From Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace, the Royal Mile is lined with historic buildings and tourist kitsch.
Buskers and banners don’t point to Writers’ Museum.
This surprising travel find sits under a dignified bronze sign that modestly proclaims the entrance to a place that features the timeless brilliance of three Scottish literary giants: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. The sign itself might qualify as an understated work of art.
Here you can peruse first-edition manuscripts and rare books. You’ll also see the Ballantyne printing press used to put out Scott’s original Waverley novels. Treasures Stevenson collected during his world travels are on display here, and Burns’ original writing desk also is preserved.
For those who are serious Burns fans, there is even a plaster cast of his skull, which according to the museum’s website, “is one of only three ever made.”
A bit over the top? Perhaps, but it does serve to demonstrate the serious attempts here to preserve these literary giants for future generations to experience.
The Royal Mile is one of the more pleasant and informative walks a visitor to Europe can make. Most everyone spends at least some time at Edinburgh Castle, the city’s majestic landmark perched atop Castle Hill. Outside the entrance, the Royal Mile descends to the Palace of Holyrood House, which is the Queen of England’s residence during Royal Week each year and a site with historic roots 900 years in the making.
Along the route, among the many souvenir shops, pubs, and coffee stands, you’ll also find travel gems such as the Scottish National Gallery, John Knox House, and St. Giles Cathedral.
All of these places command much more attention than the Writers’ Museum. But it is an example of a travel find you’re likely to miss if you don’t simply run into it, as I did on the way to these other places.
The museum occupies Lady Stairs House, a 17th century landmark near Edinburgh’s Lawnmarket. Unlike some other historic structures, modern conveniences such as elevators and ramps were not built into this edifice. The Edinburgh Council, which maintains the museum, does offer an Accessibility Guide. Potential patrons learn the step counts to enter various rooms, and are warned about sections with low lighting.
Rooms often are decorated with period artwork and Scottish music appropriate to the literary periods also is offered.
The museum does offer more than a shrine to three great authors. It also recognizes the work of many other Scottish writers from present day back as far as the 14th century.
Makars Court is an adjacent outdoor public space featuring flagstones honoring these gifted authors. It’s described as “an evolving national literary monument” that features noteworthy quotes from these key figures.
For those of us who have not pursued scholarly study of these authors, or even read many of their works, the museum is still worth an extended stop on any journey down the Royal Mile. The curators have done an excellent job of presenting life stories — the back stories, if you will — of the famous storytellers.
Best of all, no admission fee is charged for the visit. Contributions are always welcomed, but not required.
At this writing, the museum has been closed for more than a year due to pandemic-related concerns. But operators say they are “looking forward to reopening” and as yet do not have a date to share for that event.
When things open up, it also might be worthwhile to visit two other small museums administered by the Edinburgh Council. The Museum of Edinburgh features “Iconic items, beautiful objects, fascinating facts and gruesome tales” within a 16th century building. Another sister site just across the road, known as The People’s Story, presents the life of everyday Scottish citizens from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Like Writers’ Museum, these two also offer free admission and can be found under modest, blink-and-you’ll-miss-them signs.
If You Go