A Short Weekend in Edinburgh

Last weekend I went on a (very) short trip to Edinburgh! We had planned a uni girls reunion in the Scottish capital and I couldn't wait for my first visit to Scotland! Sadly my trip was cut short due to a horrendous sickness bug and I left on the Sunday morning, rather than catching my planned flight home in the evening. This really sucked, as we'd planned and paid for more activities on the Sunday, but there was no way I could have strayed far from a toilet, so a 5 hour train home was my only option. Despite my trip being cut short, I had a lovely time in Edinburgh and would love to go back again to explore the rest of the city and see more of the country.

Like the classy girls we are we usually opt to stay in hostels, but the price of accommodation in Edinburgh is surprisingly pricey. So we opted for the much classier option of student accommodation. Where better to have a uni reunion, eh? In many cities student halls are usually rented out over the summer months and are a great option for accommodation. For 7 of us to stay it worked out at £32.50 each for the 2 nights. We had our own kitchen and living area, which was great from chilling and making breakfast in the morning. Plus we were only a 15 minute walk from the centre of town, which was an ideal location for the price!

We flew from London to Edinburgh after work on the Friday for a bargain £45 return and landed just after 9pm. I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise for my carbon footprint - but at that price and speed, you can't say no! The accommodation was only a 20 minute drive from the airport, so we dropped our stuff off, quickly got changed then headed out for some drinks to make the most of our evening. As we literally had no idea where to go, we simply asked the taxi driver to recommend an area and we ended up in the Grassmarket. The Grassmarket is a lovely little area of Edinburgh, which was historically a market place and is now lined with pubs and eateries. We opted for the pub Biddy Mulligans and enjoyed our drinks while listening to live music.  

We were up bright and early on Saturday morning to go on a walking tour of the old town. We went on a Sandeman's free walking tour; I've been on a couple of these in different European cities and always really enjoy them! The tour started on the Royal Mile, the main street that runs right through the heart of the old town. From here we wandered up the hill in the direction of the castle, cut back down into the Grassmarket and finished the tour in Greyfriars church yard. The tour was great and our guide was lovely and so informative. We learnt so much on the tour and I couldn't possibly remember everything, but it ranged from the grisly history of the city, to the geography and history of Scotland, to good old Harry Potter.

As a huge, and unashamed, Harry Potter fan these parts of the tour were a favourite for me! J.K Rowling spent the majority of her time writing Harry Potter in Edinburgh and it is clear to see where she drew some of her inspiration! Edinburgh Castle, or Hogwarts??

This is Bobby, I won't ruin his story, as I'm sure you'll hear it if you visit Edinburgh. Bobby is somewhat of a local legend and this is apparently the most photographed statue in the city.

After the tour finished we headed to a lovely old pub, the other side of the Royal Mile for some well deserved food and a sit down. A few bottles of prosecco later and we ventured back up the Royal Mile to check out Edinburgh Castle. As it was getting late in the day we only went into the entrance area, rather than pay to see it all, which is a shame but we didn't have enough time before it closed.  Some of the views across the city were also completely blocked by the huge, temporary stadium that had been erected for the Fringe Festival that's starting in a couple of weeks.

This is sadly where my Edinburgh trip was cut short. We all went out in the evening to a couple of bars on George Street, but the following morning sickness struck and I made my way home. On the Sunday the girls went on a tour of Mary King's Close, an old underground street that lay undiscovered for hundreds of years, and I'm gutted I missed it!

I loved my brief trip to Edinburgh and would love to go again to finish exploring the castle and Mary Kings Close, as well as see some more of Scotland. Watch this space.

Have you been to Edinburgh? What did you enjoy?