We told the boys “this city break is like the ‘Scottish Sorrento’ trip but without the weather!” And it was; with cultural and historical trips out, city walking, visits to the North Berwick coast, relaxing time shopping, running around the Meadows and of course, with some rain as well!
Historical sights included a guided tour of Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace (with plenty of Mary Stuart moments) and a self-guided tour of Linlithgow Palace (where six of our boys played tour guides to the group). We also went in to the Scottish Parliament in session and the boys really enjoyed seeing how different it was to Westminster (following their Year 7 trip). We visited The Kelpies- the two huge horse structures built on reclaimed industrial land near Falkirk and had a fascinating tour inside and outside the sculptures. The adventure park was a great way to burn off energy later.
Our trip was packed with different adventures. A Ghost Tour under the city, a hands on tour of the Dynamic Earth Museum showing the geology of the city, climbing up Calton Hill and a night at the cinema were followed on the last day by a coach trip to North Berwick to the Seabird Centre (unfortunately weather caused the boat tour to be cancelled) but that gave us time to send for a wee taster of deep fried Mars bars and haggis (lovely!). We called in at the Museum of Flight, full of interesting hangars of historical planes with some popular hands-on flight machines and challenges. To go on board a Concord was a real treat (for those who remember stopping what they were doing at 5pm to look in the sky daily as Concord thundered through the sky to and from Heathrow) and a reminder of days gone by.
The hostel was perfect, situated on the third floor of a block next to the Cafe Royal and within 50 metres of Princes Street. We had exclusive use of the hostel and relaxed with cards, chess, reading, chatting, quizzes, and even some guitar strumming as daylight faded each evening.
A super week in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities; highly recommended!
