Greyfriars takes its name from the Franciscan friary that stood here until the Reformation. The ground became a burial place in the 1560s, and the kirk at its centre opened in 1620. In 1638 the National Covenant — a defiant statement of Presbyterian faith against the king’s religious reforms — was signed here, and four decades later some 1,200 defeated Covenanters were held in an open enclosure at the south end of the yard.
Most visitors come for a dog. Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye terrier, is said to have kept watch by the grave of his master, John Gray, for fourteen years until his own death in 1872. Whatever the exact truth, the city took him to its heart: his statue has stood opposite the gate since 1873.
What to see and do: Greyfriars Kirkyard & Bobby
Bobby’s statue and grave
The bronze statue is at the corner of Candlemaker Row and George IV Bridge, outside the pub that bears his name. His red granite headstone is just inside the kirkyard gate, usually decorated with sticks left by visitors; John Gray’s grave is a little further in. Please do not rub the statue’s nose — it is wearing away.
Harry Potter’s graveyard
J.K. Rowling wrote parts of the early books in cafés nearby, and several stones here carry familiar names: Thomas Riddell, William McGonagall, and others. Riddell’s grave is against the wall on the far side, towards George Heriot’s School, whose turreted building is often cited as an inspiration for Hogwarts.
Monuments and mortsafes
The kirkyard walls are lined with some of the best 17th-century funerary sculpture in Scotland — skulls, skeletons and angels of death. Look for the iron cages called mortsafes, built to keep body-snatchers from selling fresh corpses to the medical school.
The Covenanters’ Prison and “Bluidy” Mackenzie
The domed tomb of Sir George Mackenzie, who prosecuted the Covenanters, is the centrepiece of the city’s ghost tours; the gated Covenanters’ Prison beside it is normally only opened for those tours.
Greyfriars Kirk
The church itself is open to visitors at set times for much of the year and has a small museum with a copy of the National Covenant.
How to get to Greyfriars Kirkyard & Bobby
- The gate is at the top of Candlemaker Row, off George IV Bridge — five minutes’ walk south of the Royal Mile and directly opposite the National Museum of Scotland.
- From the Grassmarket, walk up Candlemaker Row in three minutes.
- Several Lothian bus routes stop on George IV Bridge and Chambers Street.
Insider tips
- This is still a place of burial and worship. Keep to the paths, and do not climb on or lean against the stones.
- The kirkyard is free and open during daylight hours; come early for quiet, or at dusk on a ghost tour for atmosphere.
- Combine it with the National Museum across the road — the two make an easy half day.
- A Harry Potter tour will find the graves for you in minutes; alone, allow time to hunt.
Best tours & tickets for Greyfriars Kirkyard & Bobby
These top-rated experiences pair well with a visit to Greyfriars Kirkyard & Bobby:
Walking tour from €21 Edinburgh: Harry Potter Magical Guided Walking Tour
Much of Harry Potter was written in Edinburgh, and this hugely popular tour visits the places said to have inspired it: the curve of Victoria Street, the gravestones of Greyfriars Kirkyard and the cafés where early chapters took shape. Light-hearted, family-friendly and very well reviewed.
- Victoria Street and Greyfriars Kirkyard
- The cafés and school linked to the books
- More than 13,000 reviews
Evening ghost tour from €31 Edinburgh: Haunted Underground Vaults and Graveyard Tour
Edinburgh’s classic evening out: a cloaked guide leads you through the closes of the Old Town, into a graveyard and down into the vaults, with stories of body-snatchers, witch trials and things unexplained. More than 7,000 reviews.
- Blair Street vaults after dark
- A historic Old Town graveyard
- Cloaked storyteller guide
Guided tour from €28 Edinburgh: Underground Vaults Tour
A guided descent into the chambers hidden inside the arches of the South Bridge, once workshops and taverns and later a slum. Daytime departures focus on the history; evening ones lean into the hauntings. Check which you are booking.
- The 18th-century vaults under the South Bridge
- History by day, ghost stories at night
- Over 12,000 reviews
