Time to kill in Edinburgh

[Greeves246]

If you have any interest in plants the Botanical Gardens are really good especially the hot house.

 

[Dragnet]

So much to do in the centre of Edinburgh! Another vote for the museum. One of the best modern buildings in the UK, and sensitively joined to the older part. The interior is fascinating and byzantine, with the sudden appearance of steam engines and tapestries all the more effective for it. The cafes have become some external caterer though, so I don't rate their coffee and sandwiches. Black Medicine is good which is almost next door. The Mosque Kitchen nearby on Nicolson Square does cheap and lovely food. Mary's Milk Bar on the Grassmarket for a sickly sweet treat.

The Portrait Gallery is wonderful, in the New Town. If you head down Leith Walk from there, Twelve Triangles doughnut shop on the right (Brunswick Street) is delectable. The Sicilian Pastry Shop a couple of streets further down is also divine.

I always go to the Botanical Gardens, wonderful at all times of the year (and can be quite nice even if chucking it down as it might be in February - fewer people, anyhow). Walking down there via Stockbridge means a few nice places for food like the Scran and Scallie on Raeburn Place. There used to be a hardware shop opposite where I bought my last Eclipse centre punch. The shopkeeper wore a brown tradesman's coat.

A quick beer at The Abbotsford on Rose Street (gravity pumps, listed Edwardian furniture, awful lighting and no music. Proper atmosphere.) The last time I was there, an elderly man in a three-piece suit and a masonic pin told me I had a 'small watch for a big man'. Slightly further down, the Oxford bar on Thistle Street has a similar air.

 

[Hitch]

So much to do in the centre of Edinburgh! Another vote for the museum. One of the best modern buildings in the UK, and sensitively joined to the older part. The interior is fascinating and byzantine, with the sudden appearance of steam engines and tapestries all the more effective for it. The cafes have become some external caterer though, so I don't rate their coffee and sandwiches. Black Medicine is good which is almost next door. The Mosque Kitchen nearby on Nicolson Square does cheap and lovely food. Mary's Milk Bar on the Grassmarket for a sickly sweet treat.

The Portrait Gallery is wonderful, in the New Town. If you head down Leith Walk from there, Twelve Triangles doughnut shop on the right (Brunswick Street) is delectable. The Sicilian Pastry Shop a couple of streets further down is also divine.

I always go to the Botanical Gardens, wonderful at all times of the year (and can be quite nice even if chucking it down as it might be in February - fewer people, anyhow). Walking down there via Stockbridge means a few nice places for food like the Scran and Scallie on Raeburn Place. There used to be a hardware shop opposite where I bought my last Eclipse centre punch. The shopkeeper wore a brown tradesman's coat.

A quick beer at The Abbotsford on Rose Street (gravity pumps, listed Edwardian furniture, awful lighting and no music. Proper atmosphere.) The last time I was there, an elderly man in a three-piece suit and a masonic pin told me I had a 'small watch for a big man'.

I like Rose St, although I'm reliably informed it's not as good as it used to be.
Been in the Abbotsford a few times, proper traditional.
Dirty Dic4s is a favourite along there..
The World's End on the mile is a other fav.

Then there's various Wetherspoons all within reasonable walking distance... usually good for a reliable pint of cider at a sensible price.

When I go to Edinburgh it's always work like mad during the day.
Few hours of an evening spare.
Work book us in about 2 mins walk from Waverly Station, so fairly well placed for new and old town, Royal mile etc.

 

[skotl]

Is this easy to find? Breakfast sound good

Yep. There's a turning circle in front of the vet school, at the car park, and the teaching building is 100ft the other side of the turning circle.

Can't miss the canteen -it's on the left as you go in the main doors (you don't need to check in at reception, despite what the signs say).

Feels like I've got a season ticket for that place! Hopefully behind us now (neuropathology, fused vertebrae, etc.)

 

[Brad93]

Stayed in edinburgh for four days working nights. And two weeks down in dunbar.

Didnt like it much, felt grimy. Just like london.

Towns outside of edinburgh are lovely and nice people too.

A drive round the coast heading to North Berwick is a scenic drive.

 

[Greeves246]

Highly recommended is The Museum of Flight at East Fortune next to the race circuit. Stayed after the Bob Mac meeting one year and spent several hours wandering around, never realised how small the cabin is on Concord and how dated the flight deck is, and the tiny Messerschmitt Me 163B-1a Komet 191659.

National Museum of Flight | National Museums Scotland

Explore the history of aviation, uncover unforgettable stories and discover one of Europe's best collections of aircraft.

www.nms.ac.uk

 

[Bravheart]

We are going M6 then A74 where would you look at stopping? it would be around Carlisle or Lockerbie area? Around 10pm

If you want the tourists route at the top end of Carlisle the road signs say something like Edinburgh 98miles M74, tourist route Edinburgh 99miles A7. The third way would be up the M74 then A702 Biggar road. Will bring you in at the Bush estate road end. The M8, A720 will be the quickest way but the route can be a car park at certain times of the day.

 

[winchman]

The current plan is to try and drive the whole way and park up outside the Hospital?

 

[Duisky]

There’s a mining museum in Newtongrange if you’re looking for an industrial attraction outwith the city? I’ve not been there since I was in primary school so god knows what it’s like now.

Home - National Mining Museum

Mortonhall campsite may be a decent base for you too being not too far from the Bush.

 

[Brad93]

There’s a mining museum in Newtongrange if you’re looking for an industrial attraction outwith the city? I’ve not been there since I was in primary school so god knows what it’s like now.

Home - National Mining Museum

Mortonhall campsite may be a decent base for you too being not too far from the Bush.

Carry on that road A7 is a stunning drive

 

[More Amps]

Three pages of what to do and see in/around Edinburgh...and the thread could reach thirty pages without exhausting the possibilities! It's been 30 years since I left Edinburgh and headed to London. A lot has changed since I left - and not all for the better! It's hard to make specific recommendations without knowing precise likes and dislikes, so if you have any particular questions, fire away.

 

[More Amps]

Carry on that road A7 is a stunning drive

Don't give away all our secrets! (It's one of my favourite routes for a blast, from Hawick down to Carlisle - and only about two speed cameras on that stretch...)

 

[Bravheart]

Don't give away all our secrets! (It's one of my favourite routes for a blast, from Hawick down to Carlisle - and only about two speed cameras on that stretch...)

Yes but a f***ING lot of tree lorries hauling timber somewhere and driving like they are 10mins late for the only ferry of the day.
Nice run though through the hills on a good day.

 

[xillent]

Just remember that if you have a beer you'll be over the limit in Scotland.

 

[RWD3M]

The old A74, being on the old truckers route from London to Inverness, has a few laybys that truckers used for overnight stops, and is fairly quiet at night. Follow the B7076, as the old A74 is now designated. It briefly becomes the A701, and later the A702, before reverting back to the B7076 and then, at Abington, it becomes the B7078. It's a bit of a historical road, really. You can pick it up at the Gretna junction (M6 J45). You need to keep your eyes peeled for the laybys, as they're not signposted.

Absolutely this! When we drive north (quite regularly with classic car in tow) we always come off the M6 and take the old road. It's a lovely drive, quiet, and as mentioned, plenty of parking up places.

 

[winchman]

Just remember that if you have a beer you'll be over the limit in Scotland.

Thanks for this handy to know, how do I stand sleeping in a motor home parked at the side of the road? ( No Beer involved) Just waiting for the Hospital to open in the morning. I know Scottish laws can be different?

 

[Dragnet]

There’s a mining museum in Newtongrange if you’re looking for an industrial attraction outwith the city? I’ve not been there since I was in primary school so god knows what it’s like now.

Home - National Mining Museum

Mortonhall campsite may be a decent base for you too being not too far from the Bush.

That is a good one - they do guided tours with ex-miners. In Newtongrange near the museum there is a 'Goth' which is worth a visit. In Sweden in the C19th drinking was very problematic. Forestry workers would be paid in spirits, with a small proportion given to their wives as housekeeping money. Heavy drinking reached such proportions that complete prohibition was only avoided by one vote in the early C20th. Even today Systembolaget, the state-owned off-licences, are the only shops where one can buy drink over 3.5%ABV. In Gothenburg, a scheme to encourage women and families to counter the hard-drinking men led to hostelries that served soft drinks and food. These 'Goths' appealed to the religious strictures of many Scots, along with their other Scandinavian influences of co-operatives and workers' rights. Many 'Goths' sprang up in Scotland around mining settlements in the C19th, with profits to be reinvested locally for Good Works. Street lighting, libraries and so on were endowed by these pubs. Gradually the teetotal nature of them lapsed as the more extreme puritanical elements receded, but the ones that survive still serve food and retain their reinvestment-in-the-community ethos. Many are still run along co-operative lines. There are several near Edinburgh.

 

[addjunkie]

Yes but a f***ING lot of tree lorries hauling timber somewhere and driving like they are 10mins late for the only ferry of the day.
Nice run though through the hills on a good day.

Timber lorries are fine as long as your heading in the same direction. Its amazing how quickly camper van can stop when a logging wagon is barrelling towards them using both sides of the white line.

There is a 9 acre sawmill at Lockerbie, and the rest is chipped or ground up for chipboard.

 

[cheb]

If you like dead things in jars and painful looking body parts then the Surgeons' Hall Museum is good. It has a a good cafe too.

Home - Surgeons' Hall Museums, Edinburgh

Surgeons' Hall Museums, Edinburgh

museum.rcsed.ac.uk

 

[Bravheart]

Out of interest is there a special speed limit for campervans?