We woke to a bitterly cold morning with clear skies and Edinburgh was bathed in sunshine as we strolled onto George Street for our breakfast at the Standing Order pub.  We then bought a one day Lothian Buses pass for £4 each and took a bus to the coastal village of Cramond four miles to the south of the city centre.  Cramond is a small village alongside the River Almond with a small harbour at the mouth of the river.  When the tide is out its possible to take a walk along the narrow causeway stretching out to Cramond island bit was high tide and the causeway was covered in water we instead strolled along the shoreline passing some white painted stone cottages, the Cramond Arms, a gallery and a cafe.  From here there are good views across the bay to Fife and of aircraft coming into land at the nearby Edinburgh Airport.

On leaving Cramond we headed to Leith, home to the now retired Royal Yacht Britannia. We have toured the ship before so on this occasion we just admired her from the nearby Ocean Terminal waterfront shopping and entertainment complex.  A little time was spent glancing in some of the stores then it was back towards the city centre pausing briefly at the Meadowbank outlet for a little more shopping before returning to the Virgin Lounge in the city centre for afternoon tea.

As darkness fell, the Christmas Market got into full swing and crowds gathered, we wandered around there awhile before having dinner in the Alexander Graham Bell pub, named after the Scottish inventor of the telephone.

After a short rest back at our hotel we took a walk through the old town, wandering along to the attractive Grassmarket area which is now home to many bars and restaurants.  Continuing along the Mound we took one final look at the festive market stalls before heading back to our hotel after another fun filled day in this beautiful Scottish city.

Other posts in this series:

A winter break in Edinburgh

Similar posts:

Edinburgh at Christmas

Leith and rugby at Murrayfield