Location: Edinburgh
Top Things to do in Edinburgh
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What to do and see in Edinburgh, Scotland: The Best Cemeteries
Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city, renowned for its heritage, culture and festivals.
Take a long walk around the centre to explore the World Heritage Sites of the Old Town and New Town, as well as all the area’s museums and galleries. Then stop for a delicious meal made from fresh Scottish produce before heading out to take in one of Edinburgh’s many events — including the famous summer festivals of culture, or the Winter Festivals of music, light and ceilidhs.
Restaurants in Edinburgh
1. Cramond Kirk
2. Corstorphine Old Parish Kirkyard
3. Greyfriars Kirk
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,399 reviews
Welcome to Greyfriars Kirk, a church, historic building and event venue in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town. We are a welcoming, inclusive community, and respond to local needs in a variety of ways. The Kirk is a major venue for the arts and classical music, a tourist destination and through the Grassmarket Community Project, a supporter of Edinburgh's most vulnerable citizens. Our Kirkyard boasts, among many others, the graves of Joseph Black, James Hutton, Mary Erskine and most famous of all, Greyfriars Bobby. In addition, it also house the grave of a certain Tom Riddle - J K Rowling's inspiration for the character of Lord Voldemort. Opening hours shown are for the summer months (April to October).
Reviewed By 237tedm - Scottsdale, United States
Greyfriars Kirk is a very peaceful, beautiful place, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The cemetery itself has an interesting past, in that at one point it was a pit where plague victims were anonymously buried. There are several very old tombstones, and several family crypts to view. If you enjoy strolling through peaceful, old-world cemeteries, you will love this place.
4. South Leith Parish Church
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10 reviews
Reviewed By Margo7850p
South Leith Parish Church can be found in the heart of Leith in Edinburgh . South Leith Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is the principal church and congregation in Leith, in Edinburgh. It stands just beyond the foot of Leith Walk and is surrounded by a large graveyard which is a very quiet place in such an urban environment. The graveyard is the burial place for the playwright John Home and John Pew. You can find here a large number of 19th century gravestones , some 18th century stones with memento mori carvings and a big family of squirrels.
5. Dean Cemetery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 26 reviews
Reviewed By weekak - Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Dean cemetery is in a beautiful location near Dean village but is a bit of a hike uphill. This is a huge cemetery with lots of influential, important, interesting people like Elsie ingles, John Bellamy, Henry Cockburn, Agnes Henderson Brown, people involved with Queen Victoria, people involved with William Burke are all buried here and many more. It is worth doing a bit of research beforehand to find out exactly who is buried here and seeking them out. I wish there was a map or something as a guide, I visited at least 5 times, in search of specific memorials and still haven't found them all but there are beautiful interesting monuments but it's the ones that don't necessarily stand out that are worth seeking. There are no toilets that I could see in or around Dean cemetery so I was always on a mad dash to Princess street to find a loo, sometimes having to cut my visit short which was frustrating. But if your into historical graveyards, this is a must see.
6. Greyfriars Kirkyard
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 786 reviews
Reviewed By johnnyjohn68 - Cumbria, United Kingdom
Visited the Greyfriars cemetery as part of our underground ghost tour, We had an ideal night for it as it was a cold, clear, full moon lit night. As someone who doesn't scare easily I must admit that there is a spooky feel to the place, good for fans of Harry potter as the school that Hogwarts is based on is right next door to the cemetery and you can see several of the names used for the characters such as Tom Riddle.
7. Crichton Collegiate Church
8. Colinton Parish Church
9. Old Calton Burial Ground
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 83 reviews
Reviewed By 750dimitrisl - Sydney, Australia
We came across Old Calton Burial Ground when we were on our way to visit Calton Hill. And we were glad we did because it proved to be so very interesting as it was full of history. It is the burial ground of many important, and not so important, personalities of Scottish history. It includes philosopher David Hume and scientist John Playfair, as well as such monuments like the Political Martyrs' Monument, an obelisk erected to the memory of a number of political reformers, and Scotland's American Civil War Memorial. It also includes as statue of Abraham Lincoln!
10. Queensferry Parish Church
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