Edinburgh; a wee review

Edinburgh with a six year old. 2013

 

This short guide to Edinburgh is written in terms of a single mum on a budget, visiting the city for a weekend with a 6 year old....

I find a lot of reviews/ guides will really hype something up as being totally 'amazing' and fun filled, or that you 'couldn't fit it into a weekend, let alone a day'.... and then I go, and find this is not the case; at least not for my daughter.

So this aims to be as realistic and honest as possible.... with pictures too! I have also included prices that I paid, in March 2013 because sometimes it feels like you are stuck in a maze trying to figure out how much it will all cost.

I found flights from Bristol to Edinburgh for £124 return for me and  J, and with cheap airport transfers that made it cheaper to fly than drive . A train from my hometown in Newport would have cost at least £150 for an adult alone.

We booked the Travelodge  a couple of miles from Edinburgh airport for £36, and paid the £7 for breakfast (kids eat free)... The room was acceptable - very clean, but cold, and no phone, so any room service had to be ordered at the bar, and to obtain our extra duvets I had to go down to reception at 1 in the morning. Saying that, the reception staff were very helpful. The breakfast was really not worth it, and has very little for vegetarians. A taxi from the airport to the hotel will set you back £8; however, the 747 Lothian bus will take you very close for £1.50 adult and 70p child. Take the 747 from the airport and tell the driver you need Edinburgh airport Travelodge at Ratho park. You then walk across the overpass bridge to Ratho business park where you see the Travelodge at the far end. There is a co-operative in the same vicinity (great for when you have forgotten your toothbrush) which also has a cash machine. It's open from around 8am to 9pm.

Just remember; children don't evaluate accomodation the same way most adults do. As long as they have a parent and a bed, they are usually happy!

From the Travelodge, we walked across the overpass and took the 747 to the airport and then the 35 Lothian service into Edinburgh city centre - cheaper than catching the service 100 airport link. Buy a day ticket for £3.50 and ride any Lothian buses all day (children £2.00).

Riding the Lothian buses :)

The buses all drop off at various points along Princes Street (the main street in Edinburgh, separating the old and the new side of town) and your first point of call should be the tourist information point as it contains information on various attractions, and also sometimes offers discounts (see Dungeon section). You can also book tours and accommodation from there. Edinburgh Waverly train station is located next door to the tourist information place, in Princes Mall, along with other shops.

 

 

In terms of trains; if you are staying in Glasgow, you can currently buy a train ticket to Edinburgh for around £12 return (kids go free on all trains), and then have free childrens entrance to Edinburgh zoo, which is normally around £11. We didn't have time to visit the zoo, but have heard it's a nice zoo.

The Royal Mile

 This place must have the most tourists per square metre in the whole of Scotland! There are numerous gift shops, a few museums (Museum of childhood for example), coffee shops, stalls and  jewellery shops where you can buy pretty Celtic designs of various prices and qualities. There are also plenty of places to eat around there although the prices were a little high for us, so we trecked back into town to eat at a reliably cheap Weatherspoons pub! The Royal mile is a picturesque stretch leading up to the castle, whic everyone will tell you "you can't miss it".... although we did not realise it was there until Sunday afternoon!

 

We spent some time looking round the Museum of Childhood; which, ironically was great for myself, at the age of 26 but not so interesting for J at the age of 6 because of course, there were clear instructions not to touch - what child accepts that?! Although there was a section for children to dress up in clothes of old, there is little in the way of things to do, touch and feel here, just to look at. But yes, for us grown folk, it is a truly magical and interesting spot.

 

Edinburgh Castle

Although pricey at around £15 adults and £8 children we really thought we should check out the castle while in Edinburgh. It took us around 2 hours to see the whole castle, with a couple of what I call 'sit down and sulk' breaks because J had gotten bored. There is a lot of interesting information to read on the way round, and a useful map which is numbered and labelled so that you don't miss anything . There is also an audio tour which you can take for around £3. There's a number of places to eat and drink within the castle as well, and plenty of sitting space if you have brought snacks. I think a morning or afternoon spent at the castle is more than enough time.

J's favourite part of the castle!

If you are visiting 3 or more castles in Scotland, enquire about the explorer pass (for about £30 you have unlimited access to a number of castles; enquire at the tourist information place next to Waverley station).

One of the views of Edinburgh

Rose Street

Rose Street runs parallel to Princes Street and is full of places to eat, drink, and shop (this is where we found our cheap weatherspoons).

 

Glasgow

We didn't think a weekend in Edinburgh was enough Scotland for us so we jumped on a train to Glasgow. It was a spontaneous decision so we caught the train for £12.60 return (kids go free under 16years) and wondered round for the day. We headed for Glasgow Green to look at the river Clyde and 'The People's Palace'; a free museum giving you a glimpse of Glasgow through the ages, with a kids room and the winter gardens. The winter gardens is a great indoor botanical space complete with a reasonably priced cafe. Perfect if the weather is cold. Kids meals are around £3, and soup of the day is also £3; main meals are around £5 and are served until 3:30pm. The cafe also serves coffee and cake at the usual prices of around £2 per coffee and £3 for a slice of cake.

The Peoples Palace, Glasgow

One thing Glasgow had which we didn't see in Edinburgh was lots of buskers and budding musicians, giving the city more character.

Edinburgh Dungeons

On our last day I took J to the dungeons, ignoring the advice to take children over 8 years old. Not a massive mistake; but the experience (an hour and a half roughly) really is well done, and a bit scary (and jumpy) for any age. J did cry at the end, and I felt terrible, but now she looks back fondly(ish) at the day. I would recommend that you do take the age 8 plus advice, but obviously you know your child. Whether you have children or not, I would definitely recommend the Dungeon experience, as its a fun insight into Scotland's gory past.

 

To get to the airport, we boarded a (number 35) Lothian bus for the last time and bid a sad farewell to Edinburgh; a truly beautiful city with so much to do; but also so so many ways to spend money, thus we came home rather penniless and a bit overspent!