The Writer's Museum- Edinburgh

When my boyfriend and I were planning our Christmassy trip to Edinburgh I had one place I wanted to visit that was non-negotiable. 

The writer’s museum... predictably. 

The Writer’s Museum is located in Lady Stair’s house, hidden through a ginnel along the Royal Mile (I have no idea if the Scots call them ginnels) Lady Stair’s close. You walk through the dark alleyway leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the Royal Mile and a little square opens up in front of you.

Each of these alleyways have a plaque on them explaining their history. When looking at them we found one particular square called Chalmers Close. This close acted as a soup kitchen in the 1800s feeding upwards of 100,000 people. This has nothing to do with the writer’s museum specifically but a fun fact we found on our travels.

The writer’s museum was essentially a mansion where each of its 3 floors are dedicated to a revered Scottish writer. It has been open to the public since 1913.

On the ground floor you learn all about the famous Robert Burns. For those who don't know he is the man behind the new year’s classic Auld Lang Syne. He is also the reason for many years my dad would cook us Haggis Neeps and Tatties on 25^th January and sometimes attempt to read poetry in a Scottish accent. Burns Night! I highly recommend you celebrate at least once even if it is just an excuse for a whiskey.

The upper floor is dedicated to Walter Scott; we are told within the Burns exhibition that Scott was an admirer of Burns when he was younger, there is even a beautiful painting to illustrate the same. Of the authors on display at the museum, Walter Scott is the one I knew the least about. Even looking through the vast number of works he has produced I cannot say I am particularly familiar with any of them. He is known for the Waverly novels which are said to be among the most popular and widely read novels in Europe, clearly they have passed me by.

Despite our lack of knowledge of Scott, we did discover something pretty cool about the house itself. As I was walking up the winding stairs to the second floor I tripped. When I got to the top by boyfriend was laughing at me. I didn’t think much of it until he explained. Above our heads it said… watch your step, the 11 step is uneven, this was to alert those in the house of intruders. Forget your ring doorbells and fancy alarm systems a staircase with one uneven step is all you need to alert you of an intruder.

Last, but certainly not least, the basement level is dedicated to Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Whilst I was aware he had written both, it is mad to think the range of story telling style between those two novels alone. There was a lot in this exhibition about the author’s time spent in Burma. It got us thinking about the level of wealth the author had come from to allow him the privilege of travelling to somewhere as far afield as Burma at that time.

We really enjoyed the experience; it was fun to see the strange things people collect and preserve- for example each of these famous men had a lock of hair preserved as part of their displays. I struggle to fathom the ability to preserve a lock of hair for in some cases 230 years.

My personal favourite discovery was in the entrance to the museum there were smaller exhibits dedicated to more modern Scottish writers. It was here I discovered Naomi Mitcheson a Novelist and Social commentator, and the author of Travel Light I was drawn in by the funky portrait of her by Greg Moodie. I even asked if I could take a picture of the write up that went alongside the portrait because I was so interested, only in my haste, I have taken a picture so blurry I cannot read the accompanying words. She was a woman who wrote so much she had lost track of how many books she had written and was writing well into her nineties. She was a passionate creative and activist, incredibly inspiring.

Portrait by Greg Moodie

I will always be the first to tell people they should visit museums when they go somewhere new. They are the best. I think this one is a particularly good one and is just a stones throw away from all the touristy tartan on the Royal Mile and is well worth the visit!