All-Star Guides
WHERE
Edinburgh
What it’s like
Four different guided walks round Edinburgh, from castle history to the darker stuff, on foot with a real guide instead of an audio track.
This is one outfit running four separate walks, and it's worth knowing which is which before you pick. Old Town Stories goes twice a day, morning and early afternoon, and sounds like the one to start with if you want the streets explained rather than just walked through. The Castle tour runs three times daily and does the obvious job of getting you round Edinburgh Castle with someone who actually knows what you're looking at, which beats reading the laminated signs yourself.
Edinburgh Dark History is the one to think about before booking with younger kids. It only runs in the afternoon and evening, at 3pm and 6pm, which already tells you it's aimed at an older crowd than the morning castle slot. There's no age guidance given anywhere, so it's on you to judge whether your eight-year-old is up for whatever "dark history" actually covers, or whether that's one for the babysitter and a date night instead.
The whisky tasting sits apart from the rest, obviously not one for the kids, but handy if you're splitting the group for an hour while someone else does a tour with the children.
All four run daily on a fixed timetable rather than needing you to hunt for a specific date, which makes planning round nap times or dinner reservations a bit easier. What none of the listings say is how long each walk actually takes or how big the groups get, so if pace matters to you with a toddler in a buggy, that's something to weigh up on the day rather than plan around in advance.
Plan your visit
What tours do they run?
Four: Old Town Stories, Edinburgh Dark History, an Edinburgh Castle tour, and a whisky tasting for the adults.
Is the Dark History tour OK for kids?
There's no age guide given for it, so you're judging that one yourself. It runs later in the day, 3pm and 6pm, which is a hint it's not pitched at toddlers.
What time do the tours run?
Old Town Stories goes at 10am and 1pm, the Castle tour at 10am, noon and 2pm, and Dark History at 3pm and 6pm. Whisky tasting is 3pm and 5pm.
Do we need to book ahead?
There's no booking link given, so turning up on the day for a fixed time slot looks like the way it works.
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