Historic cathedral introduces £12 fee for visitors from outside Scotland

Visitors from outside Scotland now need to pay to enter one of Edinburgh's most popular attractions for the first time in its 900-year history.

General admission to St Giles' Cathedral is set at £12, while free entry is still offered to Scottish residents and under-16s.

Scottish visitors can get into the historic cathedral for free by registering online and providing proof of residency, while visitors who live elsewhere in the UK or abroad will need to pay for tickets.

Located on the capital's historic Royal Mile, the cathedral welcomes more than 1.5 million visitors each year.

St Giles was first founded in 1124 as a Catholic cathedral but later became a key site during the spread of Presbyterianism in Scotland when reformer John Knox was elected as its minister in 1560.

It remains a key site for major ceremonial events, including the public viewing of the late Queen's coffin in 2022 and the Kirking of the Scottish Parliament, while also hosting Sunday services.

While it is the first time the cathedral has charged for entry, other religious sites in the UK have introduced similar fee mechanisms.

York Minster charges £20 for general admission tickets and under-18s can accompany paying adults for free, while St Paul's Cathedral in London charges a £26 fee for tourist visits, while permitting service attendees free entry.

According to the St Giles' Cathedral charity trust, the site's annual operational costs are more than £1m.

The charity, which manages the cathedral, said it did not receive regular funding from the Scottish government or local council and had decided to introduce the entry charge to ensure the site can continue its long-term operation as a visitor attraction, religious site and cultural centre.

Alongside providing funding for the day-to-day operation of the building and its religious services, the entrance charge will allow the charity to expand its cultural offerings, according to Jack Oades the cathedral's organist and head of music, said.

Oades said the additional funding "will allow us to significantly level-up our musical offering and our in-house concerts and events".

"This will not only allow us to improve the frequency of our choral worship, but to attract world-class performers and engage with the wider creative and cultural activities across Edinburgh and Scotland," he added.

The Reverend Dr Scott Rennie, who took over as the minister of St Giles in May, said: "As Scotland's High Kirk we want to offer visitors from home and abroad the best possible experience and the opportunity to understand how faith and history have shaped Scotland's life as a nation.

"I am confident that these changes will be transformational in incorporating the life and cares of Scottish people into our cycle of worship through the year."