UPDATE: Due to the impact of Covid-19, we have postponed our regular programme of in-person events.

See our city and its most famous buildings in a new way, and meet the experts that make all the difference. We host events for our members throughout the year, and you’ll find information on the latest one here.

Join us as we take a walk in Sir Walter Scott’s shoes in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth.

Born on 15 August 1771 in College Wynd in the Old Town, much of Scott’s life can be traced through the wynding closes and streets of the city of Edinburgh. From his schoolboy days at the Royal High School, to the scene of the Porteous Riots from the Heart of Midlothian – join us as we walk in Walter Scott’s shoes.

ONLINE EVENT 19 AUGUST

In addition to our in-person tour, we are delighted to offer a complementary online event on 19 August. It’s the perfect accompaniment to our in-person tour – why not book both?

For more information about the online event, visit the event page here.

Tour details

• Date: Thursday 12 August 2021
• Time: from 4pm (tour lasts 1h 30 mins)
• Meeting point: no.25 George Square

GET TICKETS NOW

Join us online this summer as we explore what connects, and separates, Edinburgh’s oldest and most recent architectural masterpieces in the Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Featuring special guests Richard Murphy (New Filmhouse Edinburgh, Fruitmarket Gallery, Malcolm Fraser (DanceBase, Scottish Storytelling Centre) and Andrew Wilmot (Sugarhouse Close, Craighouse Campus) in conversation as we get to know Edinburgh’s early cityscape and architecture, and its most striking contemporary architectural additions via a virtual tour of the Old Town. Ticketholders for this event will also be able to put their questions to our guests in the exclusive Q&A.

This virtual event follows our in-person tour on 15th July (now sold out).

For more information about the online event and to secure your ticket, visit the event page here.

NEW MEMBER OFFER

New members will enjoy free entry to this virtual event. Become a member today from just £25 and join us on 22 July at no extra cost. New members will be sent joining information separately on the day of the event. This offer does not extend to the in-person tour.

Greyfriars Kirkyard is famous worldwide for the lasting impressions it makes on researchers and visitors alike. This conference celebrates the role of Greyfriars in shaping Scottish history, religion and architecture and shines a light on the site’s value to visitors today, captivated by links to Harry Potter, Greyfriars Bobby, and dark tourism.

Through a wide-ranging programme, the kirkyard’s past, present and future will be explored by leading academics, community researchers and heritage professionals.

At the heart of the discussion will be the question: how can the enduring appeal and value of Greyfriars be harnessed to create a sustainable future for this unique and treasured historic greenspace?

Details

• Date: Saturday 26 June 2021
• Start: 10am
• Venue: Zoom online (you’ll receive joining info in your confirmation email)

Register for free now via Eventbrite

Victorian Edinburgh was a melting pot of industry and people. New inventions created new work, attracting migrants searching for work and a better life. But while business owners watched their wealth grow, their underpaid and overworked employees lived in filthy, disease-ridden, overcrowded slums in the Old Town.

In 1865, Dr Henry Littlejohn – Police Surgeon, Crown witness in murder cases and medical advisor to the Scottish Poor Law authorities – published his Report on the Sanitary Condition of Edinburgh. His meticulous research produced penetrating insights into the links between poverty, employment and public health in Victorian cities. Described as ‘monumental’ in The Lancet, it had a significance far beyond the city of Edinburgh and Victorian society.

In our latest online event, Edinburgh World Heritage is delighted to welcome Richard Rodger, Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Edinburgh and co-author of ‘Insanitary City: Henry Littlejohn and the Condition of Edinburgh.’ Please join us as he explores the terrible slum conditions of Victorian Edinburgh and the extraordinary work of Dr Henry Littlejohn.

Details

• 6pm, Thursday 13 May 2021
• Zoom online

New member offer

New members will enjoy free entry to this event. Become a member today from just £25 and join us on 13 May at no extra cost. New members will be sent joining information separately on the day of the event. Become a member today.

Tickets on sale now via Eventbrite

Please join us for a fascinating evening as we explore the history of the World Heritage Site through the National Library of Scotland’s outstanding map collection, with Dr Christopher Fleet, Curator of Maps.

Tickets

Tickets are £4 for members and £8 for non-members.

New member offer

New members will enjoy free entry to this event. Become a member today from just £25 and join us on 28th January at no extra cost. New members will be sent joining information separately once your application has been received and processed – this can take up to 72 hours but links will always be sent in plenty of time for the event.

Tickets available now via Eventbrite.

Please join us for a celebration of the ‘heav’n-taught ploughman’ through poetry readings and a virtual guided tour of the places particularly associated with the bard from his time in the capital from 1786 to 1788.

Special guests include Scottish actors Derek Riddell (Shetland, No Angels), John Gordon Sinclair (Gregory’s Girl, Traces), Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (BA Actor) Neila Stephens, Twitter poetry sensation Miss Punny Pennie, and Dr Pauline Mackay, lecturer in Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow and and Associate Director at the Centre for Robert Burns Studies.

Tickets are £4 for members and £8 for non-members. Available now on Eventbrite.

New member offer

New members will enjoy free entry to this event. Become a member today from just £25 and join us on 28^th January at no extra cost. New members will be sent joining information separately.

Don’t suffer a blue Christmas, join Edinburgh World Heritage at home for the holidays with our special guests on Thursday 10th December. We’ll wish you a merry Christmas with mistletoe and wine through your screen (BYOB). Baby, it’s cold outside, so park yourself in front of the (virtual) fire and toast to a wonderful Christmastime with an evening of music, song, poetry and performance.

Whether you want a hippopotamus for Christmas or just your two front teeth, at Edinburgh World Heritage we’ll stop the cavalry to spend the evening in dulce jubilo with you.

Special guests include Alexander McCall Smith in the role of Mr. Charles Dickens, as well as soloists from St Mary’s Music School, and members of the choir of Old St Paul’s.

New member offer

New members will enjoy free entry to our Christmas event plus one free entry into our luxury raffle*. Become a member today from just £25 and join us on 10th December at no extra cost. New members will be sent joining information separately.

Tickets

Tickets are £5 for members and £10 for non-members and include entry to our luxury raffle*, drawn live on the night. Prizes include fine wines and spirits, paintings and an indulgent gift hamper.

Get tickets now.

*You may enter into the raffle as many times as you like by buying additional tickets to the event. Prize winners will be drawn by Edinburgh World Heritage. All decisions regarding prize winners are final. You will be contacted regarding the receipt of your prize via email within 5 working days of the raffle. You must respond to our email within 5 working days or we will choose another winner.