The Gothic tower hiding 64 literary secrets and Edinburgh’s best views from the top

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Most visitors photograph it from Princes Street, nod appreciatively at its Gothic drama, and walk on. The Scott Monument deserves better than that. One of Edinburgh’s most distinctive landmarks, it is also one of the few places in the city where you can climb inside a Victorian masterpiece and emerge, breathless, into the full Edinburgh skyline.

What is the Scott Monument?

The Scott Monument is the world’s largest monument dedicated to a fiction writer. Standing 61 metres tall in Princes Street Gardens, it honours Sir Walter Scott – the Edinburgh-born author who gave the world Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, and the Waverley novels.

Construction began in 1840 and finished in 1846. The design came from George Meikle Kemp, a largely self-taught architect who spent years studying Gothic cathedrals across Europe before submitting his plans under a pseudonym. He beat established architects of the day with a design so striking that it still stops people in their tracks nearly two centuries later.

Look closely at the exterior and you will find 64 figures tucked into niches around the structure. Each one represents a character from Scott’s novels – a hidden literary gallery wrapped in sandstone, slowly darkening above the gardens.

The tragic architect who never saw it finished

George Meikle Kemp’s story is one of Edinburgh’s saddest. A carpenter’s son who taught himself architecture by sketching every cathedral he could reach, Kemp spent years in obscurity before his Scott Monument design was selected from a competition he entered under the pseudonym “John Morvo” – a medieval mason he admired.

He never saw it completed. On a foggy evening in March 1844, Kemp lost his footing near the Union Canal and drowned. The monument he had devoted years to opened two years later – a masterpiece without its maker.

Inside the base, a white marble statue of Scott sits with his favourite deerhound, Maida, carved beside him. It is a quietly moving sight – the great storyteller, immortalised in stone, pen in hand, dog at his feet, exactly as he reportedly worked at his home in the Borders.

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The climb and what waits at the top

For a small admission charge, you can make the ascent through four viewing galleries. The staircases grow narrower and steeper with each level. The topmost gallery is reached after 287 steps.

It is not for the faint-hearted or the claustrophobic. But the reward is one of Edinburgh’s finest panoramas. Princes Street stretches east and west below you, the Castle rock rears up to the south, the Firth of Forth glints to the north, and the Georgian rooftops of the New Town spread out like a map.

On a clear day, you can see across to Fife. On a moody Scottish afternoon, the clouds scud past at eye level and Edinburgh looks every bit as dramatic as you hoped it would.

When to visit

The monument is open most days year-round, with last entry times varying by season. Morning visits tend to be quieter, and early light falls beautifully on the gardens below. Avoid peak summer afternoons when queues can form.

Combine your visit with a walk through Princes Street Gardens – especially in spring when the tulip beds are at their best – and then follow the Water of Leith walkway north towards Stockbridge for a full half-day in the city’s green heart. The Scottish National Gallery is also just a few minutes’ walk through the gardens.

Little-known details to look for

• The monument is built from Binny sandstone, which has darkened to near-black over the decades, giving it that brooding look that defines Edinburgh’s skyline.
• Kemp entered under a pseudonym and beat professional architects who had never considered him a rival.
• The marble statue inside was carved by sculptor Sir John Steell, who also created the equestrian statue of Wellington on Princes Street.
• Visitors who complete the full 287-step climb receive a small certificate – a tradition that delights children and quietly satisfies adults.

How many steps does the Scott Monument have?

The Scott Monument has 287 steps to reach the topmost gallery. There are four viewing platforms at different heights, each connected by increasingly narrow spiral staircases. Most visitors manage at least the first two galleries.

Is the Scott Monument free to enter?

There is a small admission charge to climb the monument, which includes access to all four galleries. Princes Street Gardens surrounding the monument are always free to enter and well worth a stroll whatever the weather.

Who was Sir Walter Scott?

Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) was an Edinburgh-born novelist and poet widely regarded as the father of the historical novel. His works – including Waverley, Ivanhoe, and Rob Roy – shaped how the world perceived Scotland. When he died in 1832, the loss was felt across Europe. You can explore more of what makes Edinburgh feel like a storybook city in our dedicated guide.

Edinburgh built its most distinctive tower not for a king, a general, or a conqueror, but for a storyteller. Climb it and you will understand exactly what this city thinks of its own imagination.

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