Edinburgh

[vireo]

Off to Edinburgh for a few days with the family after Easter - not sure whether to hire a car or not? We'll be staying near Musselburgh and want to see as much of the city as two/three days allow and generally chill. (shouldn't be difficult in March )

Can anyone advise me on taxi fares in/out to Princes street/City Centre,(is public transport a viable option) and for taxi to/from Edinburgh Airport, given that there'll be five of us with weekend volume of luggage?

TIA

Paul

 

[garfield]

Buses from Musselburgh into Edinburgh City Centre are pretty good, the bus network generally in Edinburgh is pretty good....we have Red ones (although a bit Maroon looking) and Green ones....which kind of mirror the cities two football clubs colours

I would steer clear of taxis unless you have a lot of dosh, pretty pricey things, although good if you need to get home late at night if you've breathing in too many alcohol fumes....

As for taxi from the airport, I would have thought you are looking at the best part of £20 could be as high as £30 potentially. Private Hire (White Airport Taxis) as opposed to Black Cabs would probably be cheaper. You could get an Airport bus into the City Centre and then a bus to Musselburgh to make it a bit cheaper (£2.50 I think for the airport bus and £1 on the local buses)

apart from all of this, great city, lots to see, all within easy walking distance....have fun.....

 

[pedro]

Sod the Taxi

Get the Airport Bus into Town. It stops at Waverly Bridge. Then walk up onto Princes Street and get the 44 to Musselburgh.

The 44 into Town runs about every 15 minutes and te last one is about Midnight. There is a later night Service that goes kind of the same route.

Castle- good
Edinburgh Dungeons- Good
Arthurs Seat- Good
Palace- A bit semi
Royal Mile Tours- Not worth the money

 

[davidmot]

i do private hire in edinburgh roughly 30quid to musselburgh from airport and 20 into town from musselburgh.drove buses for 11 years they are very regular and your best option is a day saver ticket hop on and off when you want.dont hire a car parking costs when u can get a space are horrendous.castle is great,princes st and gardens lovely,royal mile good but dont buy in shops there its a ripoff
enjoy your stay

 

[Posh Pete]

Public transport every time!

The bus service is fine. I would not take a car around the toon at the moment. Too many works due to the f******* unnecessary tram service.

Get the airport bus in and a bus out to Musselburgh from Princes Street. Check out the LRT web site here

Places to visit ...

The Castle
The Royal Mile (if your kids are old enough to walk it with you)
Holyrood Palace
The new Parliament Building. Don't pay for the tour. Just go into the public gallery. There's a good and cheapish restaurant also.
A walk around Holyrood Park and up the "Radical Road" for a bird's eye view of the city from Salisbury Crags.
Royal Scottish Museum
The Zoo in Corstorphine
Museum of Childhood (on the Royal Mile)
Museum of Modern Art in the west end of the city.

Loads to do for kids. Enjoy.

 

[vireo]

Folks

Many thanks for the advise and tips so far.

keep 'em coming!

V

 

[vireo]

oh, By the way...

.....whats Hein Gericke Edinburgh like?
Any other bike shopts within a short distance of the city centre that I should call into?

V

 

[Schtum]

.....whats Hein Gericke Edinburgh like?

It's like....ehhh.....a Hein Gericke shop..... It's smaller than Hein Gericke Glasgow.....

Any other bike shopts [sic] within a short distance of the city centre that I should call into?

The only obvious ones are Two Wheels, Honda and Triumph dealers, Carrick Motors, Yamaha dealers and Saltire Suzuki...yes you guessed. The nearest BMW dealer is Motorrad Central, West, in Dalkeith.

 

[SpyInTheCamp]

.....whats Hein Gericke Edinburgh like?
Any other bike shopts within a short distance of the city centre that I should call into?

As Mike says, it is probably like any HG shop. That said, I do rate them and generally buy my gear from there. Good service.

I don't really rate any other places in Edinburgh.

Kai

 

[Stumpy]

I was in Hein Gericke Edinburgh today just for a look at the new Master V. Looks like a nice suit although not as "rugged" as my Master 4. They always seem very helpful but as mentioned above its not the biggest HG shop around however its not far from the centre so worth a look. None of the other bike related shops are really within walking distance of the centre. There's plenty of other interesting stuff to see in Edinburgh.

If you have never been before an open top bus tour is a good way to get a snapshot of the place albeit a little cheesy

Stumpy

 

[Blackal]

Places to visit ...


The Zoo in Corstorphine


Enjoy.

Can't reccommend the zoo at all - a thoroughly depressing place to visit

I do reccommend the Scottish Mining Museum at Gorebridge, however.

Here it is...........

Great on a rainy day - you get a real insight into working conditions

Al

 

[garfield]

My top recommendation, would be a combination of seeing Edinburgh Castle, walking the Royal Mile, and remember to take a walk down the 'Closes' off the Royal Mile (you can go on a walking tour for this sort of thing which is worth it to bring the history of the city alive).

To top it all off a visit to Mary Kings Close. Not for it's alleged spookiness but throw your mind back hundreds of years and you'll see Edinburgh's real history, the city under the city...just brilliant....

 

[ronnie69]

Edinburgh buses

as a number of other peeps have said on here, the bus service in Edinburgh is FAB. Not part of your question, but night buses run every hour right through the night from 11.30/midnightish on most routes as well (slightly more expensive at, from memory £2.50 each way, but bargainmungous for a run back to yir gaffe in the wee smal hours).

The National Museum on Chambers Street is great - free entry - you could spend 2 days there easy - nice building and loads to see. Leave your gear in left luggage, wander out when you like for some grub nearby, friendly staff, grand as oot. see http://www.nms.ac.uk/nationalmuseumhomepage.aspx (links to other museums as well, mostly free entry)

Also recommend the stand comedy club http://www.thestand.co.uk/ (make sure you're looking at the edinburgh info, as the website does the glasgow venue as well. Very small and some might say not all that glamorous, but good beer, good atmosphere, fantastic food (and v reasonably priced) and generally good comics on as well. I go every time I'm in Edinburgh and always have a nice time.

You'll have a blast in "Embry" - a great city.

 

[shugie]

Can't reccommend the zoo at all - a thoroughly depressing place to visit

I do reccommend the Scottish Mining Museum at Gorebridge, however.

Here it is...........

Great on a rainy day - you get a real insight into working conditions

Al

Well worth a visit, took my kids there last year, then 3 and 5, and they enjoyed it. Most of the guides are ex-miners, so they know their stuff. We went by car, but it's not much further out of town than my uncle's place in Penicuik, so I reckon the bus to Gorebridge is probably about an hour from the city centre.

We spent about three hours there. Cheap caff too.

The seal place under the north end of the rail bridge is worth a visit, plus you get to ride the train over the bridge. North Queensferry is the station, quite a few steps down to sea level though.

 

[Posh Pete]

Good place for a snack / meal with the family

The Cafe Camino which is part of St Mary's cathedral at the top of Leith Walk. Great coffee, huge bacon rolls, excellent and reasonable other grub (inc veggie and fair trade). Clean toilets (well the gents were but I assume the ladies were too) which is what her indoors always wants reassured about! Should be just next to the 44 bus route!

 

[Blackal]

Forgot to reccommend that you take in one of Adam Lyal's Witchery Tours

Great entertainment on an evening

Linky............

&

Tour Anecdotes......


Al

 

[vireo]

Folks

Thanks for all the advise......passed on to my missus to remember

Off there this evening, so looking forward to it now


V