High Street Hostel
Edinburgh's original 1984 backpacker hostel — Royal Mile address at the city's cheapest dorm rate
Edinburgh's oldest backpacker hostel, open since 1984 on 8 Blackfriars Street — a half-lane off the Royal Mile. 150-bed 18+ Old Town classic with a shared kitchen, a cobbled back courtyard, and the lowest Old Town dorm rate in the city.
High Street Hostel is the oldest backpacker hostel in Edinburgh, open continuously since 1984 on 8 Blackfriars Street — the steep half-lane that drops from the Royal Mile down to the Cowgate. It's where every Edinburgh backpacker from the pre-pod generation slept; the walls are covered with graffiti, post-its, tour flyers, and Polaroid memorabilia from four decades of guests. This is the most atmospheric low-budget hostel in town — not smart, not new, deliberately scruffy, and proud of it.
The building holds around 150 beds across five floors, no lift, in a converted 16th-century tenement. Dorms are 6, 8, 10 and 12-bed mixed plus female-only dorms. Bunks are older wooden bunks — they squeak, the mattresses are functional rather than plush, and the paint is peeling in the authentically-Old-Town way. Under-bunk lockers are small (you'll need to leave your backpack next to the bunk). Heating and hot water both work, which sounds basic but is a real win in a 450-year-old building.
The shared kitchen is on the ground floor — four hobs, two ovens, three fridges, a long wooden table that seats twenty. This is where the hostel culture happens: shared-pot dinners on Sundays, travellers cooking haggis at 2 am after the pub crawl, a guest-pantry shelf that's been accumulating pasta and spices for years. Behind the kitchen is a small cobbled back courtyard with a covered smoking area and one of the only outdoor hostel spaces in Old Town.
No on-site bar, but Whistlebinkies (live bands, 100 metres), Bannerman's (rock basement, 2 minutes) and The Royal Oak (Scottish folk, 5 minutes) are all on the Cowgate side. The hostel has a long-standing partnership with the Original Edinburgh Pub Crawl which meets in the ground-floor common room.
18+ only, card only, and the front door locks at 2 am with key-code access afterwards.
- 01Edinburgh's oldest backpacker hostel — opened 1984, four decades of authentic character
- 02The cheapest Old Town dorm rate — starts £22 off-peak
- 03Graffiti-covered walls, guest-pantry kitchen, Sunday shared-pot dinner tradition
- 04Back cobbled courtyard with covered smoking area — one of Old Town's only hostel outdoor spaces
- 05Three legendary live-music pubs within 5 minutes (Whistlebinkies, Bannerman's, Royal Oak)
- Open since 1984
- Shared kitchen with guest pantry
- 18+ Old Town classic
- Cobbled back courtyard
“Perfectly located hostel in Edinburgh. It's in an old building with so much character and the kitchen is the best hostel kitchen I've used.”
“I liked the common areas and the breakfast in the morning. The kitchen has everything and the location is unbeatable for the price.”
“The location was perfect in the very city centre, off the Royal Mile, with easy access to all the main attractions and pubs.”
- Royal Mile (St Giles' Cathedral)90 seconds walk
- Cowgate nightlife90 seconds walk
- Whistlebinkies live-music pub2 min walk
- Edinburgh Castle6 min walk
- Waverley Station8 min walk
- Grassmarket6 min walk
