Edinburgh's HIDDEN Streets - The Real Mary King's Close

On Edinburgh's Royal Mile, you'll find the entrance to a network of abandoned streets, hidden underground. Mary King's Close is a sixteenth century street buried under the Royal Exchange in 1753.

The Real Mary King's Close is an immersive experience exploring the history of a network of closes hidden my time.

Follow my adventures as I travel through the landscapes and history of Scotland. I make quick, quirky and (hopefully) funny content about Scotland's past, people and scenery.

I look for the hidden stories, forgotten people and beautiful scenery of Scotland and try to find the funny in the darkness, obscurity and occasional absurdity of our history.

Follow my quest on social media:

Instagram: @scotlandunplugged
TikTok: @scotlandunplugged

Equipment used:

Filmed on Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Follow my adventures on social media:

Instagram: @scotlandunplugged
TikTok: @scotlandunplugged

[markshrimpton]

I lived in Edinburgh from the late 1970s until about 1990. I had a friend who worked for Edinburgh City Council’s Estates Department and it was she who told me about this close underneath the City Chambers. This was long before it became an official attraction. I went down there twice equipped with a reliable torch because only the rooms off the main close had no illumination. Now of course it’s a major tourist attraction.

[sharonm]

Incredible that all this was able to be preserved and the history of it is able to live on. What hard times that must have been and can’t imagine the suffering. Excellent video Robert, really enjoyed it. ❤❤

[heatherjones]

Definitely something to put on the must see list. Through Lucy's Lens focuses on English museums and historical sites that reproduce ordinary people's lived history. I recommend her channel to those who enjoyed this episode. These sites mean a lot more to me than palaces.

[cheryl]

This is great history. Thank you Robert, enjoyed it very much!

[siobhanpauley]

Went today and it was a brilliant experience. You’ve done a great job with the video highlighting many of the important parts of the tour.

[LindyLogan]

What an excellent episode! Thanks, Robert!

[lorifromtemeculaca]

Thank you for the tour, lad, it was fascinating! Thank you to mary kings close organization as well, for creating such great visuals & letting the filming be done... ;-)

[robertamity]

Very Cool Scotland Unplugged, 👍😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿/🇺🇸 !

[KQChrissie]

How fascinating!
I have to say, it really revives my hope for humanity, seeing that pile of toys for Annie. Just goes to show people do care when they know they're needed.

[skp]

It always good to see a new Scotland Unplugged video has been uploaded.

[annebell]

Excellent episode. Brought back memories. Done the tour and yes, left a little dolly for Annie. It was fantastic to see again. Many thanks 🙏💛💯💯💯💛🙏

[BJones-ywdd]

Thank you, Robert! I visited Scotland in 2014 in search of my ancestors, who date back to King Malcolm Canmore & good Queen Margaret and I absolutely loved it -- I actually toured Mary King's Close twice because I found it so interesting. But the tour guides and printed info (as good as they were) were not able to convey certain things, so I greatly appreciated your insights as well. Thanks for taking me (us) back there! Kudos to you as well, that you were able to prove your worth as a YouTuber and proud Scotsman so thoroughly that they allowed you to film down there. <Hat tip.>

[Stover]

My older brother and I 12 days in your beautiful city in May of 2023. I found the close network that is above ground very intriguing and very useful. I really want to someday return. What a beautiful country you have. I loved the video. It provided a much better understanding of the history and purpose of the close network.

[nenaelliott]

Thanks Robert. I found this so very interesting. I can't begin to imagine what the streets were Lik to walk through when the townspeople where emptying their chamber pots out the windows... Much less the odor. . ... We were taught about the Black plague in elementary school.. it would have been a horrible time to be alive that's for sure.
Please keep up the awesome work I love to hear you tell your tales.
Wishing you and yours a very very Merry Christmas 🎄🎁❤

[Raineyluwho]

As always, this was an amazing video. Love your content. ❤

[frankgellenthin]

Thanks Robert! Makes me appreciate our 21st Century lifestyle even more. You did a wonderful job describing wjo and what is down there.

[Feline_Frenzy]

Oh Robert, I want to visit so badly !!! Thank you.

[irene]

I used to work above the Close. It's entrance was in what was then The City Architect's Dept within the City Chambers. A room at the top of the Close was used to store old records, and apart from some junk the rooms were empty. It is now tarted up like a creepy Disney version of itself. However, it is worth a visit.

[janetmackinnon]

Thank you for showing this--I was always interested in Mary King's Close, but I'd never never go underground!

[ladyliberty]

Thanks Robert❣️ just sitting down to watch - been to Edinburgh and know of these streets but never went down- can’t wait to see it🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✌🏼