ScotlandsPeople Centre
ENTRY
from £15
WHERE
Edinburgh
What it’s like
A search room for digging into Scottish family history through digitised records, booked by the seat rather than turned up to.
This isn't a place with a soft play corner or a gift shop trail. You book a seat, sit down with a screen, and work through digitised Scottish records and indexes tracing names back through the generations. If you've got an older child genuinely curious about where the family came from, or you're doing a school project on ancestry, this is the actual archive rather than a website version of it.
A full day seat is £15, and that's a proper working day, 9 till 4, Monday to Friday. You have to book online in advance, they don't take bookings or payments in person, so there's no wandering in on spec expecting a spot. If £15 for a day feels steep for a shorter visit, there's a free two-hour session every second Thursday from 2 till 4, walk-in only, one per person per month, no booking needed for that one specifically.
Cancelling is a faff worth knowing about upfront: seats are non-refundable, though you can move the booking to another date if you give at least 24 hours working day notice. If you need to bring a carer, they want that flagged at booking so it can go to seat R40 specifically.
This is a research room, not a day out with snacks and toilets planned around toddlers.
Facilities
Need to know
- Best for
- Best suited to older children or teens with a real interest in family history
- Booking
- Book a seat (£15/day for full day 9:00-16:00) in advance
- Bringing a carer? Book seat R40 specifically so there's space for them
- The free Thursday session isn't bookable, it's walk-in only and capped at one per person per month
- No in-person bookings or payments, everything has to go through online booking first
Plan your visit
Do we need to book ahead?
Yes, seats are booked online in advance and they can't take bookings or payments in person. The free Thursday sessions are the exception, those are walk-in only.
How much does it cost?
£15 for a full day seat, 9 to 4. There's also a free two-hour session every second Thursday from 2 to 4, one per person per month.
What if we need to cancel?
Day seats aren't refundable, but you can shift the booking to another date if you give at least 24 hours working day notice.
What are the opening hours?
Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 16:00, closed on public holidays.
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