Kiwi Flyer

Thanks. Looking forward to the updates.

Jenbel

Glasgow

(There is an east/west divide in Scotland Kiwi Flyer)

Late December makes it a little more difficult, because as ajamieson says, daylight length becomes an issue, and gets worse the further north you go. And then there is the weather, and the fact that so much of Scotland (outside the main cities) closes between October and March. One place may be the Aviemore/Cairngorm area, which as a winter resort, may gear up a bit more - but I hate Aviemore with a passion, its a 1960's concrete hell. However, some of the smaller towns in that area could be interesting, without having to stay in Aviemore itself - Kinguissie, Grantown-on-Spey. But there may not be too much to do up there if you aren't into outdoorsy type things.

Another option may be to take a look around the Borders, particularly if into "old" - the abbeys of Jedburgh, Melrose, etc, and some nice old small towns. All within easy driving distance of Edinburgh.

Finally, and a bit off the wall - what about St Andrews? At that time of year, not too stowed out with golfers, the students will have gone home for Christmas (so no chance of seeing Prince William )Again, it's easily driveable from Edinburgh, the picturesque East Neuk of Fife is worth spending a day mosieing around, its got great beaches for walking along in bad weather (I kid you not, I love those beaches in a storm!). If you are after bigger cities, Dundee (yuck) or Perth are also easily reachable.

SanDiego1K

Gleneagles is gorgeous - might be worth an overnight stay if your budget stretches to it. I imagine it would be beautifully decked out for the holidays in late December.

Efrem

Found in the Favorite Starbucks Location thread:

We're looking forward to our first visit to Edinburgh during the first part of the Fringe, arriving August 7, leaving early the morning of the 13th. Any other FTers going to be there? Any interest in a dinner get-together?

kingsroadgal

We stayed in a castle view suite at the Balmoral last year. For all the hype about that hotel, I was disappointed. Our reservation got messed up (despite my having the clear confirmation), and the room was mediocre. Nice, but nothing special, apart from the interesting floorplan. Bed was lumpy and there is an awful lot of street noise - new windows would be in order. International call charges were astronomical (even worse than usual). We will try the Scotsman this year. Edinburgh is a fun place - try to see the Britannia in Leith (the Queen's former yacht), and the Museum of Scotland is also great.

oldpenny16

I always have a trip to Scotland in mind and will take nearly any excuse to do it. I stayed in Edinburgh when a poor student (and had a great time). I find the hotels much less interesting.

TieGuyG

I was married in Edinbugh nearly 2 years ago at Dalhousie Castle. This was the best time in my life! We stayed in the city about 4 blocks from the castle. Unfortunately those folks drive in the wrong side of the road but once you get accustomed to it we had a great time. We only had 3 days but Edinburgh was fairly central to what we wanted to see. We made the trek to Sterling the day after the wedding. I aslo should note that when we were there they experienced the worst weather in nearly 100 years, things were flooded, roads closed and the like. Regardless, my wife and I are planning a return trip for a much longer stay.

TieGuyG

eric_packer

Thank you ajamieson for such a helpful and informative post. Work suddenly has dropped a visit to EDI into my lap beginning on Tuesday, and your comments permitted me to do my initial planning in the absence of other resources. I couldn't book any corporate-approved hotels for Tuesday evening but thanks to your suggestion I will at least have a roof over my head at the Travelodge St. Mary's. Here's hoping I can enjoy some of what Edinburgh has to offer once I've my work assignment sized up and under control.

^ Thanks again!

RGreenPC

Take a trip to Hollyrood Palace and then a walk up to the old observatory... great photo opportunities....

There are tons of great pubs in the haymarket area - I stayed in the haymarket at the APEX City hotel....

I got the hotel for $52 US on biddingfortravel.com

Apexhotels.co.uk also has some great deals.

Just take earplugs if you go to Edinburgh Castle when they fire off the howitzer.... scared the pants off me since I wasn't aware.

TieGuyG

Thanks ajamison! There was information in your compilation I was not aware of. This really sets the stage for a return visit to Edinburgh.

eric_packer

Heh. If you stand in Princes Street at 1 PM on a weekday when the Gun is fired, it is obvious who is new to Edinburgh and who isn't. Visitors jump 2 ft. in the air, and townies check their wristwatches.

Efrem

Just got back from a wonderful three weeks in Scotland, with the last week in Edinburgh.

Only thing I'd add to the list of things to see is Rosslyn Chapel, about 7 miles south of town. You can get there on the cheap on a #15A Lothian bus (runs every hour; don't take #15 or you'll have a half-hour walk) or a First bus (I forget the number, also runs every hour but 30 minutes off from the Lothian bus). This is where The DaVinci Code ended and is an incredible bit of stonework in its own right, aside from its possible Masonic/Templar secrets. It's hard to see the outside right now, as it's covered by scaffolding for roof repair work, but the silver lining in that cloud is that you can climb up for a close-up view of the top.

As for places to stay: we liked MD's Guest House, a four-star B&B in the Blackhall area west of the city. Easy to reach town on the 41 (Lothian) bus, every 15 minutes during the day but backing off to half-hourly service at night. Only two rooms, both with private bath, though one of them requires you to go out into the hall to reach it. Free Wi-Fi, too: the husband of the couple that runs it has his high-tech home office upstairs, installed it for his work, and lets B&B guests use it all they want.

DG

Hi all,

I hope its okay to tack this question on to this thread.

We are planning on driving into Edinburgh on 3rd September - (a Friday during the festival) and we plan to stay at the Radisson on High Street. I was wondering what our parking options are? - we would definitely prefer to avoid the 25 pounds a night hotel parking! Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot!
DG

Efrem

Might I ask why you're planning to drive into Edinburgh? Edinburgh is not a car-friendly city. Taxis are plentiful, and it would be nearly impossible to pay more for a day's travel by taxi than the base daily rate of a rental. Unless you'll be there just the one day and need the car both before and after, I'd urge ditching it on arrival and re-renting, if necessary, after.