Rosslyn Chapel, Roslin

Literary and devotional pilgrims converge on this curiosity, start of a one-day walk to St Mary’s Cathedral, also on St Wilfrid’s Way and Rosslyn Chapel Way.

Highlights

• Medieval carved interior

The intricately carved interior of Roslin Chapel has more than its fair share of devotees, drawn by mystery rather than sanctity. It is one of the finest collections of medieval religious art, every surface carved with saints, angels, knights and Biblical figures, seemingly the work of an obsessive puzzle maker.

It was started in 1456 by Sir William St Clair, a local aristocrat descended from Norman knights. He wanted a private chapel in which up to six priests and two choir boys would sing the Liturgy of the Hours throughout the day and night, and also hold Eucharistic services. It was closed at the Reformation but worship resumed in the 19th century.

It is therefore primarily a devotional building, though now a busy tourist attraction thanks partly to a cameo role at the end of The Da Vinci Code. The building is still owned by the Episcopalian church, and does have places to light candles. Praying amid the noise of both visitors and architecture is pretty near impossible however.

Every surface has been carved with highly intricate images, most of which are recognisable Christian artworks common in medieval buildings throughout Britain. With so many crammed into such a small space there are enough mysteries to keep visitors entertained. It has many far-fetched theories about its origins, but in reality the chapel is modelled on the east choir of Glasgow Cathedral, with identical dimensions and layout of windows and pillars.

My favourite puzzle, because it avoids overcomplicated conspiracy theories, is the carving over a window in the south wall. One of the guides told me it depicts ears of sweetcorn, which is a mystery since Columbus only visited America, where maize comes from, 50 years after the window was made. It does indeed look rather like corn, but others claim it merely shows a stylised image of wheat or other plants.

There was a holy well nearby, but its location remains another Roslin mystery. I couldn’t track it down, and none of the guides had heard of it.

Directions

Rosslyn Chapel, Chapel Loan, Roslin EH25 9PU

www.rosslynchapel.com

W3W: hasten.parsnip.spoken

GPS: 55.8554N 3.1601W

The chapel is 2½ miles south of the Edinburgh bypass (the A720), accessed by turning south along the A701 then following signs down the B7006. It is open every day apart from Christmas/New Year holidays, afternoons only on Sundays. Tickets cost £9 for adults, £7 for concessions, children are free with families.