
THE CANONS' GAIT
King David I of Scotland founded a monastery at Holyrood in 1128 and the road followed by the Canons as they moved between the monastery and the walls of Edinburgh further up the hill became the Canons’ Way or Canons’ Gait.
For many centuries the area known as Canongate remained a separate burgh, outside Edinburgh’s city walls. This made it a much more spacious and desirable place to live for the great and the good of the city, though at times it could also make it a dangerous place to live. The area was sacked repeatedly, most comprehensively by Richard II in 1380.
The building housing the pub is located on the site of Plainstanes Close, so called because it was paved like Canongate itself. In the 1500s Mary Queen of Scots’ French tailor Jaques de Soulis lived here. Today The Canons’ Gait offers food all day, with a wide selection of imported lagers and traditional real ales and our cellar bar is a very popular venue particularly during the Edinburgh Festival with a full house most nights.
All about us...

Where are we?
The Canons’ Gait
232 Canongate
Edinburgh
EH8 8DQ
T 0131 556 4481
Get in touch
Fire us an email at:
manager@thecanonsgait.com
Drop us a line on: 0131 629 1730