more about this tour.
 

£3 per pupil.  

No cost for adults.

Tour lasts for an hour and a half.

Maximum of 36 people allowed with me in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

We can 'dovetail' your tour times (and finish location) around any workshops you have booked at Edinburgh Castle, Riddle's Court or the Museum of Scotland.

Second Level - "Mary, Queen of Scots in Edinburgh" tour

Perfect for an older primary class who have been studying Mary, Queen of Scots or Old Edinburgh

Mary, Queen of Scots’ Edinburgh tour

Take your class back in time to the Edinburgh which Mary, Queen of Scots would have known.   Your pupils will use a variety of pieces of historical evidence to help discover the stories of Mary’s past.

We’ll see a replica of Mary’s tomb, where she spent some of her childhood, and we’ll walk the very streets she’d have known.  We’ll also get an opportunity to visit the site of Kirk o’Field - the location of the assassination of Mary’s second husband!  

For a nominal extra fee, we can visit the High Kirk of St Giles and discover what happened to Mary’s half-brother.

Click here to learn more about this tour.

£3 per pupil.  

No cost for adults.

Tour lasts for an hour and a half.

Maximum of 36 people allowed with me in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

We can 'dovetail' your tour times (and finish location) around any workshops you have booked at Edinburgh Castle, Riddle's Court or the Museum of Scotland.

Curriculum for Excellence - Second Level - Bonnie Prince Charlie in Edinburgh tour

Perfect for an early years class who have been studying the Jacobite Rebellions, Bonnie Prince Charlie, or Old Edinburgh

Come with us as we tour the places that were important in the final Jacobite Rebellion.
Your class will use various pieces of evidence to discover what Edinburgh was like in 1745, how the Jacobite army took the city and how the Hanoverians and Jacobites within Edinburgh acted during this period.

We’ll learn about some of the important people, both men and women, who played a part in this exciting moment in Scotland’s history and we do this at the site of the locations they’d have known.

Click here to learn more about this tour.
 

£3 per pupil.  

No cost for adults.

Tour lasts for an hour and a half.

Maximum of 36 people allowed with me in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

We can 'dovetail' your tour times (and finish location) around any workshops you have booked at Edinburgh Castle, Riddle's Court or the Museum of Scotland.

Perfect for classes who have been studying the Victorians, a topic on 'inequality', or Old Edinburgh

There are so many resources which look at the lives of the rich and famous Victorians…this tour will introduce your class to a very different aspect of Victorian history.

Edinburgh’s Old Town was effectively a slum dwelling.  This tour will take your class right into the heart of the very most impoverished areas.  Your pupils will use various pieces of historical evidence to unravel the forgotten stories of people who struggled to survive in a society that did little for them.  Your class will learn about history, and citizenship issues, relevant to community today.

Click here to learn more about this tour.

£3 per pupil.  

No cost for adults.

Tour lasts for an hour and a half.

Maximum of 36 people allowed with me in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

We can 'dovetail' your tour times (and finish location) around any workshops you have booked at Edinburgh Castle, Riddle's Court or the Museum of Scotland.

Second Level - Slum Life in Victorian Edinburgh tour

A few photos from our range of walking tours