Mary King's Close with children, and who the tour suits

The age rule: five and over only

The rule is simple and firm. Children under five aren't admitted to the close, for safety reasons. That covers babies in carriers and toddlers on shoulders as much as walking four-year-olds. The operator states it in its booking terms, on its planning pages and on the tour page itself, so don't expect an exception at the door. If your youngest is under five, the tour is off the table for them this time.

Children from 5 to 15 are welcome, but every one of them has to be accompanied by an adult. There's a child ticket for that age band, so when you book through us you choose adult and child places separately. Anyone aged 16 or over needs an adult ticket. There's no family bundle on the operator's system, so a family of four is simply two adults and two children.

If you're travelling with a spread of ages, the building still has something for the little ones. The Burgh Courtroom Gift Shop and the café are open to everyone, whatever their age. One way round it is for one adult to take the older children down while the other waits upstairs with the toddler, then swap. Tours run every 10 minutes, so two slots an hour apart can work, as long as both are free.

Operator tickets are non-refundable, and that matters more with children than with anyone. Check every child's age against the rule before you book, not on the morning of the visit. If plans shift, a change of date or time has to be made at least four hours before your tour, and you make it through us rather than with the site.

What children meet underground

The tour starts at the Admissions Office on the Royal Mile and then heads down into a warren of old streets, former homes and shops. You're led the whole way by a guide in costume, playing a character based on a real person from the close's past. There's no wandering off and no exhibits to rush past. It's a story told on the move, in English, for about an hour.

The characters change with the guide. The operator's list includes Agnes Chambers, a household maid in 1535, and Walter King, who led the city's 'foul clengers' cleaning infected homes in the 1645 plague. There's Dr George Rae, a plague doctor, the poet Robert Fergusson, and Andrew Chesney, the saw maker the operator names as the last resident in 1897. The operator says no two tours are quite the same.

Plague is a big part of the story. In 1645 Edinburgh had the worst outbreak in its history, and the crowded closes let it spread quickly through people's homes. Guides talk about the disease and the ordinary people who risked their lives treating the sick. It's history rather than horror, but it is frank about death. Think about how your child handles that subject at home before you go.

There's grimly funny detail too, the kind children repeat at dinner for weeks. 'Gardyloo' was the cry before slops were thrown from the windows into the close, between 10pm and 7am. The tour mixes this sort of earthy detail with real names and dates, which is why children who like true stories and disgusting facts tend to get the most from it.

Warn them about one thing in advance. Photography and filming aren't allowed on the tour, and that includes phones, cameras, GoPros and smart glasses. Towards the end, a souvenir photo of your group is taken at the close, which you can buy afterwards if you want it. Food and drink aren't allowed on the close during the tour either, so snacks wait until you're back upstairs.

Annie's room and the pile of toys

The room many children talk about afterwards is Annie's Room, in the close's 17th-century house. The operator includes it on its standard one-hour tour. The story behind it is a ghost story, and it helps to tell it to children as exactly that: a story people tell, with a real room at the end of it.

As the operator tells it, the Japanese psychic Aiko Gibo visited in the 1990s while making a film about haunted places in Britain. She said she met the spirit of a little girl in a room off Allan's Close. The girl, Annie, had lost her favourite doll and wanted to go home to her family. Gibo bought a doll from a shop on the Royal Mile and left it for her.

Since then, visitors from all over the world have brought dolls, toys and jewellery, and the pile in the room keeps growing. The operator's own research found no record of a child called Annie. The closest link it has found is the unnamed daughter of Jean McKenzie, recorded in Allan's Close during the plague. The first doll, the operator says, went missing on 17 April 2019.

If your child wants to bring a small toy to leave for Annie, they'll be joining a long line of visitors who've done the same. Keep it small and inexpensive, because it stays there. For a nervous child, the story can be framed gently: a lonely girl, and strangers being kind to her. Whether she was ever real can be part of the conversation on the way home.

Steps, low light and tight spaces

The close sits beneath the Royal Mile, and getting through it means stairs. The operator gives the count as 58 steps down and 38 up, spread over several floors. There are handrails on all the staircases and in the close itself. Surfaces are uneven in places and some inclines are steep, so shoes with grip matter more than smart ones.

Expect a fair amount of walking and standing over the hour, which the operator flags on its tour page. Children who tire quickly can't easily be carried on narrow stairs. If a child is likely to flag, a slot after a good breakfast or a proper lunch will go better than one at the tail end of a long day of sightseeing.

Lighting is dim. That's part of the atmosphere, and it reflects how the closes were: the 17th-century tenements above rose 10 to 12 storeys inside the city wall, and little natural light reached the lanes below. Children who dislike the dark should know beforehand that the lights don't come up, and that an adult will be beside them the whole way.

Some spaces are confined, and the operator notes they may cause claustrophobia or disorientation. If that's a known issue in your family, it's worth reading the next section before you book. There is a way out mid-tour, and knowing about it in advance makes a difference to how the hour feels.

Dust, asthma, claustrophobia and the camera flash

It's dusty in some areas of the close. The operator says air quality is tested regularly and has been approved as fit for visitors. How it affects asthma depends on the individual. If anyone in your group uses an inhaler, bring it, and tell the guide as soon as they start to feel unwell rather than waiting until the end.

If you or a child feels claustrophobic or disoriented during the tour, tell your guide. Guides carry radios and can arrange for a member of the team to take you back upstairs. Explaining that exit to a nervous child before you start can settle them, so mention it while you wait to go down.

Near the end of the tour, the souvenir photo is taken with a bright flash. If anyone in your party is photosensitive, tell a member of staff before the photo is taken. Buying the photo is optional, but the flash is part of the tour itself, so speak up early rather than hoping to dodge it.

Children with sensory sensitivities meet the same combination for the whole hour: dim light, close walls, a group of strangers and a lot of talking. None of it is extreme, but it's continuous and there's no quiet room halfway through. You know your child. If a dark cinema or a busy museum is hard for them, this may be too.

Mobility, carers and assistance dogs

Wheelchairs can't be used on the close. The site is steep and uneven, and the tour has no wheelchair access. Visitors who can transfer or walk with support are welcome to join. Support chairs are available on request, which helps anyone who needs to rest along the way. If a grandparent is coming, check these points with them honestly before you book.

Carers go free. One carer per paying visitor is admitted at no charge when accompanying a visitor with disabilities, with documentation such as DLA, PIP, Carer's Allowance or a Blue Badge. Bring ID and the documentation on the day. When you book through us, tell us you need a carer place and we add it to the booking at no charge.

Pet dogs can't come, as the tour isn't suitable for animals. Assistance dogs are welcome by arrangement, which means the site needs to know ahead of your visit. If you book through us, mention the assistance dog when you book and we'll pass the request on before your tour date.

If someone in your group can't manage the stairs, the gift shop and café upstairs are still open to them. It's an imperfect answer. But it does mean a grandparent or a parent with a pushchair can wait somewhere comfortable while the rest of the family goes down, instead of standing out on the Royal Mile.

Languages, hearing and sign language

Tours are led in English by the costumed guides. For other languages there's a free multimedia and audio guide that runs as a web app in your phone's browser. It covers French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Polish, Dutch, Mandarin and Cantonese. There are also British Sign Language and International Sign Language versions.

You need your own earphones or headphones to use the audio guide during the tour, and the operator calls them mandatory. Pack a set for each child who'll be listening, since you have to bring your own. Without headphones, you can still follow along by reading the translated text on your phone.

Setting it up takes three steps: scan the QR code or open the link, choose your language, then follow along as the guide leads you through. Do it before your tour time, not on the first staircase. If someone in your group doesn't have a smartphone, the operator asks you to speak to a member of the team before the tour begins.

For visitors with hearing impairments, the same app doubles as an e-reader with the tour script. A printed script is also available on request, arranged before your tour. Tell us when you book and we'll pass the request on, so the script is part of the plan rather than a question at the door.

Who this tour isn't for

Under-fives can't go, and the rule isn't flexible. Beyond that, think hard about a five- or six-year-old who is frightened of the dark, dislikes crowds or can't stand still for long. They're allowed in, but an hour underground is a long time to be unhappy, and there's no halfway exit except back upstairs with a member of staff.

It isn't for anyone who needs a wheelchair on the route, or who can't manage 96 steps in an hour on uneven ground. It's a hard fit for people with severe claustrophobia too. The radio exit exists, but if you already know you'll need it, you may spend the hour waiting to use it.

It isn't a ghost hunt or a scare attraction. The guides tell history through real residents, and the ghost stories are told as stories. Children hoping for jump scares may be disappointed. Children who like true stories, gross facts and creaky old houses are the ones the tour suits best, especially if they enjoy asking questions.

And it isn't a place for photos. If your teenager's main aim is pictures for social media, warn them early that phones stay away for the whole hour. The souvenir photo at the end, or the souvenir guidebook, is what you'll take home. For curious children who like history told as a story, that trade is well worth making.