Churches to Visit in Scotland
Scotland’s great churches tell a story you will not find in England. It begins on a Hebridean island with an Irish monk in 563. It runs through a Reformation that was harder and more thorough than England’s, which left most of the country’s cathedrals roofless and its biggest churches divided up with walls into several parish kirks at once. And it ends with some of the most remarkable survivors in Britain. These four guides cover the essential ones, and each leads with the practical thing most visitors get wrong.
Two of the four are in Edinburgh or close to it: St Giles’, on the Royal Mile, and Rosslyn Chapel, seven miles south, together make an easy day. Glasgow Cathedral is under an hour away by train and makes a half-day on its own or with the Necropolis next door. Iona is the one that needs planning: it is in the Inner Hebrides, off the far end of Mull, and a visit is a long day out from Oban or, better, a night on the island.
The addresses of the Edinburgh and Glasgow guides include their city, because both cities have more churches worth a guide of their own, and they will be added in time.
Where to start
St Giles’ Cathedral
John Knox’s church on the Royal Mile, free to enter — and, strictly speaking, not a cathedral at all.
Rosslyn Chapel
The most richly carved small church in Scotland. Book a timed slot, and leave the camera in your bag: no photos inside.
Glasgow Cathedral
The mainland’s one medieval cathedral to survive the Reformation intact. Free, and the best part is downstairs.
Iona Abbey
St Columba’s island, two ferries from Oban. Closed on winter Sundays — check before you set out.
Practical notes for the whole country
| Opening hours | Historic Environment Scotland, which runs Glasgow Cathedral and Iona Abbey, switches to shorter winter hours on 1 October; Iona closes on winter Sundays. Churches still in use close for services and funerals at short notice. Check the site’s own page on the day |
|---|---|
| Admission | Glasgow Cathedral and St Giles’ are free, with donations welcome. Rosslyn Chapel is £12 and Iona Abbey £10 online |
| Tickets | Book Rosslyn’s timed slots in advance, and Iona online to save a pound. Historic Scotland members and Explorer Pass holders get into Iona free |
| Photography | Not allowed anywhere inside Rosslyn Chapel; elsewhere, ask at the desk and respect services |
| Getting around | Edinburgh and Glasgow are under an hour apart by train. Rosslyn is a bus ride south of Edinburgh; Iona is a long day from Oban, by ferry, bus across Mull and ferry again |
All four
- St Giles’ Cathedral The High Kirk of Edinburgh, the Thistle Chapel, and Knox’s grave in a car park.
- Rosslyn Chapel The St Clairs’ unfinished chapel, the Apprentice Pillar and a hundred Green Men.
- Glasgow Cathedral St Mungo’s tomb in a church beneath a church.
- Iona Abbey Columba’s monastery, the high crosses and the graves of the Lords of the Isles.
Coming next
This first Scottish chapter covers four churches. The great ruined abbeys of the Borders — Melrose, Jedburgh, Dryburgh — are on the list, along with Dunfermline, St Andrews, Elgin and St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, and more of the churches of Edinburgh and Glasgow. They will be added the same way as the rest of this guide: one region finished properly at a time.