The Vaults Ghost Tour

Today the group visited The Vaults ghost tour at Mercat Cross on the High Street, Edinburgh. The purpose of this attractions is finding out the history and ghosts who can be found in the Vaults under South Bridge. When we were there we saw the rooms where people used to live, especially the poor and criminals. We never really saw much in terms of an actual Ghost but it was pretty good to hear all the different stories. I found out about very scary people such as the Watcher and a man called Boots whom all the children were scared of. The guide was a bit stressful as she made me scared. The guide told us about how people went down there to hide from all the scary people like robbers, murderers etc.. I never really had a favourite part because I was too scared off seeing a ghost. The things I thought were not so good was when she said we may see people that are dead. The attraction costs £10.00 adults, £8.00 concession, £5.00 child , £25.00 family. I think it was a bad value for money because it didn't last that long. The attractions opening hours are Summer (April - October): 3.00pm daily, 5.00pm Saturday

Winter (November - March): 3.00pm daily. It took about an hour I think. I think the attraction would most appeal to tourists/all people. It's good because there is a lot of information to take in. I would give this attraction about 4and half out of 5. Afterwards we went to Starbucks for a hot chocolate and it wasn't as good as our previous coffee shop!

marcat tour

Today we met Liz who took us on a tour to the vaults under the South Bridge. We met her on the High Street and then we walked down to Blair Street and went into the vaults when we went in she told us about a little boy called Jack who was a ghost and the Watcher who terrorises anyone who lived in the vaults. There was a safe room in the vaults, which is where jack and the cobbler lived.

It costs £10 for an adult and £8 for a child I don't think it was worth it because it wasn't for long and I expected it to be a lot more scary.

Mercat tours

We had a tour guide called Liz for our Ghost tour of the Vaults in Edinburgh. She took us down under the South Bridge and we were in for a hour. I did not think it was scary and it seemed to go so fast. There were four ghosts to be found down there called jack , boots , the cobbler and the watcher . The prices were £10 for an adult and £5 for a kid . I think the people who would go there are tourists visiting Edinburgh.

Mercat tours underground vaults

Today the group visited the Mercat underground vaults on a ghost tour. This attraction provides a historical tour with an element of spook. The tour guide Liz provided authentic storytelling using a candle to add a hint of creepiness to her words. This attraction comes at a reasonable price of £10.The tour is leaves from The Mercat Cross,High Street beside St Giles High Kirk and opposite the City Chambers. I would recommend this tour for anyone with an interest in ghosts or the history behind Edinburgh.

You can book online, by telephone, in person at the Mercat Cross, an eight sided monument just downhill from St Giles Cathedral on the High Street, or from the Mercat office, or buy advance tickets from Tourist Information Centre on Princes Street.

This tour is very interesting but for most people this is not spooky or scary. I give it 8/10.

Mercat tours

The group visited the Edinburgh Vaults on the South Bridge. The cost of the attraction is £10 for an adult £8.00 concessions £5.00 kids £25.00 family. The tour lasted one hour fifteen minutes but time flew past. The guide was called Liz and she was well...... crazy but good. There were four ghosts to be found in the Vaults. They were the cobbler, jack, the watcher and Boots. After we went to Starbucks which I thought was a rip off. I give the Vaults 2 and a half stars out of 5 as I expected it to be a bit scarier and I did not see any real ghosts.

Surgeons hall

Today the group visited Surgeon's Hall. The purpose of this attraction is to show people the history of Surgery and you can find the Surgeons Hall on Nicolson Street. When we were there we saw a lot of specimens and pictures. The guide was very helpful when I was confused because he told us alot of information.

Surgeons hall

Today the group visited Surgeons Hall. The purpose of this attraction is so that people can learn about the history of Surgery. You can find Surgeon's Hall on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh. When we were there we learned a lot about Burke and Hare. We also got to hold an endoscope and handle a knife that was about 200 years old. We were given a tour guide I would recommend having a guide to anyone who goes there as he explained all the items very clearly.

Surgeons Hall

Today the group went to visit Surgeons Hall in Edinburgh.
The purpose of the attraction is to teach people about the history of medicine and surgery in Scotland in the last 500 years.

It is located at Nicolson Street in Edinburgh.

When we where there we got to see so much cool and gory specimens and we got to hold real Victorian surgical instruments. 

It was so cool I could have spent ages in there.
All of that history and we only scratched the surface, it's magnificent.

I was amazed by just how preserved the specimens were, how much detail and definition was there, the science behind it all even hundreds of years ago. The fact that a lot of the science and ideas of modern medicine were sound they just didn't have the technology to make it happen, it was nothing short of amazing.

The guides name was Thomas. I though he was pretty good although he did spend a lot of time talking about Burk and Hare the body snatchers, although that is not surprising considering the Burk and Hare exhibition seems to be one of the most popular exhibits and possibly one of the most known in connection with the museum.

My favorite part, well to put it simply, everything, the whole shebang. every minute, every step was a new wonder just waiting to be discovered, to be seen, to be learned. I don't think my eyes could have been wider with wonder, contentment, with thirst for knowledge if you had taped them open.

The tour roughly cost about £5 a person and open 12pm till 4pm Monday to Friday and from 29/3/14 till 17/05/14 the museum will be open from 10am till 5pm 7 days a week.

I think the museum would appeal to almost anyone except maybe young kids, (it might be a bit to gory and scary for them.) but it would appeal especially to anyone with an interest in science and/or medicine, the place is a gold mine of knowledge.

i would give the Surgeons Hall Museum a 10/10 because it honestly blew my mind, it's an astonishing place.

It is an experiences i will never forget and will hold dear for the rest of my life.

 Jodie. :)  


   

Surgeon's Hall

The visit to Surgeon's Hall was the one many people in the group were most looking forward to especially as they had heard all about the Pathology department which we were getting to see around. The museum was tucked away up three flights of narrow stairs with no lift so unfortunately it is not very accessible to those with wheelchairs or mobility issues. There are toilets as you enter and a room with exhibitions about the history of dentistry where we saw old sets of false teeth which had been made with someone's actual real teeth! In the main hall we saw some models of body parts such as hands and legs where wax had been injected to show the blood vessels. It was quite fascinating to see the number of blood vessels and how delicate they were.Our tour guide was called Thomas and the group all agreed he was very good. He was very enthusiastic about the museum, answered all questions and knew a great deal. He told us about the story of Burke and Hare and John Knox. Burke and Hare had murdered people for a year and sold the bodies to Knox to experiment and teach with at Surgeons Hall. We saw the famous book that is said to be made of Burke's skin. Thomas led a handling session where the group examined a range of surgical items from history. We were surprised at how brutal amputation was and that the quicker the surgeon could be the more business he would get. The group also liked the story about the Chloroform parties held when inventing this. Some of the instruments and medicine had actually not changed much over time though. After this we went in to the Pathology department where we saw a range of preserved body parts suffering from different illnesses and examples of different wounds sustained in wars over the century. We found it quite disgusting but also fascinating. The museum is soon to close for a makeover and to get a lift put in. We would all like to come back when that is done. The vast majority of the group enjoyed this attraction and learnt more that they did not know from it that our previous visit.

Surgeons hall museum

Today the group visited Surgeons Hall The purpose of this attraction was to show people all about the history of medicine and surgery. It is located on Nicolson's street in Edinburgh. When we were there we saw preserved brains and body parts aswell as different types of old surgical equipment. We found out they injected wax into parts of the body to show the blood vessels. We also learnt about the two friends Burke and Hare that used to dig up graves for money. It seems though that they actually did not dig graves but just went straight to murdering people and selling the bodies for money. The guide was called Thomas and was excellent. He was very clear about everything, was enthusiastic about things, knew a lot and answered all our questions. My favourite part was looking through the old 3D goggles. The things I thought were not so good were seeing all the different brains and looking at the limbs and parts of the body with cancer in them. I found this quite gory. The attraction cost £3 for under 16 and it was £5 pound for over 15's. It was well worth the money because it was good to find out things I didn't already know. It took us about an hour and a half to have a look round things. The attraction would most appeal to tourists and basically new people to Edinburgh. Afterwards we went to the festival theatre for a hot chocolate - its much better than the hot chocolate from the last café!

Surgeons hall museum

Today the group went to Surgeons Hall. This purpose of the attraction is learn about the history of medicine. The museum is located at Nicolson Street in Edinburgh.

It costs £5 for adults and £3 for under 16 and concessions. 

When we were there we saw wax models of body parts and people. We learnt about Burke and Hare and about all the killing they did. They got away with it for a whole year before they were caught. The bit I found interesting was the war with all bullet injures and horrible the bullet wounds.  

Mary Kings Close

The group visited our first attraction in our programme of visits on Monday and the famous Mary Kings Close was first up. This is an attraction where you are taken on a tour of a warren of underground streets which have been preserved since the 17th Century when the City Chambers and Royal Mile were built on top of them. It brings to life the realities of life in the 1600's and tells stories of some of the ghostly goings on that have been reported down there. Tours last one hour and run every 30 minutes in the Winter. The group was quite large with about 20 people on the tour. We thought this was probably a bit too large as not everyone could see everything and if you were at the back you could miss what was being said. At £7.95 for a child and £12.95 for an adult the group felt it was very expensive and a family trip for just 1 hour would cost over £40. Nevertheless, everyone in the group agreed the tour was interesting and informative and we learnt many facts and anecdotes about life in 1600's Edinburgh and the atmosphere and story telling made it easier to imagine. It was felt it was an easier way to learn that from a book. Most of us liked our guide as though he seemed quite glum at first this really hid a droll and dry sense of humour which kept us all entertained. He spoke clearly. The attraction does not rely on lots of special effects although the talking heads screens were felt to be effective. Some of our group found it scary in places such as the ghost story in the pitch black and visiting the shrine to the ghost of a young girl who died down there. Others felt it was not at all scary but was quite gory in that it described in detail some of the unhygienic and disgusting way of living in the 1600's. All in all most of the group enjoyed the attraction but felt it was only suitable for tourists visiting Edinburgh as a one off trip rather that people who live in the local area. Some felt it was a little boring. Most of us would not recommend the coffee shop we visited afterwards next to Garfunkel's, however, as the service was slow and the coffee cold. Next week Sugeons Hall!

Mary kings close

The Mary Kings Close tour was OK. I didn't really enjoy it that much but I did find a lot out that I never knew. For example, there was a doctor who lived in the Close 400 years ago that tested people for illnesses by tasting their urine! I found that quite disturbing but never knew that people though you could do medicine like that. It costs £12.95 for one adult which I think was very dear considering it didn't feel like it lasted that long. I also found it quite scary in parts with some of the information that was told. For example, at one point we were all sitting in pitch black and listening to a ghost story in a small room well under the city streets! I think the tour would appeal more to tourists because most Edinburgh people would already know most of the information. At the same time it's good for Edinburgh people too because we may have heard the stories but never seen the real life location. I found the part were we saw models of children/people dying from the plague very disturbing as I don't really like things like that. I am now sitting in a café attached to Garfunkels restaurant just up from Mary Kings Close drinking my hot chocolate which is very nice and hot.

My score out of a hundred for the scariness of this attraction is 80.

Mary Kings Close

Today we went Mary Kings Close. Right now we are in a coffee shop not far from the close attached to Garfunkel's restaurant.

The tour of the close lasted about an hour. I think the price is a little steep at £7.95 for a child and £12.45 for an adult but considering how much it must cost to keep the places maintained and safe for visitors then it becomes more reasonable. 

The tour was informative and some of the things I learned were;
That people lived on beer for liquids in the Close as water was too contaminated.
The different symptoms of two different types of plague. The Bubonic Plague was the one with the poison filled boils under the arm pits and in the groin. The Pneumonic Plague was the one that was air born and went for the lungs and had symptoms similar to anthrax poisoning. Bubonic had a survival rate of 50/50 and Pneumonic was 100% fatal.
That the size of a room for two family's then is the same size of my living-room now.

I thought the guide was quite good - he had a dark sense of humour which is what I liked about him the most and he was quite funny at times. I would recommend the attraction for tourists but not for kids under 7 or 8 though the lowest age range is 5 and the close dose not seems to be acssesable to the disabled. 

All in all I had a blast and would well recommend it. 

Jodie.

Mary kings close

We have just finished our tour at Mary Kings Close, Edinburgh. It is found on the High Street. The opening hours are from 1000-1700 on Sunday to Thursday and 1000-2100 on Friday and Saturday. The tour lasts one hour and costs:

Child = 7.95 (can not permit under 5 years old)
Adult = 12.95

The tour tells you about what it was like hundreds of years ago in Edinburgh and in the Close which is still preserved as it looked 400 years ago. The guide tells you about how people survived in these cramped, unhygienic conditions. In the tour you also see the way the houses are made and I thought they look a lot more like Caves than homes.

I thought the tour was OK but it was not scary.

Mary kings close

We have just finished our tour at Mary Kings Close and we are now at a coffee shop just up from the Close. It cost £12.95 for an adult and £7.95 for a child. The tour lasted 1 hour so I didn't think the was good value because it was only for an hour. It was interesting, however, finding out about the way people lived in1600 s. The rooms were all very small and had no windows you also had to do the toilet in a bucket and throw it out the window to empty it. I would recommend it to tourists because its very good for finding out facts about Edinburgh. Tea not so good though at Coffee Non-stop and I'd recommend you go elsewhere for something to drink.

What this course and blog is all about.

Beginning on the 3rd March 2014, a group of around 6 young adults (aged 15-18) from the Midlothian Routes programme will begin an investigation of Edinburgh's ghostly and gory sites. Over a period of 4 sessions we shall visit

• Mary Kings Close
• Surgeons Hall
• Mercat Ghost Tours 
• Edinburgh Dungeons.

Through this project the students will be working on developing their literacy skills in reading, listening, talking and writing. They will use this blog to post their reviews of each attraction and offer their thoughts and opinions on the audience and purpose of the attraction; its value for money; the content of attraction; the effectiveness of attraction; what they learned and whether they would recommend the attraction to others or not. These pieces will help them work towards their level 3 literacy qualification.

The blogs will be written in a nearby internet café so will feature advice and recommendations on the best stop for an after visit refreshment too!

We hope you enjoy reading about their progress and find the reviews useful!