About Edinburgh:
Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, is a beautiful city – famous for its whiskies, castle, the Edinburgh Fringe festival and being the birthplace of Harry Potter. It also has more trees per head of population than any other city in the UK. The city combines medieval architecture in the old town with Georgian architecture in the new town and does it so perfectly, that for this reason, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has an eventful history, wonderful legends and myths galore, shopping, dining, art and culture.
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✨ This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Edinburgh.
How we booked our trip:
Flight:
I decided to take my daughter to Edinburgh for her end of GCSEs treat. At the time, we were not allowed to travel outside of the UK and I thought it would be a great opportunity to go and see Scotland. Flights to Edinburgh from Bristol are very frequent and cheap (sometimes under £20) because of the high demand. The flight takes only 1hr 15mins.
Hotel:
Hotels are expensive and cost at least £200 per night if you want to stay in the centre. But if you are happy to be slightly further out, you can find hotels for around £100 per night. We were very lucky to stay in Edinburgh Holyrood Hotel for 4 nights for £392:
BOOK: MARRIOT EDINBURGH HOLYROOD HOTEL
Transfer:
You can transfer from the airport to the city centre by tram, it takes around 35 minutes. You can also take the bus or taxi.
Tours from Edinburgh:
We wanted to make the most of our time in Scotland and to see as much as possible, so we booked ourselves on a coach trip to the Highlands and Loch Ness, booked on Get Your Guide:
BOOK: SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS AND LOCH NESS TOUR
My daughter loves scary films so we also booked a ghost walk around the vaults and graveyard in the old town, which we thought would be a fun way to learn a bit of history and maybe spot a ghost, also booked on Get Your Guide:
BOOK: HAUNTED VAULTS AND GRAVEYARD TOUR
Our 4 Day Edinburgh Itinerary
Day 0:
- Arrived and explored the Royal Mile and Old Town
Day 1:
- Morning: Visited Edinburgh Castle
- Afternoon: Bus to Leith to tour the Royal Yacht Britannia + afternoon tea
- Evening: Haunted Vaults & Graveyard Tour
Day 2:
- Full-day coach trip to the Scottish Highlands & Loch Ness
Day 3:
- Morning: Explored the Old Town – Victoria Street (inspiration for Diagon Alley)
- Afternoon: Explored the New Town – Princes Street Gardens and shops
Day 4:
- Quick visit to the Palace of Holyrood before flying home
Things to do in Edinburgh:
Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile:
Edinburgh Holyrood hotel is a four star hotel, conveniently situated in the old town, close to the Royal Mile. This famous, cobbled street starts at the Palace of Holyrood and leads up to Edinburgh Castle. It is very pretty and steeped in history. There are 16th to 17th century houses and shops along the way. Many alleyways lead off the main street with cafes and restaurants hidden amongst them.
At the top of the Royal Mile, Edinburgh Castle sits on Castle Rock, which used to be a volcano. You can take a tour around the castle and learn about its colourful history and battles against the English. It is one of the oldest castles in the UK and there is lots to see including Scotland’s Crown Jewels. There are also great views over the city.
Haunted Edinburgh and Vaults Tour:
After our day looking around the Royal Mile and Castle, we met our tour guide to explore the haunted places of Edinburgh’s old town.
We enjoyed a tour around Grassmarket and Greyfriars Kirkyard, where we saw the grave of Thomas Riddel, J K Rowling’s inspiration for the character Tom Riddel.
We learnt about the dark history of the cemetery, legends, myths and grim stories about the former inhabitants of Edinburgh. One character who people have come to love is Bobby the graveyard dog, a famous dog who spent 14 years guarding the grave of his owner.
At the end of the tour, we were led into the vaults and told about the regular paranormal occurrences.
Sadly, we did not see any ghosts this time but it was a great tour, interesting and fun and I highly recommend it.
Royal Yacht Britannia:
3 miles north of Edinburgh city centre is the coastal area of Leith, home of the Royal Yacht Britannia. We took the bus to Leith, which was easy and we got off at the shopping mall, Ocean Terminal. You could easily spend a whole day in Leith visiting the boutique shops and fancy restaurants.
The Royal Yacht Britannia was a royal residence for over 40 years. It was interesting to see and learn about life on board. We thought it was fascinating to see how the Queen liked things to be decorated and how much she shared the same taste as my gran! It was a great day out, and we enjoyed an afternoon tea in the café there afterwards.
Lochness and Scottish Highlands Day Trip:
Our trip to Loch Ness and the Scottish Highlands was the highlight of our trip. It was a 12 hour trip so a very long day but the tour guide was exceptional and kept us entertained with his knowledge of Scotland, the history, traditions, legends and tales of Nessy.
The Highlands were beautiful and we had a chance to stop and take photos. A boat trip across Loch Ness was amazing and even if you don’t spot Nessy, it’s a cool place to see and learn about the lake – its geology and legends.
Facts about Lochness:
Things I didn’t realise about Loch Ness:
1: Lochness is pitch black because of the peat, which is why it’s so difficult to spot Nessy.
2: It sits on a fault line, which formed 400 million years ago.
3: The lake is 800ft deep, which is twice the average of the North Sea.
4: It holds more water than all the lakes, rivers and reservoirs in the whole of England and Wales combined.
Ednburgh’s Old Town:
The following morning, we perused the cute shops in Edinburgh’s old town, around Grassmarket, Victoria and Castle Street.
For Harry Potter fans, the colourful curved street called Victoria Street is supposed to be Rowling’s inspiration for Diagon Alley and there is a shop called Museum Context which specialises in Harry Potter merchandise.
Edinburgh’s New Town:
In the afternoon, we looked around the new town. Edinburgh’s new town was developed from the 18th century onwards and has a different feel from the old town but it is also beautiful. There are broad avenues lined with Georgian houses, squares and parks.
We explored the shops and walked through Princes Street Gardens which sits between the New and Old Town. Not far from the park is a café called Coro the chocolate café, where you can feast on gourmet sweet treats.
PIGGS Restaurant:
Edinburgh is a great place for foodies, with an abundance of great restaurants to choose from. One, in particular, that we enjoyed was PIGGS, which specialises in fine wine and Spanish tapas. The restaurant is family owned and is very popular because of its relaxed atmosphere and delicious food. It only has 6 tables so be sure to book.
Palace of Holyrood:
On our final day, we visited the Palace of Holyrood, which is the official residence of the Monarchy in Scotland. It contains the apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots, which are open to the public throughout the year.
The gardens are beautifully landscaped and contain the remains of the monastery that once stood there. We unfortunately didn’t have much time here because we were heading back to the airport.
Our overall thoughts:
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Edinburgh and thought it was a fantastic trip. We were very lucky with the price of our hotel and the weather; beautiful sunshine and 23’C, which I’m told is very rare but I’m sure we would have loved it whatever the weather.
I would like to go back at Christmas time, to see the lights and festive markets. The only thing that is stopping me is the price of the accommodation but it seems that if you book far enough in advance it can be greatly reduced – so best to plan ahead!
✨ This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Edinburgh.
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