Not so much a destination - unless you are meeting here for a walking tour or perhaps visiting the popular graveyard at Greyfriars Kirk - but the statue of the famous, little Skye terrier remains a popular spot for a photo op.
Over the years, it's become customary to rub his nose for good luck, leaving his snout a polished and gleaming yellow compared to his tussled, long-haired coat. The thousands of sweaty hands rubbing the dug's bronze nostrils have led the City of Edinburgh Council and concerned burghers to urge visitors against the practice. In 2013, the Council gave the statue a facelift to restore his black nose, but a few days later someone had removed the nose's fresh, dark tarnish revealing the shiny, bronze below.
Greyfriars Bobby story
Legend has it that Bobby belonged to Auld Jock Gray, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police as a nightwatchman in the late 19th century. When Gray died, the loyal Bobby sat at his master's grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard for 14 years before dying in 1872.
Greyfriars Bobby's memorial reads "Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all".
The dog's devotion to Old Jock was held in wide admiration. In 1867, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir William Chambers, who was also a director of the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, paid for Bobby's licence and gave the dog a collar.
Bobby's collar and bowl are now at the Museum of Edinburgh.
Bobby was buried just inside the gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard, not far from Gray's grave.
A year later, the English philanthropist Lady Burdett-Coutts had a drinking fountain topped with Bobby's statue (commissioned from the sculptor William Brodie) erected to commemorate the little dog.
Bobby (aka Tam) the Movie Star
Greyfriars Bobby's story has been adapted into books and films, including the 1961 Disney film. Such is the enduring fame and fondness for the Skye terrier that the ashes of the film's star, also called Bobby (previously Tam), were tracked down and donated to the city of Edinburgh's archaeology collection in 2023. The ashes were presented in a casket made from an old cherry tree that previously stood in the kirkyard.
You can find the statue on George IV bridge, near Chambers Street, opposite the Museum of Scotland and outside the pub by the dog's name.
The Statue of Greyfriar's Bobby is the start of many guided tours (e.g. the Potter Trail) and a good landmark for orientation, although the pavement at the intersection is a busy spot to meet at festival time.