Edinburgh town walls

Edinburgh’s town walls stretch across the Old Town, marking the limits of the medieval royal burgh. Built in stages from the 12th century, the earliest walls were simple defences, later replaced by stronger stone structures. The King’s Wall, ordered by James II in the 15th century, ran along the Royal Mile’s south side, reinforced by property boundaries. The Flodden Wall followed in the 16th century, built after the Scots’ defeat at Flodden Field, enclosing the Grassmarket and Cowgate. A third wall, the Telfer Wall, extended these defences in the early 17th century, though none of the original gates survive today. The walls were never strong enough to stop invaders but served as trade barriers and tax checkpoints. They controlled smuggling and marked the burgh’s limits, with the Netherbow Port acting as the main gateway between the High Street and Canongate. The Flodden Wall enclosed nearly 57 hectares and enclosed a population of around 10,000 by 1560. Archaeologists have found traces of the King’s Wall further south than once thought, pushing its boundary down to the Cowgate. Visitors today can still trace parts of the walls along the Royal Mile and Cowgate. Sections of the Flodden Wall remain near Greyfriars Kirkyard and the Potterrow area. A surviving bastion marks the south-west edge of the defences, while the path of the walls can be followed along Drummond Street and the Pleasance. The walls once framed the burgh’s limits, now blending into the city’s streets and history.