One Day in Edinburgh
- Edytka
- 18 mar
- 7 minut(y) czytania
We started our week dedicated to exploring Scotland with Edinburgh. We flew into the Scottish capital on the Dutch airline KLM. Through the booking portal, we rented a part of a modern house that was a 30-minute walk from the city centre (Stylish Modern Newly Built Apartment 15 min from City Centre). The house was in a very quiet area and had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. It was ideal for 5 people. The cost of renting a flat, parking, and using a car in Edinburgh city centre is very expensive. The central part of the city is a low-emission zone. There are strict regulations that allow vehicles to be used based on their Euro emissions standard: 4 (petrol, LPG, CNG), and 6 (diesel). To get to the castle, we ordered an Uber, which turned out to be £2 more expensive than the bus tickets would have cost.
We booked our entry to the castle online, two weeks in advance. As we planned to visit several other castles, we decided to purchase an Explorer Pass. The pass includes free entry to 56 historical sites in Scotland, including Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Urquhart Castle, the settlement of Skara Brae, and the fortress of Fort George. More details can be found at https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/explorer-passes/#section-3.
Pass price:
Adults (16-64 years): £44.00
Children (aged 7-15 years): £26.00
Under 7s: Free of charge.
How it works: The Explorer Pass is valid for 14 consecutive days from the selected start date. It is available online. For crowded venues, it is recommended to book your visit online in advance. Additionally, the pass guarantees a 20% discount on audio guides at Edinburgh and Stirling castles, as well as at Glasgow Cathedral.
Edinburgh Castle
Rising high atop a hill, Edinburgh Castle is not only one of Scotland's most recognisable landmarks, but also one of the country's most visited attractions.
Inside its stone walls (which survived bombing during World War I), a variety of visitor attractions are available. These include the oldest crown jewels in Britain, St Margaret's Chapel - the oldest building in Edinburgh, Mons Meg - believed to be one of the largest cannons in medieval Europe, the National War Museum, the Great Hall, and the vaults where prisoners of war were once held (located beneath the Great Hall).
Opening hours of the castle:
01.04 - 30.09: Daily from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM (last entry at 5:00 PM)
01.10 - 31.03: Daily from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM (last entry at 4:00 PM)
Ticket prices:
Fast track ticket (including a guided tour) £33 (online ticket booking)
Tickets without a guided tour £19.50 (online ticket booking)
Admission for children aged 5 to 15, from £11.40
Royal Mile
After a one-and-a-half-hour tour of the beautiful castle, we went on to explore the Royal Mile. Stretching from Edinburgh Castle, perched high on a hill, through the Old Town to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mile is one of the main streets in the city of Edinburgh.
Along the way, we encountered many attractions, including the Scotch Whisky Experience and Camera Obscura & World of Illusions, as well as shops selling tartan souvenirs, bottle shops specializing in Scotch whisky, restaurants serving traditional Scottish food, and pubs housed in old medieval buildings. At St. Giles' Cathedral, we listened to a young bagpiper playing the bagpipes.
Despite its name, the Royal Mile is not exactly one mile long. It is 1.13 miles long – an old Scottish mile that has not been used since the 18th century. As well as walking along the main street, we explored the narrow side streets and managed to visit the lovely Writers' Museum.
The Writers' Museum
The Writers' Museum celebrates the lives of three giants of Scottish literature: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. It houses portraits, rare books, and personal objects, including Burns' writing desk, the printing press on which Scott's Waverley novels were first produced, and the rocking horse he used as a child. This free museum can be found just off Lawnmarket, the upper part of Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile, in Lady Stair's Close.
Peering into all the nooks and crannies of this royal street, we came across a bronze sculpture of General Maczek sitting on a bench. This is located in the courtyard of the town hall. It was here, at 16 Arden Street, in Edinburgh's Marchmont district, among terraced 19th-century townhouses, that Stanisław Maczek lived from 1948 to 1994. After the end of the Second World War and following demobilisation, General Maczek settled in Edinburgh. Due to his lack of veteran status, he was not entitled to government benefits and took on various jobs. Among other things, he worked as a barman in an Edinburgh hotel. He died in Edinburgh on 11 December 1994 at the age of 102.
During the summer, Edinburgh is visited by a large number of tourists. There are few places where you can rest alone in peace and quiet. On the recommendation of the lady at the information desk, we found just such a hidden garden. Dunbar's Close Garden, located on the Royal Mile, is a remarkable gem.
Dunbar's Close Garden
The entrance to the garden is through a narrow, cobbled lane. Once inside the peaceful 17th-century garden, the hustle and bustle of the Royal Mile faded into the background, replaced by a canopy of lush trees. As we walked further in, we found ourselves in a walled garden, where pathways wound between well-maintained shrubs. The atmosphere was calming, with the noise of the city overshadowed by the sound of the wind rustling through the plants. As we ventured deeper into the garden, we came across a grassy area that resembled a miniature park. Nearby, there were benches, providing an opportunity to relax before we once again faced the crowds on the Royal Mile.
Admission to Dunbar's Close Garden is free. It is easy to walk past, as despite a modest plaque informing visitors that it is open to the public, it simply looks like the entrance to someone's garden. Dunbar's Close is thought to have been named after the Edinburgh writer David Dunbar, who owned the townhouses on either side of the garden. Not far from Dunbar's Close Garden, we found a cosy restaurant, and after enjoying a delicious lunch, we headed towards Calton Hill.
Calton Hill
Calton Hill is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is one of the most popular viewpoints, ideal for taking photographs. Located to the east of New Town, Calton Hill is one of the first public parks in the country, established in 1724. Today, the hill is home to an unfinished acropolis, modeled on the Parthenon, a tall monument dedicated to Admiral Horatio Nelson, and a vast old complex that was once the Royal Observatory.
This collection of Greek-style architecture has led to Edinburgh earning the nickname 'Athens of the North.' Visitors love Calton Hill for its beautiful views, peaceful surroundings, and relatively easy hike to the top. There is also an excellent restaurant here, and Arthur's Seat can be seen from the hill.
Arthur's Seat
Rising more than 800 feet above sea level, Arthur's Seat is the highest point in the city, offering panoramic views of the sea, the rooftops of the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, and the Kingdom of Fife (a historic county) in the distance. The summit can be reached via several walking trails. Entrances to the trails are located on Queen's Drive, near the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
The shortest route is the yellow route. You can get there very quickly, but the path is a bit steep. It is only when you reach the top that you can enjoy the beautiful views.
The orange route is the longest section, but the ascent is not steep. We can treat this route as a more strenuous walk, accompanied by beautiful views. You can also follow the blue trail. This is an unmarked route with a moderate gradient. It climbs quite considerably, then leads along the summit. It also offers picturesque views. The pink route provides fairly easy access to the summit, without any special climbing.
The three routes above—orange, blue, and pink—will lead to the red section, which requires some effort to reach the summit, and it is from here that some of the most beautiful views in the area can be enjoyed. For those with walking difficulties, a green route is available, which will allow you to reach the summit with minimal effort.
National Museum of Scotland
Finally, we visited the National Museum of Scotland. Walking towards the museum, we strolled along the famous Victoria Street. This is a picturesque, winding cobbled street that is one of Edinburgh's most iconic thoroughfares.
The National Museum of Scotland houses a collection of tens of millions of artefacts (although not all are on display), spanning continents and millennia, arranged in numerous and varied galleries.
Visitors will find exhibits on art and design, the natural world (including a giant T. rex skeleton), history, archaeology, and world cultures. Also not to be missed is the exhibition of Dolly the sheep (named after Dolly Parton), the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, at the neighbouring Edinburgh University.
Admission to the museum's general collections is free, but there are usually touring and specialist exhibitions, which require pre-booked tickets for a fee. The museum is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm
There are countless sights I would love to see in Scotland's capital. The day trip only allowed us to get an initial glimpse of this beautiful city. Fortunately, the weather was fine, and, very tired but satisfied, we returned to our rented house. Ahead of us was the next leg of the trip: Blackness Castle, the Falkirk Wheel, the Kelpies, Castle Campbell, and an overnight stay in lovely Dundee.
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