Town Walls
Location: Remnants around the edges of the Old Town
Parts of the old walls, which at one time marked the boundaries of the town, still survive in Edinburgh. These gated walls were built between the 12th and 17th centuries as defensive structures, and were also used as checkpoints for taxing traded goods as they entered the burgh. The three main walls were named the King’s Wall, the Flodden Wall and the Telfer Wall. As the city began to expand outwards in the mid 1700s, the walls were taken down or absorbed into new structures. Today, you can visit small remaining sections around the edges of the Old Town.
The King’s Wall was the oldest of the three walls, and very little survives of it today. However, you can still find sections of the Flodden Wall and Telfer Wall around the city. Known locations include in Greyfriars Kirkyard, on the Vennel Steps and at The Pleasance. Signs have been added to some prominent sections, and there are also a few plaques and markings in areas where the wall once stood.
5 things to do at the Town Walls
- Pop into Tweedale Court, an alley off the Royal Mile, to see what is believed to be one of the last remaining sections of the King’s Wall.
- Climb the Vennel Steps from the Grassmarket to see the only surviving tower on the Flodden Wall.
- Find sections of the Flodden Wall and Telfer Wall in Greyfriars Kirkyard.
- Visit the site of the Netherbow Port on the Royal Mile, which was one of the main gated entrances in the walls. Brass markers in the road show where the port once stood. Nearby, at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, the port bell and an original plaque from the Netherbow are incorporated into a modern building.
- Go to the Museum of Edinburgh to see a model of 16th‑century Edinburgh, showing the alignment of the town walls at the time.
