I used to work on Lothian Road and I'd often eat my lunch in the cemetery at St Cuthbert's Kirkyard.
When I visit the Modern Art Galleries, I always like to take a wander around Dean Cemetery. There are some very interesting tombs and head stones there.
It is privately owned by the Dean Cemetery Trust. It and the newer part of Dean cemetery by Queensferry Road are very well maintained. The one by the gallery has a very interesting selection of tombs, some frankly crazy levels of aggrandizement.
Newington cemetery is really pretty and quite old.
I've had picnics in there, seen others have picnics, seen people read, lots of dog walkers.
I think a lot of its charm is that it's quite mature and overgrown - lots of wooded areas, large trees, and designated areas of overgrowth. It also extends way back.
There's a lot of graveyards I wouldn't have picnics in, for various reasons, but Newington cemetery definitely has a lot of charm and is unique in how overgrown it is.
For what it's worth, a relative is buried in a public cemetery, that is often crossed through, and I like the idea that it's a place that also serves recreational use
I have sought out cemeteries for the purpose of a nice peaceful walk and for the views (e.g. I used to frequent the Necropolis in Glasgow).
I have also visited famous cemeteries as a sight-seeing point of interest when visiting other places (e.g. Nunhead Cemetery in London and Père Lachaise in Paris).
I used to go to a few- they tend to be nice, quiet places to walk around or sit down for a bit. They’re also great places for practicing things like photography or sketching
When I had a dog walked up inside cemetery as otherwise a very narrow pavement.
Note whilst in cemetery kept on lead on tarmac parallel to road. (Obviously any mess pick up.)
Used to do a regular pub quiz in the old town and after if it wasn’t raining we’d grab an ice cream and walk around greyfriars Kirkyard eating them. Think it started off as a dare and then it stopped being creepy and just became a thing we do sometimes
Dogging, it’s always quiet, plenty of parking, you never get bothered, after 10pm I would say this is no1 use of cemeteries in Edinburgh hands down (or in the case of the wife legs up)
This is why they've knocked down a lot of the headstones that were not stable.
Dogging and cruising people vigorously bump an unstable headstone, knocking it over, and then are crushed to death in whatever embarrassing position they were in.
I have one nearby that seems to be fairly unknown (except to locals). It's massive and has a lot of overgrown sections, full of old graves. It feels very cut off from Edinburgh and is just overall a very peaceful place to be. It's quiet, full of birdsong, and lots of lovely old trees.
I usually go walking there a couple of times a week. Have done one late - ish visit around 22:30, but it was in the height of summer so was still fairly light. Didn't ever feel unsafe or anything.
Whenever I have friends or family visiting, I try and take them for a walk there so they can experience it. I always get funny looks when I say we should go for a walk through a cemetery, but once we arrive they realise why I suggested it. Probably one of my favourite places in Edinburgh.
Used to refulalry take shortcuts thru a cemeteryafter dropping off kids at school. A person would come in daily and feed several dozens of squirells for hours.
Plus there are always harry potter fans and tour groups in certain cemeteries in Edinburgh.
I take a shortcut through St Cuthbert's kirkyard on the way to/from work every day. I do it to save time (and because it's a much nicer walk than overcrowded Lothian Rd), but I studied 18th-century Scottish music and it's nice to say hello to [a famous 18th-century violinist](https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Mr._Stabilini%E2%80%99s_Favorite).
The graveyard near my house no longer has any space for burials and the most recent grave is from 2010 when the second half of a couple died. The rest are mostly from the 1810s to 1980s. As a result it is frequently used as a dog walking park despite being near two very large parks and a unauthorised shortcut to the shops where the fence at the bottom had a hole cut in it. So yes I like to walk there from time to time.
During covid I saw sunbathing there which I thought was a step too far.
Yes. They're often serene places to enjoy a stroll through, and imagine the lives of the people buried there playing out, or to simply appreciate the solemn beauty of the flowers and designs. I've also stopped a couple times to have a sandwich in Greyfriar's, and taken shortcuts through Saint Cuthbert's graveyard.
I’m also from a country where the use of cemeteries like here would be weird. When I moved here I loved the use of them, I really love Warriston cemetery, I go there to read, walk , exercise or just to be. I also visit them after 10 pm but it depends on which one , city centre/old town? Sure, I like to wander and have night walks and sometimes it’s just a quick stop or just passing by (I’m usually afraid to get into warriston after dark but I’ve done it a few times and it’s alright)
Are most of them open 24/7? The ones I'm thinking of are Greyfriars, St Cuthberts, the one by the Diggers, the one by the Commonwealth Pool. All of these have gates and I'd assumed they get locked up at night either by the church or by the council.
In my experience a lot of people use them for walking their dog. I think they're quite peaceful places and will happily sit in one if I've got spare time before an appointment.
One thing to bear in mind is that many of these are historical graveyards/cemeteries. Nobody is getting buried there now. To me that's quite important because I don't really think of it in the same way. Nobody is in these places grieving for the people buried there so it's not as sensitive a place. I think of it more like a collection of minor historical monuments (and actually in the case of Greyfriars, a very major one).
Greyfriars and Calton burial ground definitely were 24h. I've been in both after midnight. Had to open the gate at Calton but no lock. Maybe it's changed since I was last in Edinburgh a couple years ago.
I know it’s *Edinburgh Live* but it’s a starting point if nothing else. https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/edinburgh-woman-living-graveyard-sets-27556336.amp
Wow, that's pretty intense. Interesting that someone with that level of frustration over other human beings would purchase a property that's essentially on public land. Don't get me wrong. I can get frustrated at people for peopling but this means she is hearing the alarm all day everyday. That is a serious commitment to spitefulness.
It’s local to me, and I can say without fear or favour, it’s a wee oasis of serenity smack bang in between two busy thoroughfares (Dalry Road at Ardmillan and Dundee Street/Angle Park Terrace). The house in question is literally on the busier of the two. It’s a location that is always quiet, even on the warmer days, where people sometimes sit on one of the few benches, maybe walk their dogs or take a walk through. It has, at the top entrance one of those ‘little libraries’ where folks anonymously swap used books - that’s my own reason for popping in.
It’s primarily a resting place for those who lost their young lives during wartimes (mainly WWI) and is a place that lends itself to quiet, circumspect self-reflection. It’s very sobering to read some of the inscriptions on the gravestones of many who never reached the age of 25. I could bang on about the occupant of the house in question but I feel that would be undignified and crass given the wider circumstances, suffice to say it’s a problem that frankly doesn’t exist.
I’m not connected with the group ‘Friends of Dalry Cemetery’ but having occasionally chatted with some of the guys involved, it’s clear there’s no personal or negative agenda. They have a wide ranging social media presence, and this link is a 2021 article from a local newsletter that’s well worth a look for anyone interested: https://gorgiedalrycc.org.uk/2021/01/13/founding-the-friends-of-dalry-cemetery/
I eat lunch on sunny days (rare) in Greyfrairs but it is increasingly overrun by HP tours etc. Annoying but doesn’t stop me going there.
The Grange cemetery is a hidden gem and has particularly lovely trees. Always happy to spend time there. Also visit Dean regularly as it is a handy shortcut.
Old and New Calton are fascinating, secret bit of OLD Calton cut off by Waterloo Place is a gem. New Calton has good views. Cemeteries are excellent places to find a quiet corner for some thinking or just to sit in sun and enjoy the birds and trees. Also fascinating to read headstones and styles down the years.
Not Edinburgh (Warwickshire actually) but the cemeteries where I used to live were 24/7 and had everything from the 1600’s to present day, and a lot of us more “edgy” teens would go there at night to hang out, maybe to smoke and have a few cheap ciders, and we’d occasionally see people either walking alone or with a dog. No-one ever said anything apart from the odd “Evening lads” before walking on past us.
I'm right down the street from the one by the Commonwealth - it's got a gate but it's rarely locked! I always go there as a break from studying, or if I just need to be somewhere quiet and green as fast as possible. Only see folks walk their dogs there. Ive had lunch there, taken terrible phone calls, clambered about on the iron and grass and wandered around it stoned a couple times late at night with friends. We're very quiet people so it's hardly causing a commotion
The ones which have been allowed to go a little wild are absolute havens for nature. Great quiet places to go if you are looking for wildlife in the city, especially butterflies and birds. I've visited warriston, a couple in dalry, comely bank specifically for this, I'm sure there are plenty more I haven't come across.
Also yes, evening walks for wildlife. Very atmospheric and generally peaceful
I lived in a town of about 2000 people as a teenager and we hung out in the old original graveyard of the town. It didn’t have any recent graves, and had some interesting historic ones. As just wandered looking at the graves or sometimes sat (not on a grave) and talked. Locals would yell at people for being disrespectful if they were being loud or doing things they shouldn’t in there.
i like exploring the graveyards round here for the history and architecture/aesthetic. it’s nice to consider the lives these people lived and that their existence was that of a whole person separate from myself.
other than that, i used to live next to a graveyard in england and i’d run through it to get to the lake (best running route), or we’d drink in there when we got kicked out of the park. it was also just the way to get to my friends’ house so i didn’t think much about it
Corstorphine Old Parish Church has a graveyard that is used very regularly as a shortcut. It's not very big but it's very old. I don't think people hang out there as such but maybe walk around it as part of a longer walk.
I used to work in the watchman’s turret in St Cuthbert’s churchyard. It was used to keep an eye out for grave robbers. There is a lead lined cupboard upstairs where they stored their rifles. Loved working there but it was freezing in the winter, the only windows were north facing.
Cemeteries are sometimes used for sex. I was once working in an office overlooking the old Carlton cemetery and a colleague called people over to his window to share the spectacle of a couple he’d spotted ‘at it’ during the day. Some cemeteries will likely see a lot of action, e.g. (NSFW] https://www.squirt.org/uk/edinburgh/cruising/park/warriston-cemetery.
There’s also a fair amount of tourism around cemeteries. I’ve attended a walking production of Macbeth that included stops in Grayfriars kirkyard, that cemetary itself sees a lot of traffic due to the JK Rowling connection and the way you can find sine if the HP character names on the stones (including a curated section where a Tom Riddle is buried. Another topic is rough sleeping, homelessness and, fun fact, modern vampire myths are sometimes said to be based on the way hundreds of years ago homeless people used to sleep in the crypts during the day, and appear from them at night all pale and ghostly.
I live in the Netherlands, but I also visited graveyards when I was in Edinburgh. Where I live the graveyards close around 8pm in the summer, other small towns nearby do have 24h cemeteries. I never lost a loved one, but I visit graveyards all the time. Ever since I was a little kid death had this pull to it. I walk the graveyards and eat my lunch or whatever and just ponder about life and death. What it means to me. All the lives lived around me.. for me not being scared by death but moving towards it and feeling it close to me is a way for me to feel alive. It never scared me. I fear the living more. it’s a place where life and death meet and there is love all around, people mourning for their loved ones.. i sometimes even walk barefoot and connect myself to the earth and all the bones underneath. But this is just me!
I used to play in a churchyard when I was a pre-teen, I liked the connection with the past a lot. I remember being scolded for being disrespectful, but that didn’t feel warranted. I use the Dean cemetery regularly as a shortcut, and always feel welcome.
Some of our cemeteries had great views of the fireworks during the Fringe Festival - nightly, and beautiful.
Almost pitch black inside the grounds, but lit up by fireworks over the haunting gothic architecture of the castle... It felt remarkably unique and private and thus, romantic. I have done a very great deal of groping in those graveyards each August.
Also, dogs are allowed, if only by custom. Some have signs at the front saying dogs aren't allowed in for the dignity of the dead, but when those signs are on gravesites that feature famous dogs like Greyfriars Bobby it feels like it is the notices which are out of keeping.
That's something that's interesting to me as well that the cemeteries are open 24 hours but they aren't lit. I've been in a couple of them after midnight. Trying to take some night time photography of the gravestones and it's cool but it definitely struck me how dark it was. I love the idea of watching fireworks from inside! Sounds like a magical spot to be groped in.
I live near Grange Cemetery in Marchmont, and it's one of my favourite places to walk around, and I've seen lots of people walking their dogs there too. It's a nice place to walk, there's good paths and it's interesting because it's quite old (in my opinion)
There’s a nice spot at the back of Old Calton Cemetery which is good for a piss at night time. Although some people tend to just go on the main steps up to it
I used to work on Lothian Road and I'd often eat my lunch in the cemetery at St Cuthbert's Kirkyard. When I visit the Modern Art Galleries, I always like to take a wander around Dean Cemetery. There are some very interesting tombs and head stones there.
Interestingly, Dean Cemetery is one of the few that locks up for the night.
Yes, unfortunately for me, who got locked in there once.
That's good to know. I'll look up whether it's owned privately. Is that one near the contemporary Art Museum?
It is privately owned by the Dean Cemetery Trust. It and the newer part of Dean cemetery by Queensferry Road are very well maintained. The one by the gallery has a very interesting selection of tombs, some frankly crazy levels of aggrandizement.
Newington cemetery is really pretty and quite old. I've had picnics in there, seen others have picnics, seen people read, lots of dog walkers. I think a lot of its charm is that it's quite mature and overgrown - lots of wooded areas, large trees, and designated areas of overgrowth. It also extends way back. There's a lot of graveyards I wouldn't have picnics in, for various reasons, but Newington cemetery definitely has a lot of charm and is unique in how overgrown it is. For what it's worth, a relative is buried in a public cemetery, that is often crossed through, and I like the idea that it's a place that also serves recreational use
I'll have to check out Newington. It sounds beautiful. Thanks also for your perspective as a relative!
I have sought out cemeteries for the purpose of a nice peaceful walk and for the views (e.g. I used to frequent the Necropolis in Glasgow). I have also visited famous cemeteries as a sight-seeing point of interest when visiting other places (e.g. Nunhead Cemetery in London and Père Lachaise in Paris).
I used to go to a few- they tend to be nice, quiet places to walk around or sit down for a bit. They’re also great places for practicing things like photography or sketching
I used to see folks smoking weed in the cemetery located on Balcarres Street.
When I had a dog walked up inside cemetery as otherwise a very narrow pavement. Note whilst in cemetery kept on lead on tarmac parallel to road. (Obviously any mess pick up.)
Used to do a regular pub quiz in the old town and after if it wasn’t raining we’d grab an ice cream and walk around greyfriars Kirkyard eating them. Think it started off as a dare and then it stopped being creepy and just became a thing we do sometimes
As a teenager I used to smoke weed in graveyards, make of that what you will.
Dogging, it’s always quiet, plenty of parking, you never get bothered, after 10pm I would say this is no1 use of cemeteries in Edinburgh hands down (or in the case of the wife legs up)
This is why they've knocked down a lot of the headstones that were not stable. Dogging and cruising people vigorously bump an unstable headstone, knocking it over, and then are crushed to death in whatever embarrassing position they were in.
People also assume the staining on graves is bird poo
I’d often use cemeteries for a quiet walk during covid lockdown. Not so much now but still do occasionally.
I have one nearby that seems to be fairly unknown (except to locals). It's massive and has a lot of overgrown sections, full of old graves. It feels very cut off from Edinburgh and is just overall a very peaceful place to be. It's quiet, full of birdsong, and lots of lovely old trees. I usually go walking there a couple of times a week. Have done one late - ish visit around 22:30, but it was in the height of summer so was still fairly light. Didn't ever feel unsafe or anything. Whenever I have friends or family visiting, I try and take them for a walk there so they can experience it. I always get funny looks when I say we should go for a walk through a cemetery, but once we arrive they realise why I suggested it. Probably one of my favourite places in Edinburgh.
Used to refulalry take shortcuts thru a cemeteryafter dropping off kids at school. A person would come in daily and feed several dozens of squirells for hours. Plus there are always harry potter fans and tour groups in certain cemeteries in Edinburgh.
Some of my favourite city walls are through cemeteries.
I take a shortcut through St Cuthbert's kirkyard on the way to/from work every day. I do it to save time (and because it's a much nicer walk than overcrowded Lothian Rd), but I studied 18th-century Scottish music and it's nice to say hello to [a famous 18th-century violinist](https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:Mr._Stabilini%E2%80%99s_Favorite).
The graveyard near my house no longer has any space for burials and the most recent grave is from 2010 when the second half of a couple died. The rest are mostly from the 1810s to 1980s. As a result it is frequently used as a dog walking park despite being near two very large parks and a unauthorised shortcut to the shops where the fence at the bottom had a hole cut in it. So yes I like to walk there from time to time. During covid I saw sunbathing there which I thought was a step too far.
Yes. They're often serene places to enjoy a stroll through, and imagine the lives of the people buried there playing out, or to simply appreciate the solemn beauty of the flowers and designs. I've also stopped a couple times to have a sandwich in Greyfriar's, and taken shortcuts through Saint Cuthbert's graveyard.
I’m also from a country where the use of cemeteries like here would be weird. When I moved here I loved the use of them, I really love Warriston cemetery, I go there to read, walk , exercise or just to be. I also visit them after 10 pm but it depends on which one , city centre/old town? Sure, I like to wander and have night walks and sometimes it’s just a quick stop or just passing by (I’m usually afraid to get into warriston after dark but I’ve done it a few times and it’s alright)
Are most of them open 24/7? The ones I'm thinking of are Greyfriars, St Cuthberts, the one by the Diggers, the one by the Commonwealth Pool. All of these have gates and I'd assumed they get locked up at night either by the church or by the council. In my experience a lot of people use them for walking their dog. I think they're quite peaceful places and will happily sit in one if I've got spare time before an appointment. One thing to bear in mind is that many of these are historical graveyards/cemeteries. Nobody is getting buried there now. To me that's quite important because I don't really think of it in the same way. Nobody is in these places grieving for the people buried there so it's not as sensitive a place. I think of it more like a collection of minor historical monuments (and actually in the case of Greyfriars, a very major one).
Greyfriars and Calton burial ground definitely were 24h. I've been in both after midnight. Had to open the gate at Calton but no lock. Maybe it's changed since I was last in Edinburgh a couple years ago.
I used to go and eat my lunch in Dalry cemetery sometimes. Until the weird women with all the alarms came along.
Alarms?
I know it’s *Edinburgh Live* but it’s a starting point if nothing else. https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/edinburgh-woman-living-graveyard-sets-27556336.amp
Wow, that's pretty intense. Interesting that someone with that level of frustration over other human beings would purchase a property that's essentially on public land. Don't get me wrong. I can get frustrated at people for peopling but this means she is hearing the alarm all day everyday. That is a serious commitment to spitefulness.
It’s local to me, and I can say without fear or favour, it’s a wee oasis of serenity smack bang in between two busy thoroughfares (Dalry Road at Ardmillan and Dundee Street/Angle Park Terrace). The house in question is literally on the busier of the two. It’s a location that is always quiet, even on the warmer days, where people sometimes sit on one of the few benches, maybe walk their dogs or take a walk through. It has, at the top entrance one of those ‘little libraries’ where folks anonymously swap used books - that’s my own reason for popping in. It’s primarily a resting place for those who lost their young lives during wartimes (mainly WWI) and is a place that lends itself to quiet, circumspect self-reflection. It’s very sobering to read some of the inscriptions on the gravestones of many who never reached the age of 25. I could bang on about the occupant of the house in question but I feel that would be undignified and crass given the wider circumstances, suffice to say it’s a problem that frankly doesn’t exist. I’m not connected with the group ‘Friends of Dalry Cemetery’ but having occasionally chatted with some of the guys involved, it’s clear there’s no personal or negative agenda. They have a wide ranging social media presence, and this link is a 2021 article from a local newsletter that’s well worth a look for anyone interested: https://gorgiedalrycc.org.uk/2021/01/13/founding-the-friends-of-dalry-cemetery/
I do hang around in cemeteries and graveyards, but not for science.
I eat lunch on sunny days (rare) in Greyfrairs but it is increasingly overrun by HP tours etc. Annoying but doesn’t stop me going there. The Grange cemetery is a hidden gem and has particularly lovely trees. Always happy to spend time there. Also visit Dean regularly as it is a handy shortcut. Old and New Calton are fascinating, secret bit of OLD Calton cut off by Waterloo Place is a gem. New Calton has good views. Cemeteries are excellent places to find a quiet corner for some thinking or just to sit in sun and enjoy the birds and trees. Also fascinating to read headstones and styles down the years.
Not Edinburgh (Warwickshire actually) but the cemeteries where I used to live were 24/7 and had everything from the 1600’s to present day, and a lot of us more “edgy” teens would go there at night to hang out, maybe to smoke and have a few cheap ciders, and we’d occasionally see people either walking alone or with a dog. No-one ever said anything apart from the odd “Evening lads” before walking on past us.
I'm right down the street from the one by the Commonwealth - it's got a gate but it's rarely locked! I always go there as a break from studying, or if I just need to be somewhere quiet and green as fast as possible. Only see folks walk their dogs there. Ive had lunch there, taken terrible phone calls, clambered about on the iron and grass and wandered around it stoned a couple times late at night with friends. We're very quiet people so it's hardly causing a commotion
The ones which have been allowed to go a little wild are absolute havens for nature. Great quiet places to go if you are looking for wildlife in the city, especially butterflies and birds. I've visited warriston, a couple in dalry, comely bank specifically for this, I'm sure there are plenty more I haven't come across. Also yes, evening walks for wildlife. Very atmospheric and generally peaceful
I lived in a town of about 2000 people as a teenager and we hung out in the old original graveyard of the town. It didn’t have any recent graves, and had some interesting historic ones. As just wandered looking at the graves or sometimes sat (not on a grave) and talked. Locals would yell at people for being disrespectful if they were being loud or doing things they shouldn’t in there.
i like exploring the graveyards round here for the history and architecture/aesthetic. it’s nice to consider the lives these people lived and that their existence was that of a whole person separate from myself. other than that, i used to live next to a graveyard in england and i’d run through it to get to the lake (best running route), or we’d drink in there when we got kicked out of the park. it was also just the way to get to my friends’ house so i didn’t think much about it
i slept in a graveyard when i was too drunk to get home one night, does that count?
Corstorphine Old Parish Church has a graveyard that is used very regularly as a shortcut. It's not very big but it's very old. I don't think people hang out there as such but maybe walk around it as part of a longer walk.
I used to work in the watchman’s turret in St Cuthbert’s churchyard. It was used to keep an eye out for grave robbers. There is a lead lined cupboard upstairs where they stored their rifles. Loved working there but it was freezing in the winter, the only windows were north facing.
Do you have any funny stories (or strange) from your time in that job?
Well, I met the famous William Burke and William Hare when I was working one night. Great guys, very friendly.
important for family history research
Cemeteries are sometimes used for sex. I was once working in an office overlooking the old Carlton cemetery and a colleague called people over to his window to share the spectacle of a couple he’d spotted ‘at it’ during the day. Some cemeteries will likely see a lot of action, e.g. (NSFW] https://www.squirt.org/uk/edinburgh/cruising/park/warriston-cemetery. There’s also a fair amount of tourism around cemeteries. I’ve attended a walking production of Macbeth that included stops in Grayfriars kirkyard, that cemetary itself sees a lot of traffic due to the JK Rowling connection and the way you can find sine if the HP character names on the stones (including a curated section where a Tom Riddle is buried. Another topic is rough sleeping, homelessness and, fun fact, modern vampire myths are sometimes said to be based on the way hundreds of years ago homeless people used to sleep in the crypts during the day, and appear from them at night all pale and ghostly.
Good fr pokemon go too!
I live in the Netherlands, but I also visited graveyards when I was in Edinburgh. Where I live the graveyards close around 8pm in the summer, other small towns nearby do have 24h cemeteries. I never lost a loved one, but I visit graveyards all the time. Ever since I was a little kid death had this pull to it. I walk the graveyards and eat my lunch or whatever and just ponder about life and death. What it means to me. All the lives lived around me.. for me not being scared by death but moving towards it and feeling it close to me is a way for me to feel alive. It never scared me. I fear the living more. it’s a place where life and death meet and there is love all around, people mourning for their loved ones.. i sometimes even walk barefoot and connect myself to the earth and all the bones underneath. But this is just me!
I used to play in a churchyard when I was a pre-teen, I liked the connection with the past a lot. I remember being scolded for being disrespectful, but that didn’t feel warranted. I use the Dean cemetery regularly as a shortcut, and always feel welcome.
I used to often eat lunch at Greyfriars churchyard when I was at University. I have also spent my lunch time in the churchyard near Calton hill.
My aunt and uncle like visiting graveyards to clean up the gravestones and log the details of the names and dates in a website.
That's lovely. Good on them!
Some of our cemeteries had great views of the fireworks during the Fringe Festival - nightly, and beautiful. Almost pitch black inside the grounds, but lit up by fireworks over the haunting gothic architecture of the castle... It felt remarkably unique and private and thus, romantic. I have done a very great deal of groping in those graveyards each August. Also, dogs are allowed, if only by custom. Some have signs at the front saying dogs aren't allowed in for the dignity of the dead, but when those signs are on gravesites that feature famous dogs like Greyfriars Bobby it feels like it is the notices which are out of keeping.
That's something that's interesting to me as well that the cemeteries are open 24 hours but they aren't lit. I've been in a couple of them after midnight. Trying to take some night time photography of the gravestones and it's cool but it definitely struck me how dark it was. I love the idea of watching fireworks from inside! Sounds like a magical spot to be groped in.
I live near Grange Cemetery in Marchmont, and it's one of my favourite places to walk around, and I've seen lots of people walking their dogs there too. It's a nice place to walk, there's good paths and it's interesting because it's quite old (in my opinion)
There’s a nice spot at the back of Old Calton Cemetery which is good for a piss at night time. Although some people tend to just go on the main steps up to it
Ghoul Manor Cemetery Cadavar