What's up in Edinburgh?

In My Humble Opinion
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For her 30th birthday, I’m taking my wife on a 5 day trip to Edinburgh. We’re not going to be there during the most beautiful time of the year, we’re going to be in town Feb. 23 to Feb. 26.

Now, we’ve both traveled through Southern - Mid Europe, but neither of us have been to the British Isles. We’ve bought a couple of tour books, but I wanted to see if any one had any first hand (or very trustworthy second hand) suggestions.

We are going to try to make it up to Loch Ness, if we have time. Other than that, we don’t really have a clue. So, what’s your favorite thing to do in Edinburgh?

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In Edinburgh there is a very cool Childhood Museum on the Royal Mile that is worth a look. There’s also the Scotch Whiskey Heritage Cetre which we couldn’t really get over. Holyrood Palace of course, not to mention that little structure perch way up there on that basalt cliff (Don’t worry, you’ll notice it straight away) People who like to shop seem to like Princes Street, too, but that’s outside my area. They have a couple of nice cemetaries too - yeah, so I find them interesting…

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Thanks for that YB. We’ve read a lot about the Royal Mile. Tracy really wants to go see the monument to Greyfriar’s Bobby.

Any recommendations on “local” favorites? We don’t just want to hit the tourist traps.

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You may have to abandon Loch Ness. It’s a long drive from Edinburgh (have you planned to hire a car?) and you wuold probably need to stay over somewhere, plus the weather in February may stop you from getting anywhere near there.

Make sure you walk up Arthur’s Seat, a small mountain / big hill in the middle of Edinburgh for the view. It’s not too bad a walk. Walk up to the castle as well, even if you don’t go in. I’d also recommend taking a train from Edinburgh Waverley station to Aberdour in Fife; it’s a tiny but pretty village, so you’d basically cross the Forth Bridge and come back.

I went to uni in Edinburgh from 93-97, so I don’t know what the coolest places are now, but maybe also consider driving into the Black Hills. Glasgow is only 40 minutes by car away too.

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What’s in Edinburgh? Well, historical buildings and a lot of nice pubs, really. The Edinburgh Festival of course, but not in February - this is not necessarily a bad deal if you want space to walk around. (And I do mean walk around - a car might be as much hindrance as help, except for the hilly bits, of which there are many.) Buts it’s pretty though. Castle, Palace of Holyroodhouse, and as YankeeBlue said, graveyards. If you ever encountered the faithful mutt story of “Greyfriars Bobby” as a child, now you can visit him, in a manner of speaking. Or walk in the footsteps of Mary, Queen of Scots, or John Knox the well-known ex-galley slave, should your tastes lie in that direction.

Here is, I think, the oficial website.

http://www.ebs.hw.ac.uk/EDC/Edinburgh.html

and a different one

http://www.rampantscotland.com/edinburgh.htm

I hope they can help you find what interests you.

I don’t know about travel books: perhaps you could even wait till you get there, I don’t know.

I don’t know about having time for Loch Ness, but then I suppose at a guess it would be approx. 4 hours drive, so it just depends how energetic you feel with your limited time. Or, if you are a golfy person, you could easily visit St. Andrews (historic buildings, ruined castle etc). but I don’t know what you want to see especially.

It will be quite cold - no need for Arctic gear though, just normal things with a useful pullover or two. Anyway, when it’s cold is when you learn about whisky (and ginger wine.) See, all very well planned.:slight_smile:

I’m sure you’ll have a good time. Here is a link to the relevant newspaper for the Edinbrugh area, in case it is of any use.

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/

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What Celyn said.

I forgot to mention the weather: Edinburgh is a giant, icy windtrap. And St Andrews is a must, if possible; about an hour’s drive north, but well worth it.

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Oi, MattK, I was careful not to say anything off-putting like “giant icy windtrap”! Probably best that somebody did though.:slight_smile:

Tommy the Cat that looks like two votes against your having time for Loch Ness, not that we want to spoil anything. If you are not monster-hunting, though, and just want a loch with a vaguely famous name, you will find Loch Lomond a lot closer. You might also enjoy a visit to Stirling, if by then you have developed a taste for another castle and more Scottish history (William Wallace, Bruce, Bannockburn). It’s a pity you won’t have a whole lot of time, but I do think you will have very little trouble having fun with this limited itinerary for 5 days.

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Thanks a lot y’all.

mattk, I was looking for someone to let me know how it really is. No, we haven’t looked into getting a car. Will we need one or does the train go enough places?

And Celyn, I’ll be sure to look up those websites. Thanks for the info on the weather. I’ll be sure to pick up plenty of ginger wine.

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Don’t need a car. I went a few years ago with my mother, and we did just fine without a car. Of course, we stayed fairly close to the Royal Mile.

Everything I loved has already been mentioned, so I’ll just second Holyroodhouse, the Castle, wandering around the Royal Mile, and taking a bus trip SOMEWHERE. Edinburgh is nice, but seeing the countryside is even nicer. If it still runs, there’s a tour that goes to both Loch Lomond and Stirling, which was a lot of fun.

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It is such a wonderful place! Go on one of the “ghost tours” at night- They take you through the old parts of the city telling stories about Scotland’s history - you also get to go underground- another city was built under it when the plague hit- you finally end up in a cemetary that has a fabulous view- It’s not morbid- a little scary- very historical. You don’t need reservations- just go up to the old part of the city and there are tour guides waiting
There are wonderful pubs all over - try a pub crawl- one drink at each pub.

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Oh, I forgot about the underground city / tunnels. I’ve never seen them, but my mother, who’s from Edinburgh, has and thinks they’re superb. Some bits are still off-limits, allegedly because they may still be plague infected (feasible? I have no idea).

Where are you flying in to? If it’s Edinburgh, and you don’t plan on travelling outside the city, you won’t need a car. Glasgow is fine by train too.

However, if you’re planning on going pretty much anywhere else, you’ll need to rent a car. St Andrew’s has no station (the nearest is at an RAF base at Leuchars, where you get a bus from into St Andrew’s) so a car is pretty much essential. The highlands and lochs will also require a car - Scotland is very remote and hasn’t got many large cities, so the rail links pretty much tie Edinburgh to Perth, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen on the east coast, and Glasgow to Fort William on the west. There’s nothing really inbetween, IIRC, except maybe Stirling.

Also, if you’re flying into London, the trains up to Edinburgh are bad at the moment, since speed restrictions came into force after an accident last year led investigators to discover that much of the rail network is in dire need of repair. Check trains in advance! I don’t believe the local networks in Scotland are that badly affected, though, just the main intercity links from England.

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Giant, icy, windtrap, as noted. But charming nonetheless.
Greyfriar’s Bobby, while worth a visit, is hardly worth spending an afternoon over. Essentially, it’s a statue of a dog outside a chain pub serving pasteurized beer. Go for the local pubs, museums (some free), and the Castle.
Holyrood is OK as far as palaces go, but not, IMHO, worth the entrance fee.
The park under the Castle is cool, with a really neat old cemetary at the far end (away from the train station).
Go up to the Monument (known as the Discrace of Edinburgh), go to the Scott Memorial, which I’m surprised no-one’s mentioned yet. Good pub on the Royal Mile is called the Filling Station-American-style food, but local waitstaff and specialities. There’s also the pub formerly owned by the chap who inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Jekyll and Hyde-excellent scran.

If you’re adventurous, go climb the hill at the foot of the Mile. Start at Holyrood, go around the soccer pitch, and just go on up. Best view of Edinburgh and the bay.

Now, if you want real local colour and don’t mind a dodgy section of town, go down to the docks. Leith, mate. Where Trainspotting was set and at least partially filmed. Also some excellent restaurants now that urban renewal has caught on.

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Giant, icy, windtrap, as noted. But charming nonetheless.
Greyfriar’s Bobby, while worth a visit, is hardly worth spending an afternoon over. Essentially, it’s a statue of a dog outside a chain pub serving pasteurized beer. Go for the local pubs, museums (some free), and the Castle.
Holyrood is OK as far as palaces go, but not, IMHO, worth the entrance fee.
The park under the Castle is cool, with a really neat old cemetary at the far end (away from the train station).
Go up to the Monument (known as the Disgrace of Edinburgh), go to the Scott Memorial, which I’m surprised no-one’s mentioned yet. Good pub on the Royal Mile is called the Filling Station-American-style food, but local waitstaff and specialities. There’s also the pub formerly owned by the chap who inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Jekyll and Hyde-excellent scran. Oh, and afternoon Tea at either the Grand or the Carlyle.

If you’re adventurous, go climb the hill at the foot of the Mile. Start at Holyrood, go around the soccer pitch, and just go on up. Best view of Edinburgh and the bay.

Now, if you want real local colour and don’t mind a dodgy section of town, go down to the docks. Leith, mate. Where Trainspotting was set and at least partially filmed. Also some excellent restaurants now that urban renewal has caught on.

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I wouldn’t even bother taking the train from London. In my experience it’s not only a hell of a lot quicker but often cheaper just to fly.

I’ll second the Leith recommendation, not that I’ve been there or anything but you’ll get a really good taste of Scottish culture if you find yourself in a Leith pub (one with Sky Sports, anyway) between 6-8 pm on Sunday the 25th :wink:

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OK, tiny hijack, but curiosity impels me to. So what is on on Sunday 25th, Ruadh? And for the sake of the OP, yes I liked Leith too. And if you can say “The Leith police dismisseth us” then you haven’t had enough to drink.:slight_smile:

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Celtic v Hibs.

(For the benefit of the OP’er, Hibs are one of Edinburgh’s top soccer clubs and they’re currently in second place in the Scottish Premier League while Celtic are in first. So the pubs in Leith, where Hibs are based, will be packed on that evening.)

[/hijack]

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Edinburgh is where I count as home even though I don’t live there any more. Be warned, it is very very cold now - I went up for New Year and there were days when it was -5 so bring lots of woolly jumpers. Loch Ness is a long drive away so I second the idea to go to Loch Lomond instead, it’s really beautiful even without Nessie.
Glasgow is better for shopping than Edinburgh so I would suggest making a day of it there. Lots of museums, art galleries and really great pubs.
I can second everything everyone else has said to visit, I did it all in my six years there, the castle is wonderful, as is the Royal Mile and the ghost tours. Leith has great restaurants and for night life, go up to the Old Town near the Bridges or ask a cab driver, they usually give good recommendations.
If you’re coming up from London, it’s better to fly than get the train - cheaper, faster and more reliable.

I’m feeling terrible nostaglic now - so have a great time.

nadin

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Lived in Edinburgh for over a year. In fact, just got back from it. Really great place to be. For sightseeing, go to all the places mentioned: the Castle, Holyrood House, Arthur’s Seat (although that might be a bit cold these days). Do the tours if you have time, but if not, I’d skip it. I went into Mary King’s Close and thought it to be a bit disappointing. Nothing much to see really… The only thing that made an impression on me was a room where supposedly the ghost of a young girl who died years ago wanders, and people have left lots of toys for her top play with. That was kind of creepy.

If you want something to do at night, I suggest the following: go to a Caleidh. The Caleidh House and Caledonian Brewery do these frequently and they are lots of fun. All kinds of people folkdancing (young and old) and noone knows the steps so it is basically a mess all of the time (take into account the alcohol that is flowing freely and you’ll know where this is going to). On Queen Street there is The Stand comedy club with every weekend new performers. Mostly British, but occasionally there are people from other countries as well. Can be good and can be bad, depends on who is on. I usually had a good time there, especially when the host opens the show and starts to slack everyone off. A nice pub to go to is the Jekyll & Hyde on Hannover Street. Good luck finding the toilets :wink: And there is great food in a very small restaurant on Grass Market: Petit Paris. A very good Mexican on Rose Street, Catina Mexicana is cheep and very good (if you like Mexican). The pubs Blind Poet/Pear Tree is especially good on warmer days.

I never went to any museums regrettably, but I heard they are very good. I believe there’s a museum called the Dean Museum that has very good exhibitions.

A walk through Princess Street Gardens is also very nice, especially when you combine it with a climb on the Scott Monument and a night cap in the Balmoro (sp?) Hotel. One of the most expensive in Britain, but very beautiful. Bring some cash.

The cash is also something to think about. Prices are high in the UK, and I think that everything will be up to two times more costly than what you are used to (I’m not sure what the prices are in the US, but it has to be lower than there).

That’s it for now. I hope you have some use for it.

Oh, by the way, Greyfriar’s Bobby is only about 4 feet high. It might be disappointing…

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I thought that was in Niddrie?
Btw Tommy, never get tempted to visit Niddrie on an late afternoon or evening. I walked there once because there was supposed to be a nice castle near, but I scared me silly. Very run down, very dirty and very, very hostile feeling… I later heard that this area was the most dangerous and criminal place of the city.

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Be sure to pop into my mum’s for a cup of tea :slight_smile: