Greyfriars Kirkyard Edinburgh: Fears crackdown on tour groups could cause 'worse damage'

Smaller tour guides fear they could be forced out, leading to more tourists going in without a guide.

A crackdown on big groups visiting Greyfriars cemetery would 'make damage worse', according to local tour guides.

It follows proposals for a cap on group numbers amid claims big commercial operators who bring in dozens in groups several times a day are 'trashing' the cemetery.

Amid growing fears over damage to the site one Edinburgh guide called for bigger groups to be charged more per head to bring in more cash to cover the cost of repairs, along with restrictions on group sizes to protect the hugely popular cemetery.

Greyfriars attracts around two million visitors a year, making it the third most visited free to enter attraction in Scotland.

But a group of more than 50 guides has hit back at the proposals as 'drastic', warning that many guides are smaller independent operators who could be forced out if group sizes are restricted.

The Edinburgh Tour Guides Association argues charging an extra gate fee to help pay for repairs would lead to 'unintended consequences', as it could see more tourists going into the kirkyard without a guide.

Tour guide Fraser Horn has been a self-employed tour guide in the old town for several years. He said: "Because a lot of tourists really want to see the Kirkyard, you’d just end up with guides avoiding a drastic hike in costs by finishing their tour near the Kirkyard. Then tourists would go unsupervised. It’s the worst of both worlds, the council loses permit fees and the Kirkyard loses its main stewards.”

“I care about the Kirkyard as much as any other local. I’ve lived round here most my life and I love the history of the place. It’s my dream job, showing people around my hometown. I care about protecting these historic spaces, and as a guide I ensure that visitors are properly informed and supervised - kept on the paths, kept off the gravestones and kept out of others’ way.”

Local tour guide Fraser Horn says new permit scheme in Greyfriars cemetery works. Along with the Edinburgh Tour Guide Association he warns more 'drastic' proposals could lead to more damage at the cemetery

All tour groups pay a yearly £150 permit fee while individual guides pay £120, which the council has proposed to raise by £15 as it consults on the future of the historic site.

Since the scheme was introduced in July last year a total of 321 registrations have been issued, including 225 tour companies and 96 individual tour guides, raising £45,000.

A council spokesperson said uptake of the registration scheme was good and there is 'no sign that the number of guides has dropped.'

But the Edinburgh Tour Guides Association worries that smaller guides could be put off by higher fees and restrictions on group numbers.

Mr Horn added: “Guides in the cemetery are required by the permit scheme to keep their groups on hard paths. Tourists without a guide roam freely across the soft ground, causing significant erosion.

"We see that it’s tourists without guides causing problems, taking shortcuts over the grass and so on. Two graves in particular, Margaret Cruikshank and Anne Potter, are popular with Harry Potter fans but we steer people clear, because it involves going on grass. If it’s too expensive for us to work there, it means more tourists coming in without guides and losing that stewardship.”

Emma Stillings, another freelance guide, said many are worried the council will be forced into 'heavy-handed action'.

“The permits work well. There have already been improvements like a new path beside Tom Riddle’s grave, where unsupervised tourists were taking shortcuts. We’re happy to contribute to that through our fees.” 

“But we aren’t big commercial operators, we sometimes struggle to break even due to high agency fees and many of us depend on tips. We’re worried about getting forced out if the council is pressured into heavy-handed action.” 

Both have joined the new Edinburgh Tour Guides Association, which has just launched to help the council and conservation bodies cooperate with independent guides. 

Jen Cresswell, who has been a guide for ten years, says "We know how tourism works in the Kirkyard and usually we’re the first to see what needs fixed. We needed an association to make sure that the council was hearing from all guides, not just the ones with lots of resources to lobby them." 

"We just want to make sure the council isn’t flying blind on this issue. Their current approach is working, but the unintended consequences of the wrong approach could be much worse than the problems they’re trying to solve.”