Mercat Tours
Tour operator · Old Town ·
Explore Edinburgh's historic underground vaults and closes
Explore Edinburgh's historic underground vaults and closes
"Construction on Edinburgh’s South Bridge was completed in 1788, and it soon became a bustling shopping street for those passing between the Old Town and the university. While crowds of people tramped atop the bridge, an underground world flourished in its shadows. The bridge’s 19 arches housed various vaults and chambers originally used by the businesses that lined it. Cobblers and smelters used the subterranean spaces as their workshops, merchants stored their excess goods out of sight, and even the pubs served patrons drinks in the lower-level chambers. But these legal businesses did not last long. In as early as 1795—not even a decade after the vaults opened—the shops began to abandon the vaults. The bridge hadn’t been properly sealed, leading to frequent flooding. The cold walls grew damp and musty, and insufficient ventilation made spending time in the dank chambers rather uncomfortable. Once the original businesses moved out, a seedier crowd took over. Brothels, gambling pubs, and unlicensed distilleries flourished within the labyrinthine spaces, tucked out of sight of the above-ground world. Its believed body snatchers even used the cool, dark vaults to store corpses. The rooms also served as housing for Edinburgh’s poorest residents, who crammed into the tight spaces. Entire families packed into the windowless chambers. There was no running water or sanitation, and disease ran rampant. It has been estimated that there were somewhere around 120 of these dank and dingy vaults. Each capable of holding up to 20-30 persons. This would have put the population living in these squalid conditions around an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants. In the mid-19th century, the vaults were filled with rubble and sealed to displace those who dwelled within them. They remained forgotten until the 1980s, when the subterranean hub was accidentally rediscovered. Today, you can book a tour of the vaults and experience this once-forgotten part of Edinburgh’s history firsthand. You’ll traipse the uneven terrain, illuminated only by flickering candles and the occasional burst of light from a handheld torch. The vaults are rumored to be among the city’s most haunted spaces, adding to the unnerving atmosphere." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"If I could only do one ghost tour while in Edinburgh, I'd go with Mercat Tours: they offer over half a dozen different ghost tours, including tours in the haunted vaults, the graveyard, and through the Old Town, and they’re the only company in the city that offers vault tours during the day. They also run tours in French and German, tickets start at 22 GBP, and they clearly know their stuff." - Matthew Kepnes
"I recommend Mercat Tours; it's a family-owned company that specializes in touring the vaults beneath the city — a labyrinth of tunnels first used as storage and workshop space in the early 17th century — and it's the only operator offering vault tours during the day. They run adult-only tours that include the infamous Canongate graveyard, and they also offer vault tours designed for kids. Tours start at 20 GBP." - Matthew Kepnes
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