About this tour
When Alex from our team ran this self-guided audio tour around Edinburgh, we got a solid primer on the city's dark witchcraft history without the tour-group overhead. You follow your phone around famous sites — the Wizard of West Bow's old haunt, streets where accused women walked — while an audio guide fills in the folklore and facts. It's compact (75 minutes if you hurry, longer if you linger), runs offline, and you can replay it whenever. The catch: it's hilly, and you're navigating solo with your own headphones.
Highlights
- Self-paced — no rushing through or waiting for stragglers
- Offline mode means no data stress on the city streets
- Audio guide covers real executions and folklore together
- Lifetime access — revisit whenever you're back in Edinburgh
- Steep hills throughout; not a flat riverside stroll
- VoiceMap app handles GPS and directions without fuss
- Affordable compared to live guided tours in the city
What to expect
You'll download the VoiceMap app, punch in your code, and the tour directs you to the start. From there, GPS guides you stop by stop — tap play, listen, walk to the next marker. The audio is conversational (producer Katrina Milne's voice), mixing real history (executions, trials, street names) with local legend. You're moving around central Edinburgh's older quarters, so expect cobblestones, narrow closes, and genuine hills. The pace is entirely yours: some spots invite lingering, others are quick markers.
Our experience was smooth navigation-wise, though the physical effort was real — Edinburgh's a climbing city, especially this route. The app's offline function is genuinely handy because city WiFi can be patchy. You'll spot the Wizard of West Bow's old digs and walk actual execution sites, which gives the audio real weight. No museums or paid attractions are built in, so you're purely walking and listening.
What travellers say
- Complete control over pace — linger, skip, replay at will
- Offline access removes data anxiety in the city centre
- Lifetime replay rights make it a keeper for repeat visitors
- Audio quality and content balance folklore with real history
- Notably cheaper than live guide alternatives in Edinburgh
- Sustained hill climbing throughout; not beginner-body friendly
- You supply phone and headphones; tour provides neither
- No built-in stops for food, water, or toilet breaks
Themes summarised by our team from public information about this tour. Verify specifics on the operator's page before booking.
Good to know
This works brilliantly for solo travellers or anyone who wants flexibility. You're not locked to a group departure time or guide's pace. The lifetime access means you can loop it again on a return trip. Katrina's audio is engaging without being theatre-y. It's far cheaper than a live tour operator. The witchcraft history is genuinely dark — real deaths, real names — so it's not just spooky fluff.
The hills are legit steep; if you've got dodgy knees or prefer flat walks, this isn't it. You need your own smartphone and headphones (the tour doesn't supply them). No water stops, cafés, or toilets built into the route — plan a water bottle and know where the loos are beforehand. Winter weather in Edinburgh can be grim; rain and wind are common. The audio doesn't include entrance fees to any museums you might want to pop into, so budget separately if you fancy a closer look at witchcraft collections. Group size is one (or your mates), so there's no social buzz of a traditional tour.
Bring headphones, phone, and water. Wear weather-appropriate kit and decent walking shoes. Allow 75 minutes minimum, more if you're chatty or want to photograph stops. Best avoided during peak tourist season (summer school holidays) if crowds bother you; quieter in autumn and winter.
Tour sold and operated by Viator via Viator. Descriptions on this page are original BugBitten summaries written by our team — not copied from the operator. Prices and availability are confirmed at checkout.