Edinburgh

Towns & Villages

ROSLIN

Roslin Chapel - Photo: Anne Burgess CCL

Thanks to the American writer Dan Brown and his novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’, Roslin (or Rosslyn) is now one of Scotland’s most famous places.

It is here that you will find Roslin Chapel, the burial place of the St Clair family and (it is reputed) the secrets of the medieval Knights Templar. The chapel is a testament to the esoteric art of masonry and arguably the most ornate ecclesiastical building in Britain.
 

Near the chapel is the beautiful sandstone gorge of Roslin Glen and 14th century Roslin Castle.





They have been immortalised by artists such as Alexander Nasmyth and visited by luminaries such as Robbie Burns, Sir Walter Scott and William Wordsworth.

 

Roslin Castle - Photo: Alistair Montgomery CCL

Roslin Glen - Photo: Brian MacLennan CCL

Scott called the glen ‘Roslin’s magic glen’ in his novel ‘Rokeby’.







Almost as famous as Dan Brown’s novel is Dolly the sheep - she was born as a result of cloning at the Roslin Institute.