Edinburgh's dark and sinister side

The vaults give a glimpse into Edinburgh's murky past - and reports suggest they're haunted too. Frances Anderson visited them.

For years, tourists flocking to the capital for the world famous festival have been unaware of the ancient stories hidden beneath their feet. While the festival attracts record-breaking numbers of visitors annually, the city has another booming tourist industry.

It is the public's fascination with all things supernatural and macabre that has given rise to this expanding area of tourism in ghostly tours of the cities past.

Thousands are drawn to Edinburgh each year by the supposed spirits that haunt these underground caves forming a strange city beneath a city.

One of the most recent discoveries is the vaults located under the South Bridge. Discovered four years ago by property developer Norrie Rowan, and only recently made operational for tourists, there exists a perfectly preserved street, five high vaulted caverns, wine cellars and a multitude of ancient artefacts.

Rowan, a former Scottish international rugby player, excavated the vaults himself over a period of two years, uncovering a dark forgotten place which had been undisturbed for more than 200 years.

Since it opened, visitors have reported all manner of strange happenings.

But what do we know of the South Bridge vaults and how did they come about?

Once dark and inhospitable, today they lay bare the often unknown and fascinating social history of Edinburgh and contrary to their gruesome past, serve an important purpose to the city's past and cultural heritage.

Underneath the bridge's 19 enormous stone arches ...

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• By : Frances Anderson
• In : Best of Scotland
• Issue : 13
• Page : 58
• Words : 1,032