John Knox House
BEST FOR
Ages 7+
ENTRY
from £1.50
SETTING
Indoors
WHERE
Edinburgh
What it’s like
A wonky old High Street house turned trail of Scottish tales, from Greyfriars Bobby to the Gruffalo, with free art on the side.
This one's more storytelling trail than museum lecture. Kids go hunting for Greyfriars Bobby, catch the frog, meet Nessie, and bump into the Gruffalo and Wee Willie Winkie along the way, with snippets of Robert Louis Stevenson read out as you go. There's a dragon's nest and a time capsule to spot too, so it rewards kids who actually look at the walls rather than just walk past them.
The site puts the age at 7 and up, and that tracks. It's a genuinely old building on the Royal Mile with narrow stairs and low ceilings rather than a purpose-built kids' attraction, so a toddler is going to find it a slog while a seven or eight-year-old with a book of Scottish folk tales in their head will get a kick out of the hunt. There are free exhibitions from Scottish and international artists on top of the permanent stuff, which is a nice bonus if you catch a good one.
Money-wise it barely registers: £7 for an adult, £1.50 for a child, £5.50 concessions. That's cheap enough that you could pair it with something pricier elsewhere on the Mile and not feel it. It's open 10am to 6pm every day with last entry at 5pm, no booking needed.
The café does the practical bit properly, hot drinks, light breakfasts, hearty lunches and home-made haggis dishes from The Haggis Box. Parking is on-street pay-and-display around High Street, Jeffrey Street and the surrounding streets, or the multi-storey at St John's Hill if you'd rather not hunt for a space. Worth knowing it's shut on the 9th and 27th of November for renovation work, so check that's not your date.
Facilities
Need to know
- Best for
- 7 and up; younger kids may find the old stairs and trail a slog
- Last entry
- 5pm
- Parking
- Pay-&-display on nearby streets (High Street, Jeffrey Street, St Mary's Street, Niddry Street, Blackfriar's Street)
- Food
- Café serving hot drinks, light breakfasts, hearty lunches, afternoon coffee, home baking and Scottish haggis dishes from The Haggis Box
- Aimed at 7 and up rather than younger kids, given the old building's stairs and low ceilings
- Free exhibitions from Scottish and international artists run alongside the permanent trail
- Closed Monday 9th November and Friday 27th November for renovation work
- Last entry is 5pm even though the house is open until 6pm
Plan your visit
How much does it cost?
£7 for an adult, £1.50 for a child aged 7 and up, £5.50 for concessions.
Do we need to book?
No, there's no booking required, you can just turn up between 10am and 6pm.
Is it suitable for a toddler?
It's aimed at children 7 and over. It's an old building with stairs and narrow bits, so it suits kids who can walk and follow a trail rather than a buggy-age toddler.
What is there for kids to actually do?
They hunt for Greyfriars Bobby, catch the frog, meet Nessie and the Gruffalo, and listen to bits of Robert Louis Stevenson's stories as they go round.
Is there somewhere to eat?
There's a café on site doing hot drinks, light breakfasts, lunches and haggis dishes from The Haggis Box.
Where do we park?
There's pay-and-display on the streets around the house, High Street, Jeffrey Street, St Mary's Street and others, plus a multi-storey car park at St John's Hill.
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