Robert Louis Stevenson’s Edinburgh Trail: The University Years
About the Tour
This walking tour takes you on a journey through Robert Louis Stevenson’s university years, when he readied himself for a career as a writer instead of following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a lighthouse engineer.
We’ll explore Edinburgh’s Gothic Old Town, which has a dark side that inspired some of Stevenson’s best loved writing. We’ll end the tour at Canongate Kirk where Scotland’s three great Roberts – Burns, Fergusson and Stevenson – became forever connected.
Your narrator is John Shedden, one of Scotland’s legends of the stage and screen who also helped with the design of the tour. The multi-talented Vincent Guy is the voice of Stevenson reading snippets from his writing.
Stevenson eventually left Edinburgh, never to return. But he was forever inspired by his memories of home.
On this tour, you can look forward to hearing about:
- Stevenson’s brief career as an advocate
- The inspirations for Dr Jeykll and Mr Hyde
- Stevenson’s views on Edinburgh and its weather
- The inspirations for The Deacon Brodie and Body Snatcher
- The inspiration for Long John Silver from Treasure Island
- Stevenson’s connection to Rabbie Burns and Robert Fergusson
This tour is part of a series of walks around Edinburgh dedicated to the life of the celebrated author. You can find the others by search under Edinburgh or by selecting my author profile and seeing all my tours there.
Tour Producer
Martin White
The walking tour was devised by Martin White. Martin is a native of Edinburgh, now lives near North Berwick and promotes the story of Robert Louis Stevenson’s time in the Lothians. He even attended the same school and University that Stevenson attended. He is the President of the European Cultural Route In the footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson, which includes a range of trails and locations in Europe. He is a regular contributor to the Biennial Stevenson Academic Conferences to which he has contributed on Edinburgh and East Lothian, especially North Berwick, and on other aspects. He is a member of the Committee that runs the RLS Club, which exists to promote Stevenson across the world. Using his expertise on interpretative exhibitions he curated and designed the permanent exhibition about Stevenson in the Coastal Communities Museum in North Berwick.
He created and runs the website www.mrrls.com which provides a great springboard for people to enjoy the Stevenson story in the Lothians. He has also created a widening range of audio performances, for example, developing a specialism in ’ imaginary conversations’, sometimes between Stevenson and other leading authors of his time, including Mark Twain and Henry James. He has produced these with professional actors and sound studios, and even across continents and in French.
Preview Location
Location 1
Advocate's Close
I am John Shedden, your guide for this little slice through the young life of one of Scotland’s Greatest Writers, Robert Louis Stevenson.
I travel not to go... Read More
How VoiceMap Works
Major Landmarks
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St Giles Cathedral
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Parliament Square
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Greyfriars Kirk
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The Old College Quad at Edinburgh University
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The old Royal Infirmary
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Canongate Kirk
Getting There
Route Overview
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Start locationEdinburgh EH1 1ND, UK -
Total distance2km -
Final location153 Canongate, Edinburgh EH8 8BN, UK -
Distance back to start location739.23m
Directions to Starting Point
Begins at Advocates Close, on the Royal Mile directly opposite St Giles Cathedral
Tips
Places to stop along the way
St Giles Cathedral, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh University
Best time of day
Daytime is best.
Precautions
The area is safe. Be careful when crossing roads.
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