Small enough to fit down a close.
Walking and food tours of the Old Town, Leith and Stockbridge, for ten guests at most. Eilidh and Tomasz have run them since 2016, in every weather.
Book a tour
See the three tours
Group size
Ten guests at most
Rain or shine
We go in any weather
Cancelling
Free up to 48 hours before
Close Company
High Street
Cowgate
The Royal Mile is a spine.
Off it, down both sides, run the closes: steep, stepped lanes between the tenements, some of them a metre wide.
Thirty people cannot fit down one.
A coach party queues at the top and hears half of it. Ten people stand together on the steps and hear every word.
So ten is our number.
On every tour, the walking ones and the eating ones. It is how we stop where the big groups can't.
Book a tour
Three tours, three parts of the city.
The Old Town by day, the port at lunchtime, Stockbridge after dark. Ten guests at most on every one, and any of them can be yours alone: see private tours.
The Closes
Eleven closes, two courtyards and a garden most people walk straight past.
The Old Town on foot, from the Mercat Cross down to the Canongate: who lived ten storeys up, who lived underneath, and how they all got their water.
“Eilidh took us down closes we had walked past three times that week. There were ten of us and we heard every word.”
Hannah, Bristol
When
Every day at 10am and 2pm, all year
How long
2 hours, about 2 km, a lot of steps, mostly down
Meet
The Mercat Cross, Parliament Square
£28
a head; ages 8 to 15, £14
Book The Closes
Six stops, six tastings and two drinks. Enough for lunch, and then some.
A food tour of the port with Tomasz, who cooked in its kitchens for ten years: a smokehouse, a fishmonger's counter, a bakery, a cheese shop, a deli and a whisky bar on the water.
“We came for lunch in Leith and did not eat again until breakfast. The smokehouse alone was worth it.”
Marcus and Jo, Glasgow
When
Thursday to Sunday at 11.30am
How long
3½ hours, about 2.5 km, step-free
Meet
On the Shore, Leith
£79
a head, with six tastings and two drinks
Book Leith
Leith, by the Mouthful
The Supper Walk
Three courses in three places, and a dram to finish.
An evening through Stockbridge and the New Town, with a glass of wine at every course. For over-18s.
When
Friday and Saturday at 6pm
How long
3 hours
Meet
St Stephen Street, Stockbridge
£95
a head, with the wine and the dram
Book the Supper Walk
Your own guide, on your own date.
Any of the three tours for your family, your friends or your team, on the day and at the time you choose.
The Closes
From £260 for a group of up to ten
The food tours
From £85 a head, for four guests or more
In your language
English, Polish with Tomasz, or Spanish with Lucía
Ask about a private tour
Six guides, all of them local.
Eilidh grew up in a flat off the Canongate and spent eleven years cataloguing the city's old records. Tomasz cooked in Leith kitchens for ten years before he started showing people round them. They started Close Company in 2016, and every one of the six guides lives in the city.
Eilidh Rennie
Started it. Walks The Closes.
Tomasz Nowak
Started it. Walks Leith, in English or Polish.
Lucía
Guides in English or Spanish.
E R
2016
T N
Old Town couples carved their initials and the year over the door of the house they built. We built a tour company instead.
Look for the amber umbrella.
The day before your tour we text you your guide's name and a pin for the meeting point. On dry days the umbrella stays shut, and the guide holds it up.
Anything else? Ring the bookings line.
0131 496 0418
What if it rains?
We go anyway. Half the Old Town is under cover if you know where, and the guide carries spare umbrellas. If there is an amber weather warning, we move you to another day or refund you in full.
How much walking is there?
The Closes is about 2 km in two hours, with a lot of steps, most of them down. Leith, by the Mouthful is about 2.5 km and step-free. Wear shoes for setts.
Can you cater for what I eat?
Yes. Every tasting has a vegetarian, a vegan and a gluten-free version, if you tell us when you book.
Can children come?
From 8 on The Closes, at £14 for ages 8 to 15. The Supper Walk is for over-18s.
What if I need to cancel?
Cancel up to 48 hours before your tour and you pay nothing.
Do the stops pay you to bring us?
No. We pay every stop full price, and nobody pays us to bring you.
Book a tour.
Choose the tour and the day. We confirm by email within the hour, between 9am and 6pm, with a link to pay. Cancel up to 48 hours before and you pay nothing.
Rather ring?
0131 496 0418
WhatsApp 07700 900418
hello@closecompanytours.co.uk
Request my places
Where we meet.
The Closes
The Mercat Cross, Parliament Square, beside St Giles'
Leith, by the Mouthful
On the Shore, Leith
The Supper Walk
St Stephen Street, Stockbridge
The day before, we text you a pin for the exact spot. The map shows the Mercat Cross.
Where we walk
Old Town
Leith
Stockbridge
New Town