Mercat Tours

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 ...  Read the complete review

Edinburgh is an amazing city. For my money, it's architecturally the most beautiful in Britain and it has a history that is truly fascinating. I go there every August for the comedy festival and normally see only the shops, the bars and the comedy venues. This year, however, I was determined to get up earlier than usual and give myself time to take some of the tourist trails. After scouring the net and reading some guide books, my mate and I decided that one thing we must do was take the guided tour of Edinburgh's hidden underground vaults run by Mercat Tours. Edinburgh's underground vaults have only recently been uncovered after lying ...  Read the complete review

In the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, humankind’s love of the supernatural, paranormal and all things macabre, has given rise to a booming tourist industry in ghostly tours of the city’s haunted streets. Not one to miss the opportunity of a good ghost story and tales of murder and mayhem, strange as I am, I set out on an intrepid walk through cobbled streets and hidden crypts. Now you wouldn’t normally associate students with the events of medieval Scotland but ironically it was only through the actions of one group of students in particular that led to the discovery of one of the most important features of Edinburgh’s history. Beneath ...  Read the complete review