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Craigmillar Castle
Attractions in Dalkeith

Dalkeith Museum and more: what to see in Dalkeith

11 of the 18 places to visit in and around Dalkeith are castles or historic places. We list 2 places to visit inside Dalkeith’s locality and 16 within 5 km of its edge. Heritage bodies look after 2 of them: 1 by Historic Environment Scotland and 1 by the National Trust for Scotland. The middle of town keeps 3 within 1 km. Drive 11 km to reach Edinburgh Castle.

Photo: Craigmillar Castle, Photograph by Stuart Yeates, from en:Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
In Dalkeith
2
inside the locality
Within 5 km
16
of the town’s edge
Museums & galleries
3
in or near town
Castles & historic places
11
in or near town
Cared for
2
National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and others
Best known

Dalkeith’s best known

Beyond Dalkeith Museum, there are 3 castles, a ruins and an abbey or priory.

MuseumMuseumDalkeith Museumin townRuinsRuinsIcehousein townCastle · Historic Environment ScotlandCraigmillar Castle4.8 km outside town, to the northwestAbbey or prioryNewbattle Abbey300 m outside town, to the southCastleDalkeith Palace100 m outside town, to the northwestCastleDalhousie Castle2.1 km outside town, to the south

Each has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.

The map

Map of the places

The list reaches out to Craigmillar Castle, 6.3 km away.

123456789101112131415161718

The dashed line is Dalkeith’s locality; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · NRS locality 2022

By kind

What sort of places

Count 11 castles or historic places and 3 museums or galleries.

Museums & galleries 3 museums1 in town · 2 nearby
Castles & historic places 6 castles · 3 historic houses · 1 ruins · 1 abbey or priory1 in town · 10 nearby
Gardens & estates 1 garden0 in town · 1 nearby
Other attractions 3 attractions0 in town · 3 nearby

Green: inside Dalkeith. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.

2 places are cared for: 1 by Historic Environment Scotland and 1 by the National Trust for Scotland (Craigmillar Castle and Inveresk Lodge Garden).

Every place

The list in full

After the 2 in town come 16 more within 5 km of its edge.

The 2 inside Dalkeith come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.

168 listed buildings and 1 scheduled monument are on Dalkeith’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Dalkeith →

Big names nearby

A little further out

The 12 days out are led by Edinburgh Castle, 11 km away.

Castle · Historic Environment ScotlandEdinburgh Castle11 km northwestBig drawArt galleryNational Gallery11 km northwest · 661K visitors a year (2021)Historic housePalace of Holyroodhouse9.7 km northwestMuseumNational Museum of Scotland10 km northwestCathedralSt Giles' Cathedral10 km northwestArt galleryScottish National Portrait Gallery11 km northwest · 313K visitors a year (2015)Abbey or prioryHolyrood Abbey9.7 km northwestArt galleryScottish National Gallery of Modern Art12 km northwest · 458K visitors a year (2015)MuseumHMY Britannia12 km northwestGardenRoyal Botanic Garden Edinburgh12 km northwestZooEdinburgh Zoo14 km northwestCastleBorthwick Castle8 km southeast

Places well known beyond Dalkeith (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust for Scotland or Historic Environment Scotland property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.

Dalkeith, answered

What are the main attractions in Dalkeith?

The best known inside Dalkeith’s locality are Dalkeith Museum and Icehouse. In all, 2 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 16 more within 5 km.

Does Dalkeith have a museum?

3 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Dalkeith: Dalkeith Museum, National Mining Museum Scotland and Musselburgh Museum.

Is there a National Trust for Scotland or Historic Environment Scotland property near Dalkeith?

Yes. In or within 5 km of Dalkeith, 2 places are cared for: 1 by Historic Environment Scotland and 1 by the National Trust for Scotland (Craigmillar Castle and Inveresk Lodge Garden).

What are the best-known days out near Dalkeith?

Within 40 km: Edinburgh Castle (11 km), National Gallery (11 km), Palace of Holyroodhouse (9.7 km), National Museum of Scotland (10 km).

Where are Dalkeith’s historic buildings listed?

Dalkeith has 168 listed buildings, 8 of them Category A. They are on its History page, from Historic Environment Scotland’s list, not repeated here.

How is this list made?

From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Dalkeith when it is inside the NRS 2022 locality boundary, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the NRS 2022 locality (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (23)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.