You will find Carrubbers Christian Centre in Edinburgh’s High Street. It is not really a church in the strict sense of the word, but rather an Evangelical Mission and is a friendly, lively place to visit.

The Carrubbers Close Mission was founded in 1858 but members had no hall of their own, so they met in a meeting house that once was used by a group of Atheists. In 1883 the American Evangelist Dwight Lyman Moody and the Gospel singer Ira David Sankey visited the town and through fund-raising sermons managed to gather enough money for the Carrubbers members to build their own centre.

The mission helps other churches with their fund-raising, Bible classes, giving alms to the poor, visiting the sick and counselling addicts. The board of directors that manage the Centre are members of various churches in the city.

The Centre was renovated in the nineteen nineties and enlarged to make a bigger main meeting area. It hosts several different activities that are well attended: prayer meetings, a play-group for little children, a Youth Club for the 11 to 18 year olds that engages the kids in games, crafts and Bible stories. They organise outings to the local skating rink, football stadium and the Pizza Hut.

On Saturday nights the Centre holds fund-raising rallies and on Sunday mornings they offer a free breakfast to the homeless. The Centre has an excellent café open to everyone, which serves snacks, pastries, soft drinks, tea and the “best coffee in Edinburgh”.

While you are in Edinburgh, you will surely take a walk along the Royal Mile between Edinburgh Castle and the Holyrood Abbey. On one side of this famous street you will find the Tron Kirk Church.

This once beautiful church was built in the 17th century on the orders of King Charles I. It’s Palladian and Gothic design had a Dutch influence, inspired by its architect, John Mylne who had been impressed by the “Architectura moderna” churches designed by Hendrick de Keyser.

The original building was T-shaped to conform to modern 17th century religious practices, but it was re-designed in 1787 when the South Bridge was built. In 1820 the wooden spire was destroyed in a fire and the stone spire you will now see was built in 1828.

The building was de-consecrated in 1952 and has been used for various purposes since then, including a tourist information centre and Black Heart Entertainment who organised ghost tours around the city.

In the nineteen seventies, excavations carried out in the crypt discovered remains of Marlin’s Ward including the cellars of an ancient building a part of a paved street. These can be viewed when the building is open to the public.

For several years the church has been the subject of a lively debate. Some want to knock it down, while others want it restored. In the meantime, it gets a little more dilapidated while people fight over its fine architecture and it would be a shame if this well-known landmark disappeared.

Located on the George IV Bridge, the Augustine United Church was inaugurated in 1861 and for 150 years it has opened its doors to everyone in search of spiritual succour. Visitors are welcome and are invited to leave a small donation if they wish.

Augustine’s is a member of the United Reform Church and today is called Augustine’s Church Centre, as it hosts charities and other Christian projects including Christian Aid. During the week, apart from the usual Christian services and prayer meetings it is used for community and political meetings and musical groups.

One of the most important roles Augustine’s Church Centre plays is in its membership of the Edinburgh Inter-Faith Association. In these troubled days of xenophobia and fear of terrorism, the church invites people from every religious confession, including obscure beliefs and pagans, to monthly meetings where everyone can discuss their religion and their hopes for a future religious harmony. Another group, for women, meet to watch a film and to talk about their place in society and in the diverse religions they follow.

The church also gives help to the poor, the homeless and addicts visit the sick and take part in community projects. A soup kitchen is run by volunteers during the week and they run skills classes which include gardening, weaving and woodwork activities.

It is easy to find ancient buildings in Edinburgh as the whole city is divided into two quarters: Old Town and New Town. You will find Greyfriar’s Church in the former.

The construction of the church started in 1602 and it was consecrated in 1630, making it one of the oldest buildings in the Old Town district, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built on the site of an abandoned Franciscan monastery and took its name from the monks who wore grey cassocks and were called the “Grey Friars”.

In 1718 a dividing wall separated the nave for the worshippers of Old Greyfriars and New Greyfriars so that the Covenanters were separated from the Roman Catholics, while worshipping in the same church. In 1845 part of the church’s roof and interior was destroyed by fire.

During restorations in the being of the 19th century the beautiful stained-glass windows were added. It was the first time that such windows appeared in a Presbyterian church and it caused something of a scandal. A little later an organ was placed in the building, which caused a further scandal. The church was further renovated in 1929 and at this time the dividing wall was removed.

The adjoining graveyard is supposed to be haunted by the ghost of George Mackenzie, called the “Bloody” Lord Advocate as he was responsible for the persecution of the Covenanters. According to legend, you will have cuts and bruises wherever his hand has touched you.

Today the church hosts fashion shows, exhibitions, lectures and drama productions. The church museum is full of artefacts found in the area and you will find a comprehensive history of the Covenanters there.

Edinburgh Castle is on the “must” list of every visitor to Scotland’s capital city and St Margaret’s Chapel is perhaps the highlight of the tour because it is the oldest building still standing in the entire complex.

St Margaret was a princess of the House of Wessex. Her family moved to Scotland after the Norman invasion of England. She married King Malcolm III of Scotland and was renowned for her piety and charitable works. According to legend, she prayed every day in the chapel that bears her name, but actually it was built in her honour by her son, King David I at the beginning of the 12th century.

The chapel was built in the Romanesque style, a 3 metre wide, rectangular building with a 4 metre long nave, a sanctuary 3 metres long and walls 61 centimetres thick. Between the nave and the sanctuary is a beautiful round arch with chevron mouldings.

In 1314 the castle was captured by the Earl of Moray after a long siege. As was the custom, once the earl gained the castle, he destroyed all the buildings in it, but for some reason he spared the chapel. In 1329, Robert the Bruce left a small sum of money for the chapel’s up-keep.

Between the 16th and the mid 19th centuries, the chapel fell into disrepair and was used as a gun powder store room. In 1853 it was restored under the patronage of Queen Victoria. The stained-glass windows representing St Margaret, St Ninian, St Columba, St Andrew and William Wallace were installed in 1929. After further restorations the chapel was re-consecrated in 1934.

Perhaps the idea of visiting the Church of Scotland Offices doesn’t inspire you – after all offices are pretty much the same all over the world – filled with filing cabinets and archives! But do go and have a look at this historic building.

Located on George Street, the offices were built in the Scandinavian style by Sydney Mitchell in 1911. Just inside the main entrance is a small chapel and the extension on the east side has a great book shop. The ground and first floors of the building are of grey Aberdeen granite, the rest is of rusticated sandstone. The façade has ten Doric columns supporting elegant arches.

Above the entrance is a coat of arms representing the Burning Bush, with a winged angel on either side. Hovering over the Bush is a dove carrying an olive twig in its beak. Above the dove is Noah’s Ark. The inscription written across the Bush translates: “and yet it was not consumed”.

Above the windows on the second floor over the main entrance there are three flag poles set in bronze swags. Three cherubs gather around the centre pole. The cornice below the windows on the fourth floor have granite carvings of nine ram’s heads, representing the sacrifice the Lord told Moses to make to Him after the carving of the Ten Commandments.

While you are in Edinburgh you really should visit the Parish Church of Saint Andrew’s and Saint George’s, the first church to be built in the city’s New Town.

When James Craig designed the New Town he set aside two parcels of land for two churches, one at the west end of the town to be dedicated to Saint George, the other at the east end for Saint Andrew.

Unfortunately Sir Lawrence Dundus wanted the plot on the east end for his new house and he quickly bought the land, leaving a plot in the middle of the street. The planners decided that two churches couldn’t be built so close together, so the plans for Saint George’s church were set aside and Saint Andrew’s was built in 1780 and dedicated to the two saints.

The building has an elliptical plan and was the first church of this architectural style in the land. In the 18th century, fashion followed classical Roman architecture; so the church has a temple-like portico and ceiling rosettes, based on Robert Wood’s 1753 examples found in a temple in Syria.

The steeple was built in 1787 and houses eight peal bells that were cast by William and Thomas Mears in 1788. These are the last peal bells and the only surviving Georgian bells in Scotland.

The original 18th century windows were replaced by stained glass windows by Alfred Webster in 1912 and Douglas Strachan in 1934.