One O Clock Gun: Edinburgh Travel Guide (4.6★)

A cannon that keeps the time

At one o’clock, Edinburgh hears a single bang. The shot comes from the north side of Castle Rock, echoes off the New Town below, and is gone in a second. Visitors on Princes Street flinch. Most locals just check their watches.

The tradition started in 1861. Ships in Leith and on the Firth of Forth needed an accurate time to set their marine chronometers, which they used for navigation. Fog often hid the time ball on the Nelson Monument on Calton Hill, which drops at 1pm, but a gun could still be heard. The gun gave sailors that signal by sound, and it has been fired on schedule ever since, with breaks during the World Wars.

Why one and not noon? The usual explanation is thrift: you pay for one round, not twelve.

On Mills Mount Battery

The gun sits on Mills Mount Battery, a stone gun platform partway up the castle complex. Over the parapet you look north across the gardens, the Scott Monument and the New Town grid towards the Forth and the hills of Fife. Since 2001 the gun has been an L118 Light Gun, a modern 105mm field gun.

The ceremony is short. Just before one, a uniformed gunner comes out and carries out the drill in full view. When the clock reaches the hour, the gun fires. The noise is much louder up here than down in the streets, so have a hand ready for small children’s ears.

A small exhibition close to the battery covers how the gun and the time ball worked as a pair. It also lists the guns that have done the job since 1861. Ten minutes there tells you what you just watched.

Hearing it without a ticket

You don’t need to go up the rock to hear the gun. To see it fired, you do: Mills Mount is inside the castle walls, so you need a castle ticket. Prices and timed-entry slots are on the official Edinburgh Castle website.

To hear it for free, stand in West Princes Street Gardens and look up at the northern ramparts at one. You’ll hear the bang, and on a still day you may see a small puff of smoke. From Calton Hill you can follow the old pairing: the time ball on the Nelson Monument drops, and the gun sounds across the valley. The gap between them shows you how long sound takes to cross the city.

Getting up Castle Rock

The castle sits at the top of the Royal Mile, at the end of Castlehill. Edinburgh Waverley station is a steep 10–15 minute walk away. Take the Waverley Steps to Princes Street, or go up Cockburn Street and turn right onto the Royal Mile.

The last stretch is uphill and cobbled. From the Grassmarket you can climb the Vennel steps or Granny’s Green Steps, which bring you out near the Esplanade. Give yourself more time than the map says, because the slope slows everyone down.

Getting a spot on the wall before one

This is the part most visitors get wrong. They wander up to Mills Mount at five to one and end up behind three rows of people.

• Get there early. A crowd lines the parapet well before the hour. If you’re already in the castle, finish what you’re looking at and walk to the battery in good time.
• Pick your angle. Stand to the side of the gun if you want to watch the drill. Stand at the wall if you want a photo of the smoke over the New Town.
• Film from the first second. It’s one shot with no countdown you’ll hear clearly. People who start recording at the bang miss it.
• Stay behind the barrier. The gunner works to a set routine, and staff will move you back if you crowd the gun.
• Check the day. There’s no firing on Sundays, Good Friday or Christmas Day. Before planning a day around it, check the castle’s site for any special closures.

Before and after the bang

Treat the gun as your lunchtime marker on a castle visit. Many people do the Crown Jewels and the Great Hall in the morning, watch the gun at one, then see the rest after lunch. Allow at least two to three hours for the whole castle.

When you leave, the Esplanade leads straight onto the Royal Mile. The Scotch Whisky Experience and the Camera Obscura are a few doors downhill. You can also go down to the Grassmarket for lunch below the cliff. Later, walk to Calton Hill to see the time ball that once worked alongside the gun.