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!