Self-Guided Tours in Edinburgh

Two of Edinburgh's self-guided routes work the Old Town spine, from the Castle esplanade down the Royal Mile past the Hub, Grassmarket, Greyfriars and St Giles to Canongate Kirk and Calton Hill; a third leaves that spine entirely for Stockbridge, the quieter New Town district along the Water of Leith. The highlights walk takes the spine as an overview, a loop that also passes the Scott Monument and the Royal Scottish Academy. A Gothic mystery route reworks the same closes after dark, casting the walker as a night watchman with his dog investigating repeating crimes near Greyfriars Kirkyard. The Stockbridge route turns Circus Lane, Inverleith Park and St Bernard's Well into a love story instead, well outside the old spine the other two share.

The highlights walk and the Gothic mystery are both puzzle formats, clues released stop by stop with no time limit; the highlights loop is the longer of the two at close to three hours, the Gothic route shorter at about an hour and built as a scripted case rather than a sightseeing list. The Stockbridge route is styled as an outdoor escape game instead, a tighter love story built for two rather than a family, at just over an hour. None of the three comes with a guide or a booked start, and each costs about the price of a round in an Old Town pub.

Practical. Edinburgh's summer rarely clears 19C, and the wind off the Forth cuts through a light jacket even on a sunny day, so a proper layer matters more than sun protection at any time of year. The Gothic route reads best once the Old Town's closes fall into shadow, which happens well before full darkness this far north; an early evening start beats waiting for midnight. Cobbles and steep closes make trainers a better call than anything with a slick sole on the two Old Town routes; Stockbridge's streets are flatter and gentler underfoot. None of the three needs booking ahead.