Free Volunteer-led Guided Tours of Warriston Cemetery (Self-guided tours with maps also available). Saturday 26th September only.

Doors Open Days 2026 at Warriston Cemetery

Visitors can explore Warriston Cemetery as part of a volunteer-led guided tour. Notable graves, Victorian funeral practices, local history and biodiversity projects will be discussed. Friends of Warriston Cemetery volunteers will also be on-site taking part in our regular workday activities and can demonstrate and instruct visitors on some of our techniques. Tickets are required for our volunteer-led tours, with a maximum of 20 visitors per tour. (Tickets are free.) Meet at the "Red Lady" tomb.

Alternatively, visitors may take self-guided tours with free maps, at anytime between 10am-4pm, no tickets or pre-booking needed. Look for our volunteers at the "Red Lady" tomb.

The Friends of Warriston Cemetery group was set up in July 2013 to care for the first garden cemetery in Edinburgh. Opened in 1843, the cemetery was in private ownership until 1994, when it was compulsorily purchased by the City of Edinburgh Council following years of abandonment. Together the Council and the Friends are working to restore the 9+ hectares of heavily overgrown cemetery, seeking a balance between family/public access and biodiversity and wildlife protection.

Please note:

The entire site is outdoors. Please dress appropriately for the weather.

There is no access from the Warriston Crematorium side.

There are no public toilets at Warriston Cemetery.

While some of the site is wheelchair accessible, most paths aren't paved, some paths are narrow and bumpy, and inclement weather may make them muddy.

Description supplied by the event organiser.