Greyfriars Kirkyard Cemetery Edinburgh

the cemetery adjacent to Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, which is one of the most famous and historically rich burial sites in Scotland. It holds a great deal of significance both for its historical context and its association with Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal dog. One of the most iconic features of Greyfriars Kirkyard is its association with Greyfriars Bobby, the Skye Terrier who famously guarded the grave of his master, John Gray, for 14 years following his death in 1858. The dog’s devotion became a legend of loyalty, and in 1873, a statue was erected in his honor just outside the cemetery. Bobby’s grave is located within the kirkyard, and many visitors to the cemetery make a point of visiting his memorial to pay tribute to the dog’s famous devotion. Location: Greyfriars Kirkyard is located near George IV Bridge in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, close to The Royal Mile and Greyfriars Bobby’s statue. It’s a short walk from major Edinburgh landmarks like Stirling Castle and the National Museum of Scotland. • Opening Hours: The cemetery is typically open to the public every day, and you can visit at any time to explore the historical graves and monuments. While it’s free to enter, guided tours are available that provide deeper insight into the history and legends associated with the site, including the Covenanters, Greyfriars Bobby, and the Mackenzie Poltergeist. • Tours: There are guided walking tours of Greyfriars Kirkyard that explore the haunted history of the cemetery, the Covenanter graves, and the story of Bobby. These tours are especially popular among those interested in the paranormal or those looking to delve deeper into the history of Edinburgh. • Access: As a cemetery, Greyfriars Kirkyard is a peaceful, reflective place, making it a great stop for history enthusiasts, those interested in Scottish culture, or anyone who appreciates Victorian architecture and gravestone artistry.

If you like cemeteries, this is an absolute must. Despite not being huge, the place feels monumental. Every grave tells a story, and many of the tombstones are genuine works of art. It’s historic, majestic, and quietly powerful. You walk a few steps, stop, read something fascinating, repeat. One of my favorite graveyards anywhere in the world, and that’s not said lightly.

A beautiful and atmospheric place filled with history. Peaceful, slightly haunting and perfect for a quiet walk while exploring Edinburgh’s past. Definitely worth a visit.

One of Edinburgh’s most atmospheric places 🏰. Greyfriars Kirkyard blends beauty, history, and legend — from the touching story of Greyfriars Bobby 🐾 to the graves said to have inspired Harry Potter characters ⚡. Peaceful paths, old tombstones, and a special charm make it a truly memorable visit. A must-see when exploring the city. 🌧️✨

A must visit if you’re a fan of graveyards. The space is beautiful and historic. I encourage you to read up on some of the history and their inhabitants before going. There’s more to this graveyard than the Harry Potter references.

Greyfriars Kirkyard is a fascinating and atmospheric historical site in the heart of Edinburgh. The cemetery is rich in history, with beautifully aged gravestones and monuments that reflect centuries of Scottish heritage. Walking through the kirkyard feels peaceful yet mysterious, especially with its historic surroundings and unique architecture. It’s a meaningful place for those interested in history, literature, and local legends. A quiet and memorable stop while exploring the city, offering a different perspective on Edinburgh’s cultural and historical depth.

Lovely peaceful place to visit. Didn’t find the place spooky at all. Was a calm and relaxing place to have a wander.

Known as the most haunted graveyard in the entire world, this 400-year-old resting place has played a role in many of Edinburgh’s most important historic chapters. Today, however, this graveyard is most famously known for a little dog that’s buried here, called Greyfriars Bobby. It’s a story that will melt your heart. Greyfriars Kirkyard is a large graveyard that surrounds the historic Greyfriars Kirk. Kirk is the old Scottish word for a church. It’s was established as a burial area during the reign of Mary Queen of Scots. Ever since then it has seen over 100,000 people buried here! They were called Greyfriars as they wore grey robes – hence where the Kirk and Graveyard get their names! The most famous grave here is actually not that of a person but of a little Skye Terrier dog. His name is Greyfriars Bobby! As well as Greyfriars Bobby, fans of the Harry Potter books flock here in droves every year. a lot of people know that The Elephant House Cafe was a regular haunt for J.K.Rowling and is now known as the “birthplace of Harry Potter”. this graveyard is only a short walk away from the café! So, it’s not too farfetched a theory to think Rowling strolled through here. Although she has never admitted it, it seems as though she was inspired by the names of tombstones in the kirkyard and ended up using them in her stories! So, you’ll recognize many famous characters on the tombs like Potter, McGonagall, Moodie, Charles Black, and even Tom Riddle

Greyfriars Kirkyard is a must for anyone who is a history geek or an adventure seeker. We went several times, in the daylight to be able to read all the graves and signs, and in the middle of the night to see if it felt any different. There are many fun tours that have guides for all experiences-you will see them congregating at the main entrances. Or go on your own, like we did. In the daylight hours, you can see just how old and massive the gravestones are. If you do your research before you go you will be able to see the Harry Potter marked stones, the old Flodden Wall that marked the edge of the city, graves with "cages" on top to keep out grave robbers, and even the "Covenanters Prison" area where poor souls were held standing out in the elements until they died. In the dark the Kirkyard takes on a completely different feel, as there are no lights, and its difficult to find your way around. Be brave and film yourself walking around, but always be quiet and respectful. You may be surprised after to see what was walking around in the dark!

**March 2024: Friday Afternoon Visit** If you're a big Harry Potter fan many of JK Rowlings characters are based off many characters in this cemetery including McGonagal, Black, and Riddell (Riddle) among others. It's free to enter and you can even take a photo next to the grave that inspired Tom Riddle or better known as Lord Voldemort! It definitely look a lot like the grave scene in JK Rowlings Goblet of Fire book. Now if HP is not your fandom, Greyfriars Kirkland is also home to Greyfriars Bobby, a terrier who was known in the 19th century for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he himself passed. The story continues to be a welll known Scottish tale and a prominent statute stands near the entrance. If you're a tourist Greyfriars Kirkyard is a cool place to walk around!

I love old cemeteries. I know NOTHING about Harry Potter but Tom Riddles' Grave is here. Character inspiration from father or son? They are both buried in the same spot so who knows. This is a beautiful cemetery. There is an excellent chance to see the Flodden Wall here. The I tension of the wall was to protect the city. You can also see a good example of cages over graves to deter grave robbing.

When walking around old town Edinburgh, my daughter mentioned that the grave of Tom Riddle (of Harry Potter fame) was close by. Of course Volderm... er...Tom is a fictional character, but the story is that JK Rowling wandered GreyFriar's Kirkyard many years ago to be inspired for some names in her novels. Close enough for me. Being a fan, I insisted we go. (My daughter is a mega-fan, so she didn't mind one bit). We ended up wandering around a little since she couldn't quite remember the exact location (On our random tour we also spotted the name McGonnagall). Eventually my daughter's spidey-sense tingled, and we came upon Tom's grave, or at least a Thomas Riddle that died in November, 1806. Here's the part where I should mention that I've always liked graveyards; I find them fascinating and not at all creepy. If you're a weirdo like me, this is a great one to visit. It's dripping with history. It has graves dating back to the 16th century; and one border wall used to be part of the Edinburgh town wall. Plus it's a gorgeous setting on sloping ground, with mature trees and views of the castle. Next time I'm here I will probably splurge for a tour, just to get a more in-depth history beyond what we could read on the signs. Until next time, Tom.

We came through Greyfriars Kirkyard during our walking tour and our guide did a really great job at setting the scene and providing the history of the area and the graveyard. It is located on the southern edge of Old Town and burials have been taking place here since the late 16th century with a number of them being notable Edinburgh residents. It's estimated to have over 700 gravestones and nearly 100,000 people buried here. Our guide noted it's probably closer to 200,000, but no one knows for sure. One of the more fascinating stories were of Greyfriars Bobby - the loyal dog who guarded his master's grave for 14 years. Bobby's headstone at the entrance to the Kirkyard marks his burial place. It is also said that J.K. Rowling, who penned her first book at The Elephant House, just steps from the graveyard, took inspiration from the tombstone names for characters in her Harry Potter novels. Thomas Riddell ring a bell, anyone? It's a lovely graveyard (really, it is) and I loved the history and seeing tombstones hundreds of years old.

If you are into old cemeteries, then this is the spot for you. Of course, when visiting be sure to pay your respects. This was the final destination of my historic walking tour and as a result was able to spend some time reading the gravestones while learning about some of the grave robbing that took place.

There is so much history to Greyfriars Kirkyard that it's an absolute must if you're going to be in Edinburgh. It can be a bit tough to navigate if you don't have a tour guide, but we encountered three tour guides while there. It was a good way to get up to speed on who was buried there, and where JK Rowling got inspired.

Come here when you have the time. Even the young ones were amazed by the stories told on surrounding tombstones. It seemed like it would be frightening but it was so stimulating and addicting. You wanted to know about each person. It was humbling. We found 400 year olds tombstones, some of which had only photos of an anchor or a couple of carved pictures into stone or granite, which were left to tell the story of a human life. We stopped here for a minute, passing by, but ended up spending a couple of hours here. I wish I had days to spend. I adore viewing Scotland's rich history but even more so, the artifacts that aren't modernized and renovated. This place is untouched and frozen in time. Jaw dropping stories are told from our history!

American Tourist here. Let's be honest, if you are visiting this cemetery while on vacation in Edinburgh you are either a Harry Potter fan or.... a fan of cemeteries? I'm the former. It feels weird reviewing a cemetery as there's really not much to review unless you have dealt with them before? As in you had someone buried here... Anyways, the grounds is pretty beautiful and maybe worth a stroll through even if you ain't looking for Tom Riddells grave. Personally i'm from a culture where cemeteries aren't really a place you have "fun" at..it's purely a place to honor the dead so I felt awkward even taking photos here.

Lovely Victorian looking cemetery, was a nice walk! It was mentioned in various places on the internet that this is where JK Rowling got some of the names for the characters in her Harry Potter books, but we didn't see any familiar names! But still a nice place to walk with some beautiful tombs.

A famous graveyard for more than one reason. Not only is it the resting site of Greyfriards Bobby and his master, but it is also where JK Rowling would wander around to get inspiration for names to use in Harry Potter! She actually got the name Tom Riddle from the tomb Tom Riddell.

What a lovely little cemetery. We knew this was a landmark to find, esp with the Harry Potter connections. We walked around trying to find all the characters- and had fun (yes...that's kind of dark for a graveyard), but it was like a magical scavenger hunt! We found McGonagall, Tom Riddle, Mad Eye Moody and a few others... Honestly, the staff seemed over all the HP people coming in, but can't blame them, I bet we're all pretty annoying. We did happen upon a tour and the guide was so into his stories and wished we had budgeted enough time to listen to him, maybe next time. Also on the way out we saw Greyfriars Bobby!

Really interesting spot to visit in the old town section of Edinburgh. Spooky fun is to be bad here as you wander around the ancient grave sites in this old cemetery. Be sure to check out the beautiful Greyfriars Kirk as well. Just note that if you want to take pictures inside the church, you'll need to cough up £2. Otherwise it's free. I enjoyed visiting here and it's a nice free activity to do. Especially creepy to come when it's foggy outside. Recommended.

I actually visited this place a number of times, and small wonder, as it has a perfect mix of being gorgeous and inspiring numerous picnics during the day, and being spooky and disturbing as the sun sets. There is so so much history here. I'd very much recommend the City of the Dead tours, which give you a phenomenal brief history of Edinburgh and comprehensive history of the kirkyard - and notably, the covenanter's prison, an early concentration camp. Chilling. Notably, they have the ability to bring you into the prison itself, where hundreds of Covenanters perished. Really quite something. Also worth noting that JK Rowling spent a lot of time wandering this very kirkyard, and herein you'll find the tombs of Tom Riddle, McGonagall, Lupin, and half a dozen other Harry Potter characters. It's a delight to wander this area and look for the graves - and also check out the school beyond it that inspired Hogwarts! Also - you'll find some remnants of the Flodden Wall - the ancestral Edinburgh city walls. So much history in one place. Cannot be missed!

Worth stopping in for about 20 minutes to explore the grounds. Unfortunately, Harry Potter hunters have overrun certain areas requiring conservation interventions with unsightly construction cones and taped off areas in addition to makeshift walkways to reduce trampling of the grass around specific gravestones. It's growing popularity has put a strain on this beautiful graveyard.

We just walked thru the cemetery and church yard and viewed the numerous tombstones and of course, the little dog's grave. It's an interesting piece of lore that has become quite famous. We also saw several HP walking tours go by since apparently JK Rowling got some of her character names from people buried there. It's a very busy and touristy cemetery seemingly in the middle of busy Edinburgh. Worth a stop, esp if you're a Harry Potter fan.

Greyfriers kirkyard is such a lovely, peaceful place to visit, to relax and take a stroll around taking in the sights. It is a place with a lot of history with homages to the infamous Greyfriers Bobby and his master Auld Jock as well seeing where JK Rowling got her inspiration for Harry Potter. I think there should be more signage around the kirkyard of places of interest and things of interest and possibly have the grounds and stones better maintained as it is very hard now to read the inscriptions on the headstones and in some places there was rubbish lying around and made the place look untidy. The tour guides Willie and George were very helpful, very informative and went out their way to ensure you got the most out of your visit. I think the gift shop could be better structured perhaps with a till and possibly expanded but all in all, a fantastic day out at Greyfriers kirkyard.

It's not everyday I find myself wanting to walk around a graveyard (kirkyard), but since we were in town with friends visiting from the states and had just touched the nose of wee Greyfriars Bobby the wee pup who apparently stood by his owners grave after he died until his own death. Obviously after that story, we had to see where he was buried and the rest of the kirkyard. Luckily we had a gorgeous day on the day we visited, so it made the walk quite enjoyable. My friend is a lover of architecture so he was snapping pictures left and right. Even though there were loads of people walking about on group tours or even alone enjoying a packed lunch, this kirkyard, like most, I assume, was quit peaceful. I wouldn't necessarily want to eat my lunch in a graveyard, but I guess there's no place better to go if you want to get away from the world and just be left alone. This is one of those been here done that kind of places, so unless we have more visitors who wants a nice historical walk through a graveyard, I probably won't be coming back. That's not to say that it's not beautiful and chock full of history, but that's because I'd rather be out with the living enjoying life.

We popped in here after reading about JK Rowling's apparent inspiration for names used in the series. It was pretty interesting to walk around and we listened in on a few of the HP tours going on to hear more details. If you are lost looking for the famed graves, you should easily find someone in a cloak with a wand you can follow. There also seemed to be quite a few locals just basking in the sunshine between the graves.

I already find cemeteries beautiful and interesting, so the fact that this one has a Harry Potter association meant that we were definitely going to check it out. As we entered, there was a cute little statue of a dog, Greyfriars Bobby. This infamous little pup was a Skye terrior known for "guarding" his owners' grave for years and years (I read 14, somewhere). I'd heard of dogs doing such things, but I hadn't actually heard of Greyfriars Bobby. The monument to this pup was a fountain erected in 1872 and placed opposite the entrance of the church. The grave commemorating him reads: "Let his loyalty's devotion be a lesson to us all." Which I absolutely love. Beautiful and well-maintained, this Kirkyard includes some interesting things. There's a Culinary Herb Garden planted with Lovane, and what looked like Sage and Mint, among other herbs. I like the idea that they saunter to the garden and snip off a few pieces here and there. You'll also see renovated bars over graves to deter grave robbers from selling bodies to the anatomy schools during the 1800s. And of course grave markers bearing the last names of Riddle and McGonagall, which any Harry Potter fan will find familiar. Though Rowling has never overtly admitted to being inspired from the kirkyard, it's known that she would frequent the café and this kirkyard, so it's very probable she was inspired by their names. It took us a while to locate the Riddle and McGonagall graves, which are beyond Flodden Wall (which was used as a wall to control trade and tax, though I think the original intent was as a defensive structures). At any rate, it's an interesting medieval wall, and it's imbedded with headstones. But how badass would that be, to be buried beneath an ancient wall, with your headstone affixed to it? Tom Riddle's (senior) headstone is on it. He died November 1806, aged 72, and he shares a headstone with Thomas Riddle Jr. who died at 26 years old in 1802, and his two daughters. Next to that stone, the Riddle lineage continues with other members of the Riddle clan. And in that same area, tucked away into a corner, was William McGonagall. "I am your gracious majesty/ever faithful to Thee,/William McGonagall, The Poor Poet/That was in Dundee." And this is one of those graves that actually bares a small black and white photograph of the deceased. McGonagall was known as one of the worst poets in English literature, which I find absolutely charming.

HARRY POTTER FANS READ THIS REVIEW!!! If you are staying anywhere near the Royal mile, this place is not far from you. Make sure you go to the front entrance which is near Grayfriar Bobby's Bar. We tried going through the side on Candlemaker row but the gate was locked. That is not the front entrance! Anyway, if you're reading this review you want to know where the tombstones of JK inspiration came from, right? As soon as you walk in you'll see a sign with names on it. Look closely and you'll see names from Harry Potter. Once you're done taking a picture there continue onto the right side of the church. Continue straight until you get to Flodden Wall. Go under the archway and continue straight to the very end. The last plaque on your left is McGonagals site. The plaque is very small and up high. Now backtrack toward that Flodden wall and turn left right before you exit the wall. You will find Thomas Riddles tombstone on the right-hand side. It's almost down towards the bottom. It is very small and tiny but it is on two big plaques next to each other. I hope those directions help!! Even if you're not a HP fan, I would recommend coming to this graveyard. It is considered one of the most haunted graveyard's in the world!! Good luck and enjoy!

So this is an interesting place to explore. Myself, this was part of my homage to the Harry Potter series where J K Rowling supposedly found the names for some of the characters within this graveyard. The grave sites are well maintained and given how old some of the sites are, truly beautiful in a dark and sad way. Again, not a must-see, but if you're around the area you'll likely stumble upon the graveyard and its well worth exploring.

This church yard really has it all - history of grave diggers and poltergeist, a loyal dog and a J K Rowling reference too! I was lucky enough to wander with a tour guide who showed us a grave for a "Thomas Riddle" as well as some other graves with names familiar to any Harry Potter series reader. I think def read up on the history of the church or get a tour as would be hard to fully appreciate this church otherwise.