St Mary's Cathedral
The tallest structure in Edinburgh is not the castle — it's a Victorian church with three spires in the West End.
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Sir George Gilbert Scott's 1879 Gothic Revival cathedral is one of only three in the UK with three spires (the others are Lichfield and Truro). The whole project exists because two sisters, Barbara and Mary Walker, bequeathed their Drumsheugh Estate site to the Scottish Episcopal Church. Their names live on in stone above Palmerston Place.
What to look for
- The main spire at 90 metres — the tallest point in the Edinburgh urban area
- The two west spires completed in 1917, officially named "Barbara" and "Mary" after the Walker sisters whose bequest made the cathedral possible
- The Chapter House, added in 1880, just one year after the 1879 consecration
On Palmerston Place in Edinburgh's West End; Category A listed and part of the Old Town and New Town UNESCO World Heritage Site.
St Mary's Cathedral is one of 28 sights worth the detour in Edinburgh, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Edinburgh pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Edinburgh
- Edinburgh CastleAttacked 26 times over 1,100 years — research calls it the most besieged place in Great Britain.
- Holyrood PalaceScotland's working royal residence since the 1500s — the actual rooms where Mary, Queen of Scots lived are open to walk through.
- The National (Scottish National Gallery)Since 1912, two near-identical neoclassical buildings have stood side by side on The Mound — visitors have been walking into the wrong one ever since.
- National Museum of ScotlandDolly the sheep, one of Elton John's extravagant suits, and a Victorian cast-iron hall — all under one free roof on Chambers Street.
- Murrayfield StadiumScotland's largest stadium opened in 1925 with a Grand Slam win — 70,000 people watched it happen.
- St Giles' CathedralA prayer book read here in 1637 caused a riot that sparked a rebellion pulling three kingdoms into war.