Rosslyn Chapel, Scotland

Rosslyn Chapel (or to give it its proper name, the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew) was originally a Roman Catholic collegiate church. It was commissioned in the middle of the 15th century by William St. Clair, the 3rd Prince of Orkney. Building started in 1446 and took four years.

During the Reformation, the Chapel fell in to disuse, having had its altars removed. In 1650 Oliver Cromwell's troops sacked Rosslyn Castle, but preserved the Chapel itself. In the 1780s, Sir Walter Scott wrote the poem "Lay of the Last Minstrel" about it, but it was the visit of Queen Victoria in 1842 that sparked the preservation effort. With the building restored, the first church services for 200 years took place.

The Da Vinci Code, written by Dan Brown, made prominent use of Rosslyn Chapel in its closing chapters. Both the book (2003) and subsequent film (2006) were hugely successful and caused visitor numbers to increase sharply.

Rosslyn itself is located outside the city of Edinburgh bypass, but the Lothian bus number 15 stops there. You can get this bus from Princes Street. The postcode is EH25 9PU. You can get more information about opening times and admission costs from Rosslyn Chapel's own website, rosslynchapel.org.uk.

Stay at Dunstane Hotels to combine a short break in Edinburgh with finding the Holy Grail.