Edinburgh attractions and things to do (merged)

guerillasaver

Edinburghlass wrote:

The pass doesn't actually cover Edinburgh Castle so take care before buying that it covers the attractions you want to go to.

Yep, missed that.. cheers for that :beer:

parkside_stroller

Have read through this thread and thought that it might be worth a post in response to some of the previous stuff on Edinburgh Castle in particular.

This focuses on mainly on Historic Scotland properties and on stuff that kids might want to do - there's lots to do in the area apart from this of course and I've expanded a little on the area.

If you have an English Heritage membership there is a reciprocal arrangement with Historic Scotland so you can get special rates in first year of membership and free entry after that - works both ways so check that out if you are thinking of buying passes for either of these organistations and want your money/days out to go further.

If you go to HERE you will find the Historic Scotland website which will give you the info you need on opening times, entry cost and location of attractions throughout Scotland. Naturally you can check out historic buildings within Edinburgh (Edinburgh Castle and Craigmiller Castle in particular) but also anything within range if you are keeping close to Edinburgh on your stay (Linlithgow Palace is highly recommended in Spring/Summer in particular. Linlithgow is also a stop on the main line train service between Edin and Glasgow). If you do have a car, get a pass and do go out near Linlithgow, Blackness Castle is worth a visit and if you want a great view and a bit of ancient history then Cairnpapple Hill is unique.

The historic scotland passes will get you in to a number of accessible places from Edinburgh (day trip) eg Stirling Castle (some say better than Edinburgh) and in Fife, Aberdour Castle (near train so you can go on Forth Rail Bridge) or on way to Scotland from England some of the Abbeys in the Borders such as Jedburgh.

East Lothian has a great Mining museum between Musselburgh and Prestonpans - http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/content/0,1094,703,00.html
pre - teenagers could enjoy that. I think this might be in the passes mentioned earlier (Midlothian and Edinburgh).

Oh and Musselburgh also has a racecourse (family days), roman bridge, nice ice cream (Luca - as mentioned before) and is a pleasant enough place to go for a spring/summer walk by the river with young kids who might want to feed swans, ducks or geese.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/musselburgh/musselburgh/ gives some info on Musselburgh but the www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk site will also give you some advice on other towns near to Edinburgh which could come in useful if you are staying on outskirts of the city.

local travel info at
http://www.lothianbuses.co.uk/
http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland/sescot/home/
http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/content/timetables/index.php

oops battery running down have to go

alanrowell

For something FREE in central Edinburgh - and the chance to see what a £1,000,000 looks like

https://www.hbosplc.com/abouthbos/History/Museum.asp

BexTech

Just outside:

http://www.srps.org.uk/

RFW

I posted this in "Days Out" re free fringe shows and cheap train tickets

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=515771

competitionscafe

Having meant to go to the Falkirk wheel for ages, I went recently and can highly recommend as a day trip (only takes an afternoon really) Train to Falkirk and then bus or taxi. Enjoyed by kids and adults alike (choose a clear day if you can for great views if you take the boat ride).

Another good day trip is to the Isle of May from Anstruther especially when the puffins are there (June, July). I thought the famous Anstruther fish bar was overated though and not worth the 45 minute (!) wait in the takeaway queue (and that was on a weekday) could have had just as good back in Edinburgh without the wait. Might try the Ship Inn at Elie on the way back next time.

The boat trip from South Queensferry is also a nice day out to Incholm Island and Abbey, although it's not quite the 'Iona of the East' they make it out to be! (Iona is much nicer!) You could combine this with a visit to Deep Sea World in North Queensferry although if you weren't driving you would have to get back on the train or walk/ get a bus across the road bridge.

Other good daytrips: Tantallon Castle and Sea Cliff beach; Linlithgow Palace.

purpledragon_3

My cousins were recently in Edinburgh and they planned their whole holiday using a special deck of playing cards.:cool: Each card had a different Edinburgh tourist attraction and then below that was a great place to eat or have a nice drink:beer: that was near the attraction.
It even had food, drink and entry discounts to a lot of the places. They just had to show the card. They loved it! I think they were called Dexplore. I did a google search and think I found them :T http://www.dexplore.co.uk/decks.html

lizemain

:j

Felix wrote: »

Theres the Castle, Dynamic Earth, Brittania, the Zoo, Holyrood house, Mary Kings Close, Edinburgh Dungeons, the Vaults.

:money:

bathgatebuyer

Spend nothing climbing up Arthur's Seat, walk round the loch, climb up the Crags and get cracking views and photos of the Edinburgh skyline. Same thing can be done with Calton Hill (during daylight hours only!) as you'll get great views of the city from there. Total cost? Absolutely nothing but a priceless experience.

If you fancy a trip outside Edinburgh for the day, visit the Rosslyn Chapel which recently appeared at the end of The Da Vinci Code and which can be reached by public transport from the City Centre.

izzy339_2

Hi all you money savers

I'm hoping to glean some good info from you, my b/f is coming over from the US in Nov and we plan to spend a couple of days in Auld Reekie, we have two nights at the Apex in Grassmarket area, the Castle is a must as we're both ex-service, I love the museum of childhood so I'll go by there also (nothing to do with the fact that the fudge shop is next door
I would like to take him to see the Royal Yaught Britannia (he was a sailor;) ) but I'm not sure of how to get there from Princes St as we're not driving, any info most welcome.
all this one a budget as most of our cash has gone on the flight ticket across here.................we both LOVE freebies! so free entrance to anywhere is worth considering.................any ideas? oh and we have to eat too lol.

You people on here seem to have a wealth of knowledge so I'm appealling to you all.
In anticipation

Izzy