Not only do I have another Getaway post for you, I have some news for you as well. Edinburgh was featured on my
bucket list only a couple of weeks ago, and I've already checked it off. Pretty productive travelling, if I do say so myself ;)
I visited the scenic capital of Scotland a couple of weeks ago for nearly a week, and though I gave Scotland so much time, Edinburgh for the weekend would still be epic.
Edinburgh is a quick jaunt from Ireland and England, but I know some of you from the States and elsewhere might not find it the best option for a weekend away. But if you ever find yourself in the British Isles, make sure you add Edinburgh to your bucket list.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh's city centre is split into two parts: Old Town and New Town. Both are
UNESCO World Heritage sites. Old Town is a huge medieval frontier whose main pass, the Royal Mile, connects two castles. Edinburgh Castle sits at the top of the city as a huge medieval fortress, while the Palace at Holyrood Park -- still a Royal residence -- lays at the base of Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano.
If this combination of royalty and volcanoes isn't enough to impress you, don't forget about New Town. Don't be fooled by the name. New Town is Georgian, built as an extension of Edinburgh in the late 1700s in an effort for the nouveau-riche to escape the tiny streets of walled Edinburgh. New Town is all about space, clean lines, and parks. The architecture is gorgeous, the parks are rampant, and the shopping is pretty good.
I could have easily spent weeks in Edinburgh. With a million nooks and crannies, the Highlands at your doorstep, and some really cool new friends, Edinburgh is my new dream home. And obviously, everyone is going to agree with me. We're all going to visit Edinburgh for weeks at a time, fall in love, and stay forever together.
But just for arguments sake, let's just say for some weird reason we only have a weekend to spend in this epic capital. How should we spent our time?
1) Visit a Castle (or Two)
This may seem very cliché for some locals who've never forked up the £10 to go inside Edinburgh Castle, but this massive medieval fortress is a village in and of itself and definitely worth the visit. Plan to spend a couple of hours in the Castle -- they even have a very nice tea rooms with traditional tea served all day. Prepare for a bit of a hike to get up the mountain, but don't worry, there are plenty of pubs along the way.
If you have the time, also go check out Holyrood Palace at the bottom of the Royal Mile. Still a royal residence, the Palace tour is extremely well-orchestrated (which might make it a bit more sterile than Edinburgh Castle). No pictures allowed inside though, so beware. You might have to buy a couple of postcards on your way out, then ;)
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| Edinburgh Castle, up there looking all majestic. |
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| Palace at Holyrood |
2) Take a walking tour
Sandeman's New Europe Walking Tours offers a
free walking tour of Edinburgh at 10 o'clock every morning. THAT IS NOT A TYPO. Yes, it's a free tour. No it's not bad! It was actually fantastic. It was a huge group (which is somewhat unsurprising, considering its general freeness), which they split into four smaller groups. The tour lasted about 3 hours, and in that time we got an incredible amount of history about Scotland and Edinburgh especially. Our tour guide was absolutely fantastic-- thanks Sabela!! -- and it really helped me get my bearings in the city.
Edinburgh has hundereds of "wynds" or closes branching off throughout the city. Though these are usually tiny (you could touch either side as you walk through them!), we learned that these were what most streets in Old Town would've been like when the city was walled. There just wasn't enough space! Even now, Edinburgh residents will describe Old Town and the Royal Mile as the skeleton of the fish -- with one main, hilly road (spine) and hundreds of spikey bits poking off in a general downward fashion!
If walking is not your thing, check out
Edinburgh Bike Tours as well!
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| One of the many "wynds" in Old Town, Edinburgh. |
3) Be quirky
Edinburgh is quirky, don't let anyone tell you any different. As an example, the city hosts the biggest Fringe festival in the world every year. People have inscribed the names of characters from Harry Potter into tombstones, and often graveyards are treated as public parks. Take advantage of the quirkiness and get your feet dirty in Edinburgh a little bit.
Ideas:
Greyfriars Churchyard
There is a statue to a dog here called Greyfriars Bobby. His grave is just outside the churchyard. Bobby was an officers dog for two years from the day he was born, and he and his officer were never apart. One day, sadly, his officer died. Bobby attended the funeral along with everyone else. But when everyone went home, Bobby stayed. Bobby stayed for 14 years by his officer's graveside, before he too died. People still bring sticks and other gifts to Bobby's grave.
Greyfriars is also said to be home to some pretty famous characters. Buried here is a Thomas Riddell, a Peter Pettigrew, as well as a few other names such as Moodie and McGonnegall. Nearby is the now-famous Elephant House Café where J.K. Rowling allegedly wrote a great deal of the Harry Potter books. I wonder where she got her inspiration.
The Writers' Museum
Nestled in one of the closes near St. Giles Cathedral (which is also worth a visit!!) is the Writers' Museum, housed in a medieval mansion and home to exhibits on Edinburgh's three most historically famous writers: Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Burns. The building is adorable, and if you love writing as much as I do, it's definitely worth a trip to this little museum.
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| Greyfriars Bobby, probably Edinburgh's most famous resident before Harry Potter |
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If you visit the Elephant House Café for some tea and cake, be sure to visit the bathroom.
It was literally one of the coolest and inspirational things I had ever seen.
Thousands of HP fans had inscribed their thanks to the authoress. |
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| The Writers' Museum, in an old medieval mansion house |
4) Be alone
I actually booked this trip alone, and though it didn't seem odd to me at the time, I realized once I was on the plane that it was the first time I'd ever travelled alone before. Yes, I have travelled around loads before, but usually it was with a friend in the adjoining city or just a day of wandering around alone with my friends back in the hostel. Though I've always talked about travelling alone, I've never really seemed to do it!
Edinburgh is a fantastic city to visit alone, probably because it's just that, a city. There's plenty to do, lots of walking and exploring to be done. There are some wonderful cafés and pubs with nooks and crannies to get lost in and people watch while you have your evening tea.
Walk around alone for a while, even if you've gone with a friend, just to get your bearings and to stand on your own two legs in one of the most beautiful cities.
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| My evening tea in an alleyway of a teashop. |
5) Meet people
That being said, being alone will probably become a magnet condition for meeting new people. I stayed alone in my hostel, and met some of the coolest girls, with whom I celebrated a rather epic Halloween night. Eating alone in pubs and cafés, I met locals and foreigners who all loved talking about why they moved to Edinburgh. I even ended up friending some of them on Facebook (which of course makes it official).
I even realized (AFTER booking my flights, how dumb am I?) that my cousin lives in Edinburgh! Totally forgot. We met up for a couple pints and had a blast!
Whether you're alone or in a group, one of the greatest things about travelling
anywhere is meeting people. But Edinburgh attracts some of the coolest. So go ahead, chat to the locals - the bartenders, the tour guides - and have lunch with fellow travellers.
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| Me 'n' cuz |
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| A kindly and random fellow American helped me with this one. |
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| Scottish Poppy Memorial outside Scott Monument |
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| Did a little shopping too, of course :) |
