Scotland
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The Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
All good things have to come to an end and before we knew it, we had reached the final day of our Scottish holiday. Our train home wasn’t until 6.30 p.m. though so we had the entire day to explore Edinburgh. After checking out of the lovely Altido Vita aparthotel and leaving our luggage to…
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A day in North Berwick
Edinburgh is undoubtedly a beautiful city with so many interesting things to see and do but it’s also the perfect base from which to explore more of Scotland. After days out by train earlier in the week to both Stirling and Glasgow we then decided to visit the picturesque seaside town of North Berwick which…
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A day in Glasgow
After enjoying a day in Stirling the previous day, we turned our attention to Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city sitting on the banks of the River Clyde. We bought off peak day returns at £13.70 each and the journey from Edinburgh Waverley Station to Glasgow Queen Street took just 1 hour and 20 minutes. The station…
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A day in Stirling
We decided to spend the day in Stirling and booked anytime day return tickets from Edinburgh Waverley at £16.90 per person. Stirling lies 37 miles north west of Edinburgh and is often referred to as the gateway to the Scottish Highlands. The journey time was only 45 minutes and it seemed no time at all…
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A day in St. Andrews
From our base at the Altido Vita aparthotel in the Fountainbridge district of Edinburgh it was just a ten minute walk downhill to Haymarket station for our train to St. Andrews (Leuchars station). We’d pre-booked our tickets (£18.50 standard off peak day return) for the one hour journey and as we were sitting on the right…
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Edinburgh – Leith & Cramond
We began the day with a walk around some of the buildings of the University of Edinburgh starting at the Old College quad located on South Bridge. It was an overcast morning but the sight of the historic buildings housing the School of Law and the Talbot Rice Gallery surrounding the quad lifted our spirits.…
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Exploring Edinburgh
It had been more than a year since my last visit to Edinburgh and I couldn’t wait to return to one of my favourite cities. We travelled north on board an LNER train which whisks passengers from London in just four and a quarter hours. If you plan to travel by train try to book…
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Altido at Vita, Edinburgh – A Review
Location: Located in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh overlooking the Union Canal is the modern and well appointed Altido Vita aparthotel. Just a 10 minute walk from Princes Street and a short walk from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile it’s in a perfect location to explore the city. Both Haymarket and Waverley railway stations are accessible on…
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Day 4. Edinburgh Morningside
Although our hotel room was lovely and quiet there was no need to set an alarm as each morning we were roused from our slumbers at 8.00 a.m. sharp to the clattering sounds of a glass recycling truck emptying bins along the road. With so many nice things we wanted to fit into our Edinburgh…
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Day 3. Visiting the National Mining Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
The rain clouds of the previous day seemed to have vanished but had been replaced by a strong wind so we wrapped up warm and after coming to life with bacon sandwiches and coffee, we wandered along Princes Street to visit Jenners. This famous department store has been part and parcel of Edinburgh’s history since…
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Day 2. Exploring Edinburgh’s Royal Mile
After the lovely sunny weather we’d experienced the previous day, it was a little disappointing to wake up to a dark, gloomy sky accompanied by rain soaked pavements. Still, undeterred we braved the elements to find somewhere for breakfast. After being brought back to life with two cups of coffee and my favourite smashed avocados…
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Day 1. Edinburgh at Christmas
It had been exactly three years since my last visit to Edinburgh and as it’s one of my favourite cities, that was far too long. So, to remedy the situation, we managed to squeeze in a short break to the Scottish capital just before Christmas. We travelled on a Cross-Country train that was over-crowded all…
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Day 1. An afternoon in York on my way to Edinburgh
On my way north to Edinburgh for a pre Christmas weekend away with one of my sons, I decided to spend the afternoon in York as that was where I needed to change trains. I hadn’t visited this historic northern city for several months so on this bright but chilly afternoon I started with a…
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Day 2. Exploring Edinburgh
Waking up to bright blue Scottish skies we started the day with full Scottish breakfasts then took a look inside ScotlandsPeople near Waverley Station on Princes Street. This beautiful building is the official Scottish government resource for genealogical research and despite not having any Scottish ancestors ourselves it’s still an interesting place to visit in the city…
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Day 3. Leith and rugby at Murrayfield
After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, we bought day tickets for Lothian’s trams and buses costing £4 each and after taking a look in the beautiful Jenner’s department store, we caught a bus along to Leith. There was a small market taking place so we glanced round the stalls and sampled some…
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Day 4. Edinburgh Christmas
Our final morning in lovely Edinburgh and the time has sped by so quickly. we’ve had so much fun. After checking out of our hotel, the Queen Street Travelodge, we left our luggage to collect later in the day and went off to a nearby pub for breakfast. A little later on, we returned to…
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Day 1. A winter weekend in Edinburgh
It’s not long since I returned from Madeira, my short working week over, I was off on my travels again. Late on a Thursday afternoon I was on my way to Scotland’s capital city, travelling by train on a Cross Country service. I had reserved a window seat and although it was already dark, its…
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Day 2. The Royal Mile, Edinburgh
It was 8.00 am when we roused from our slumbers and on opening the curtains we noticed it was raining so our first stop was to Wetherspoon’s on George Street for their traditional Scottish breakfast. Next, we wandered up to St. Andrew’s Square and spent a leisurely hour in the Virgin Lounge sipping cappuccinos and…
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Day 3. Cramond Island, Edinburgh
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…
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Day 4. Edinburgh’s New Town
Another bright sunny morning, we checked out of our hotel and enjoyed a full Scottish breakfast in The Standing Order pub once again. We then strolled down the steep hills to Edinburgh’s new town. We passed along Dundas Street, Moray Place and India Street on our way to Edinburgh’s delightful district of Stockbridge made famous…
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