Edinburgh: Discover Secrets of Rosslyn Chapel in a Day Trip

With our love of lore and architecture, we couldn’t resist visiting the fabled Rosslyn Chapel, located in a suburb of Edinburgh… Roslin, Midlothian County. The Chapel is super easy to reach from the center of the city. Hop on Bus 37 towards Penicuik/Deanburn (the sign is in the front window of the bus) and enjoy your 40-minute ride to Roslin.

Breakfast in Roslin

If you decide to tour Rosslyn Chapel and use a public bus to get there, as we did, there is a small café in town called Dolly’s Tea Room right by the bus stop named “Original Rosslyn Hotel”, just by the Chapel. 

With homemade cakes and scones and freshly brewed coffee, you don’t want to miss this place. The sticky toffee pudding (THAT WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!) and a perfect cup of cappuccino – a hedonistic breakfast experience. By the way, we believe Dolly’s Tea Room serves lunch too!

From here it’s a leisurely 5-minute walk on a Scottish country road to Rosslyn Chapel. This is where you’ll find its Visitor Center, Gift Shop, and a Café. In the Visitor Center, you can purchase your entrance ticket (adult ticket for £9.00), which also includes a docent-guided tour about the chapel architecture and the legends surrounding it.

Rosslyn Chapel became a world-known destination after Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” in 2003. But it has had its flow of visitors for centuries even before the book. Rosslyn Chapel has been keeping its secrets since 1446 with St.Clair family, when William St.Clair, a member of a very old noble family, set the foundation for this family church. It took 40 years to complete! After we saw the Chapel’s interior… we are surprised it didn’t take significantly longer!

The nearby ruins of Rosslyn Castle indicate that the earliest parts of it date from 1304. Are you wondering why we are putting all these dates in bold? We want you to pay extra close attention to them, and here is why! 😊

Knights Templar

As we’ve mentioned, the name of Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland most likely will ring a bell because of “The Da Vinci Code” and Templar mysteries, as in hidden Holy Grail or Ark of Covenant stories, right? Is there any connection to the Templar Knights? Well…

Once upon a time, in 1129 to be exact, Knights Templar were welcomed to settle in Scotland, just a mere decade after their military order was formed in Jerusalem. The village Temple (also known as Balantrodoch or “town of the warriors”) became the local headquarters of Knights Templar. It is located less than seven miles from Edinburgh and less than seven miles from Roslin village, an easy horse ride back in the day.

What started as a group of eight knights coming from France to Jerusalem, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ, or Knights of the Temple of Solomon grew in its power across Europe exponentially. However, the financially savant and military power of Knights Templar was too much for the world leaders to handle, especially with so many indebted to them. Thus, Knights Templar were officially disbanded by the Catholic Church in 1312. Templar Knights were prosecuted and killed.

Allegedly, quite a few of Knights Templar hid in Temple, Scotland, bringing along their treasures (including the Temple of Solomon treasures) from Normandy, France. They kept a low profile ever since — disbanded doesn’t mean eradicated, after all…

By some accounts, the treasure of Knights Templar is buried in the secret chamber below the Crypt of Rosslyn Chapel. Does anybody know the meaning of this symbol in the next photo, by the way?

We also came across this curious rhyme rooted in Temple, Scotland. “Twixt the oak and the elm tree/You will find buried the millions free.” Maybe, the Knights Templar treasure is not hidden in Rosslyn Chapel but the nearby Temple village?

Freemasonry

Now, let’s fast forward a couple of centuries to another mystery Rosslyn Chapel is associated with – Freemasonry. It was embraced in Scotland earlier than anywhere in Britain. The earliest official records of Masonic meetings date to 1599. Of course, it doesn’t mean that Freemasonry has been around for longer than that, it just wasn’t regulated and formalized.

The stone art of Rosslyn Chapel is truly astounding. Its vast symbolism, unique merger of faiths, beliefs, and histories is mind-blowing. The intricately carved sandstone images depict hundreds of Green Men, Biblical scenes, Dance Macabre, plants from continents that shouldn’t even be there (e.g corn, aloe vera, trillium — not known in Europe at the time).

Some claim the whole chapel is just one giant code hidden in plain sight, ready to be deciphered. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside the Chapel (totally accidental photo above).

Now, scroll up and down our blog post and see all those dates in bold again and jot them down. Puzzled? So are we! Rosslyn Chapel was built too late to hold Templar mysteries and too early for the Freemasonry secrets. Or maybe… Rosslyn Chapel is the perfect spot to hold, hide, and preserve the heritage of both. Once again we go down the rabbit hole while traveling in Edinburgh!

Leaving Rosslyn Chapel with more questions than we started with! We found this amazing 360-degree virtual tour for you — do not forget to check out the ceiling. For more information, please check the website of Rosslyn Chapel and plan your next visit!

Make sure to check Part 1 and Part 3 of our Adventures in Edinburgh (this Rosslyn Chapel post is Part 2 :-)). Looking to learn more about traveling in Europe? Start with our Ireland, Iceland, and Spain articles. We hope they’ll inspire you for more adventures!

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