Tracy Collins [00:00:00]:
What's buried under the Royal Mile that most visitors walk straight over without knowing it's there? Why do locals wince every time somebody says Edinburgh? And what is the world's largest art festival and should you be there for it or as far away as possible? Today, I'm sharing 12 essential things to know before you visit Edinburgh.

Intro [00:00:21]:
Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracey Collins. Each week, Tracey shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands. And from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.

Tracy Collins [00:00:52]:
Before we get started, we'd like to thank our sponsor. Walks and Devour Tours. If you're planning a trip to London, you'll already know the challenge. There's a lot you want to do and only a limited amount of time to fit it all in. That's where the right tour makes all the difference, because you want experiences that are the best use of your time, with more access, less waiting and a deeper sense of the city. That's why we recommend Walks and Devour Tours. They offer walking tours and food tours designed to make your time count, often with early or after hours entry. You'll also be with exceptional local guides who add the stories and context so you leave with a richer understanding of what you're seeing and a trip that feels genuinely memorable.

Tracy Collins [00:01:31]:
If you're visiting London as a couple with family or you simply prefer a more intimate experience, Walks and Devour Tours also offer private tour options. To learn more, you'll find the link in the show notes. Now, let's get into this week's episode. Hi everybody and welcome to this week's edition of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Now, I'm recording this episode in London and I'm actually going to be heading to Edinburgh very soon. In fact, when this episode actually comes out, I'll have just been in Edinburgh for a few days and also, in fact, I'll have been there twice in May. So I'll have been there for a couple of days at the beginning of the month and also for a three day planned trip itinerary with a friend. Um, so I'll probably give an update about that at some point as well.

Tracy Collins [00:02:23]:
But it got me thinking really, because, um, I wanted to start a brand new series on the podcast, something that you would all find very helpful and very interesting. And it's basically entitled before you visit. So each episode I'm going to take one UK destination and share 12 things I genuinely wish someone had told me before at my first visit. So these hopefully think, well, there will be things the guidebook glosses over or maybe even doesn't even mention. You know, things that might influence how you plan and might make the difference between a good trip and a genuinely unforgettable one. And as you know, myself and Doug want you to have the best trip to the uk. Absolutely. That's what we do, that's what our websites are there for, that's what our podcast is all about.

Tracy Collins [00:03:12]:
So we want you to have the best time possible. So this new series, before you visit, we're going to be going basically all around the UK and giving you sharing those tips. So because I'm kind of planning this trip to Edinburgh, I will mention that I've been Edinburgh. I can't even count how many times I've been to Edinburgh because actually my mum had a very good friend who lived in Edinburgh. So from when I was a young child we used to drive up because I lived in Northumberland, so it wasn't very far, used to drive up to Edinburgh and spend weekends there very, very often. So it's a city that I have been visiting for nigh on 60 years and it's one of my all time favorite cities and I know it's one of yours as well. It genuine is a city that deserves to be in your itinerary and generally is in most people's itinerary. I know we talk a lot about London and a lot about Edinburgh.

Tracy Collins [00:04:04]:
Now we do have an episode already which is episode 58 that I think I did that one with Doug and we share kind of all the practical essentials and things that you should know before you visit Edinburgh for the first time. So I'm going to link to that in the show notes and that's actually the perfect companion to this episode and it covers things like what to book in advance, how to get around, what to pack. But today's episode I'm going to go deeper into some of the things that still catch first time visitors out. And as we're going to go through as well, I'm going to kind of point and directly direct you to be able to find out more information through the website or on our YouTube and through other episodes of the podcast as well. Because honestly, planning your visit to Edinburgh well, will really make a difference to your trip. So that's what we're here to Do. So should we go into it? Are you ready for the 12 things that will help you before you visit Edinburgh? So the first one, how to say it. Now, you will notice that I say Edinburgh and so I am from the northeast and that's how we say Edinburgh.

Tracy Collins [00:05:16]:
But actually it's Edinburgh. I just say Edinburgh. But the main thing not to say is Edinburgh. Okay. And we. We hear that a lot, a lot of the time. So we do consults and lockdown when we chat to people that say Edinburgh. Bit like Glasgow.

Tracy Collins [00:05:33]:
It's not. It's Glasgow and it's Edinburgh or Edinburgh. That's what I say, Edinburgh. So say it my way if you want. You probably have a Geordie accent and sound like you're from Northumberland, but Edinburgh, not Edinburgh. So that'll make everybody much happier because I know it's one of those things that kind of. Oh, it's. Look, honestly, a lot of pronunciations of British places catches even me out.

Tracy Collins [00:06:02]:
And I'm British, but this is just such a common one that we hear mispronounced. So you do yourself a favor and say, you know, Edinburgh, Edinburgh or Edinburgh. Just don't say Edinburgh. That's the best one. The other one, and this used to catch me out when I was a kid, actually, because I used to think, why is this. But it's Princess Street. So P R R I N C E S. Princess Street.

Tracy Collins [00:06:27]:
So that is the main street in the new city of part of Edinburgh. Now it's Princess, not Princess Street. It's named after the Princess of Scotland, not a princess. So. So just remember it's Princess Street. So those are the two main things I want to talk about because there are other ones that get most mispronounced. But to be honest, I'll probably mispronounce them as well because I'm not Scottish and I'm not from Edinburgh. So.

Tracy Collins [00:06:55]:
But I thought these are the two main things that kind of. I've learned and I know since I was a kid to make sure that I pronounced those correctly. So hopefully that'll help you out. We do have, on the website, we do have a article which is Edinburgh tips 20 essential Edinburgh tips. So it's worth having a look at that article again. I'll share that in in the show notes and it's got a bit more information on that sort of place names and how to pronounce them. Now, second one is how long you actually need. Right, well, how long do you actually need? To be honest, you could go, you could spend years and years living in Edinburgh, it's just a fabulous city to visit.

Tracy Collins [00:07:42]:
Now, we do get asked if it's possible to do it on a day trip from London. And honestly, if you and I know we've actually had a podcast episode previously where somebody did that. They went up in the morning, stayed the day and then they took the Lowlander Sleeper back down to London that evening. So you abs, if it's the only way you could fit in in a trip to Edinburgh, you can do it that way. But honestly, I would make sure that you plan at least three days based in Edinburgh, if you can, because there's a lot to see and do. It's a wonderful city. And also there might be things that you might want to see when you're in Edinburgh that may be closed. So, for example, one of the top places people want to see is Holyrood House.

Tracy Collins [00:08:28]:
Now that is closed on a Tuesday and Wednesday outside the peak summer months and also closes for a week in late June, early July. I think it's actually. I need to look at my phone because I did just check that before I jumped on the podcast. So basically this year it's actually short Tuesday the 12th to Wednesday the 20th of May, and it's also closed Monday the 8th of June. I'm not sure why I just said it's closing early at 4:30. And then it's that week, Friday 26th of June to Friday the 3rd of July. And I think that's because the King goes for a visit. That's where he, he.

Tracy Collins [00:09:12]:
It's called Holyrood Week and he pops up and. And visited. Visit Scotland and stayed in. That's his official residence in Edinburgh, so he stays there. Now, I'm not quite sure why it shot in May, so when this episode comes out actually, and it's actually caught because I'm actually going up to Edinburgh with a friend who's flown in and she specifically wanted to go to Holly House and when we looked, it's actually short. So if it's. If that's what you want to do, I would check in particular if outside of the peak months, if Hollywood House is something you absolutely want to go and visit, that it's actually open now. As I say, I wouldn't recommend a day trip from London because it's going to take you four and a half hours to get up to Edinburgh.

Tracy Collins [00:09:59]:
So only give you the afternoon, really to explore and then you'd have to get the sleeper train back, honestly, especially stay at least two or three nights. I would stay three nights. That's my Favorite because there's so much to do and see. And even with the three nights, you can probably maybe take a day trip out as well because there's some fantastic places to visit outside of Edinburgh. Yes. So I'm actually spending, or I have just spent three nights in Edinburgh and hopefully I will share that itinerary with you. So if you're interested in wanting to know what I got up to with the three day itinerary in Edinburgh, which I will have just come back to from when this episode comes out, I will share that. Now, tip three is Old Town and New Town, that they're completely different parts of the city of Edinburgh.

Tracy Collins [00:10:49]:
So choosing which one you want to stay in can make a difference to your trip. Now, the Old Town is the medieval part of Edinburgh. It's dark stone, narrow, closes, dramatic, atmospheric. It's a fantastic place to stay. It's where you'll find the Royal Mile. So that kind of is a spine up the actual Old Town and that's runs from Edinburgh Castle at the top all the way down to Hollywood House at the bottom. So that's Royal Mile and that goes basically, that's a spine of the Old Town. And as it sounds, that is.

Tracy Collins [00:11:26]:
That's the Old town that was built on top of that kind of volcanic plug where you'll see Edinburgh Castle and that's the. There's so much history to that part of Edinburgh. It's absolutely incredible. Now, the New Town is still old, but it's just not as old. So that's where you'll find wide streets. It's Georgian, it's just. You'll find some beautiful houses, you'll find a lot of really nice restaurants. It's a bit quieter there.

Tracy Collins [00:11:56]:
Um, and in between the old and new time, you'll get. You've got Princess Street Gardens, which are lovely and they're very popular. When the sun's out, you'll see lots of people sitting in the gardens enjoying the sunshine. And also in that, in that kind of dip between kind of you think of the New Town and then going up to the, the Old Town, you've got, you've got the, the gardens and you've also got Waverley train station. So that's kind of in the middle between the two. So that whichever one you choose to stay in, they're basically about 10 minutes walk from Waverly train station. So if you're catching the train in, it doesn't really matter. It's up to you what where you want to stay.

Tracy Collins [00:12:39]:
Now, generally, Doug and I stay in The New Town. But this last trip I actually booked a, an apartment on the Royal Mile. So yeah, if you want to know about that, I would check, check on my Instagram because I would have shared some, some pictures and some information about that. So wherever you choose to stay, honestly, it's. They're both fantastic areas of Edinburgh to stay in. If you want the atmosphere and kind of the immersion, then stay in the Old Town. If you want sort of a little bit more kind of breathing space, you've got the shops of Princes street and some pretty good places to eat as well, then choose Newtown. That's where, where our favorite afternoon tea is in Edinburgh, which is the Georgian Tea Rooms at the Dome.

Tracy Collins [00:13:29]:
That's in the New Town. Now, whichever you choose, neither is wrong, but just kind of decide what you want, whether you want kind of that older medieval feel or if you want something a bit, kind of a bit more Georgian style. It's all really lovely, so you can't really go wrong. Now, number four is the Fringe. Haha. Now, if you're wondering what it is and how to decide if you want to go, I think there's a few things I need to just mention about the Fringe is that it's basically, if you haven't heard about it, it's around 53,000 performers across 300 ven throughout August in Edinburgh. So you get performers from all over the world and the whole city is transformed. So it's, you know, it's basically the world's largest arts festival.

Tracy Collins [00:14:26]:
Theater, comedy, music, dance, everything you could possibly imagine. Every pub, church, car park, everything becomes a venue for the Fringe at the same time as the Fringe but separate to it. You've also got the Edinburgh Military tattoo, which is really, really popular and where you can see the performance on the Castle Esplanade. So basically in front of the castle itself. And I've been there in from about May when they start putting up the. The scaffolding and everything for, for the actual tattoo, I'll have to say I have not been to it. But if you're gonna go in August. So if you fancy going for the Fringe Festival, because you're into theater, comedy, music, all that sort of stuff, or you want to go for that tattoo, the important thing to know is that it is incredibly, incredibly busy and the prices can be two to three times what you would expect at other times of year.

Tracy Collins [00:15:24]:
Now if you want to go, book 12 months ahead. Really, you need to book well ahead if you're planning to go during the Fringe Festival. Now, as I Say if you love the arts, you. You want to be somewhere that's really, really busy, because it is going to be really, really busy then, then the fringe might be a time that you, you want to go. If you want something a bit more calm, not as busy then really you need to be looking at kind of May, June or September. I mean, it's always popular Edinburgh, because British people love going to visit Edinburgh as well. Another time that's extremely busy. And again, when accommodation can be really expensive is Hogmanay, which are the Edinburgh New Year celebration.

Tracy Collins [00:16:09]:
So again, if you plan to go there either in August or at Hogmanay for the New Year celebrations, make sure that you book your accommodation well in advance. In fact, just going to give you a little story about this. Doug and I were, have been desperate to go experience Hogmanay for years and we actually did a house sit in Edinburgh at the end of 2024 into 2025. And we're very excited because we're going to go and experience Hogmanay. And for the first time, I think ever, it was canceled. It was canceled because there was a threat of a massive storm and they were worried about safety, so they canceled Hogmanay. We didn't get to go to it and actually the storm never really came out as anything, so we just missed it. So that was a bit of a downer for us.

Tracy Collins [00:16:58]:
Okay, so the other thing to know is the hills. And I know we've mentioned about the hills and the cobblestones in our episode 58, but I think it really is worth mentioning because Edinburgh is built on an ancient volcanic rock. So the Royal Mile is a continuous slope from the castle down to Hollywood House. So it's. And then like, as you go off the Royal Mile, you'll find that there's all these closes that have fantastic names, so they're worth exploring. But they kind of go steeply off the side of the Royal Mile. So, you know, you need to be considering a, about being able to get around because, you know, walking uphill to the castle from the bottom of the Royal Mile is, is. Is a bit of a workout.

Tracy Collins [00:17:50]:
Also, there's cobblestones and there is lots and lots of steps. Lots of steps in, in London, in Edinburgh. Sorry, take that out. Right, so there's lots of steps in Edinburgh, so it's just worth bearing that in mind. So take it easy, plan your days because you're going to be doing a lot of walking. Now there are a couple of great places for some great viewpoints. One is Arthur's Seat which is an extinct volcano. It takes about two hours to get up there and back down.

Tracy Collins [00:18:25]:
I haven't done it. Doug has. I had toothache the day that he went up to climate but to be honest even if I didn't have toothache I wouldn't have done it. But it's Doug sort of thing and if you wanted do that a lot of people do it. You get some fantastic views up there. So he really enjoyed it. The other viewpoint which is really really good and this is the one that I've done is the Calton Hill which you get a really good lookout and that's much easier and it's free, doesn't cost anything. You get fantastic views.

Tracy Collins [00:18:55]:
So that's one that I would, I would do. If you're less adventurous and don't fancy doing Arthur Seat. Yes certainly Calton Hill is more accessible and you do get a fantastic view of the castle and you get a view down to Leith as well and to the Royal Britannia. Yeah, as I mentioned Doug did, Doug did Arthur's Seat and he's very proud of it so he tells everybody. So if you do off this seat and you've climbed it, let me know. Leave me a message on speak pipe when I pass out the dog because he, he is, he loved it. He thought it was absolutely fantastic. As you probably know like hiking up up extinct extinct volcanoes is probably not something that I particularly do or have an interest in Anyway other thing that I'd say is point six is to get off the Royal Mile because there are some fantastic places to visit not only just to explore but also to eat as well.

Tracy Collins [00:19:55]:
So some of the places to, to visit a Victoria street, it's curved, beautiful, colorful cobbled street. It's, it's site that has been a kind of inspiration from, for J.K. rowling for Diagon Alley. But I mean there's so many places in the entire of the UK that are supposed to be the inspiration. So I don't know if it, if it really is but those the closers off the Royal Mile are absolutely fantastic. Don't walk past them, check out the names of some of them. I'm not going to tell you, I just want you to check out the names of some of those closest. I actually did a historic walk into of the Royal Mile a few years ago and it was fascinating just learning how people lived in the kind of 16, 17, 1800s and what it was like.

Tracy Collins [00:20:41]:
It was pretty awful. So yeah, do, do do that and also have a look at down for some of the closest One of the closest you'll get a fantastic view of the Scott Monument but I'm not going to tell you which one. So yeah, they're worth visiting. The Grass Market is a lovely square which has got a lot of character and some good pubs and restaurants and that's at the foot of Castle Rock. Again, New Town has some really good independent dining. Lots of different options. Every time we go to Edinburgh there's new restaurants opened up. So definitely worth visiting.

Tracy Collins [00:21:18]:
I will say if you're looking for souvenirs, just avoid the Royal Mile because there are a lot of tourist shops with a lot of kind of imported, not very nice stuff. So just avoid those, they're not particularly good. What do. What I have, what do recommend they do is make the bag. I made a Harris tweed bag when I was in Edinburgh the last time and I love my bag and a lot of people like to. To do that. I actually have an article about the. The bag making workshop so I'll link for that as well and put some photos in because I just know that everybody wants to go and make.

Tracy Collins [00:22:01]:
Make a tweed bag when they're in in Edinburgh. So that's something to do. Number seven. Now this is something that Doug has done. I get a little bit claustrophobic. I don't. So I haven't done this. But it's Mary King's Close now underground city that most visitors walk straight over.

Tracy Collins [00:22:23]:
I mean it's consistently is mentioned in, you know, the best of things to do in Edinburgh and a lot of people miss doing it. Now I, as I say have missed it myself. I just get a little bit claustrophobic so I sent Duck to do it. So Mary King's Close basically is a medieval street which is buried under the Royal Mile. It was put there when the city built the Royal Exchanger of it in the 1700s. So now the rooms have been unchanged for centuries. So Doug really enjoyed it. He said it was, it was worth doing.

Tracy Collins [00:22:58]:
Basically you get guided to her through the rooms that haven't changed in centuries and it's not, it's nothing else like it in Edinburgh and it's associated. There were apparently this association with. With plague. The plagues when it. When it were outbreaks in Edinburgh as well. But do book ahead for that because they do sell out in summer. Again I'll put a link in the show notes to to book if you want to do the tour of the real Mary Kings Close. Okay Now Tip 8 is the daylight factor because Edinburgh seasons are more extreme than you may expect.

Tracy Collins [00:23:37]:
Now one Thing I will say about Edinburgh is the weather can change rapidly. I have got pictures of myself in arriving in, it was a Sunday in early May and I was basically a little bit sunburnt because it was so hot. And then the next day I'm standing and I've got basically jumpers and layers on and I've got my raincoat on because it was pouring down my rain. So it can really impact the weather. And as I say, Doug and I actually house that for six weeks at the beginning of 2025 in Edinburgh and we had everything from snow to a massive storm. Doug actually got stuck in Inverness, so it was dark. So winter can become quite, quite challenging. Dark by 3:40 in the afternoon.

Tracy Collins [00:24:30]:
Now, Edinburgh sits on a similar latitude to parts of Canada. Now in the summer it's fantastic. Sun sets around 10 and it can be still light at 11, but in the winter it's dark early. So as I say, it's the same latitude is at 56 degrees north. So it's similar parts of southern Canada, but it's actually further north than Moscow. Now in the summer, sunsets around 10, so you can fit in a whole load of stuff because you've got this long, long day of beautiful, hopefully sunshine. But daylight. Now in the winter it's dark, as I say, by 3:30, 3:40 in the afternoon.

Tracy Collins [00:25:14]:
So if you're going to do anything outdoors, do it in the morning because after in the afternoon you're going to be sitting indoors. They also do get a kind of coastal fog that comes in from the North Sea as well, which can change the atmosphere. But honestly, if you're there in summer and you go up Calton Hill or Arthur Sea at night at like 9pm, you're going to get a beautiful light over Edinburgh. And in the winter, the nice thing about the winter is there's the Edinburgh Christmas market snow, because I say we got snow in January and it was lovely and just the cozy pubs and obviously far fewer crowds. So the advantages of the different seasons, but just be aware that it can change very rapidly. It maybe colder than you expect in winter, so make sure you, you plan accordingly. But summer, the fantastic thing about summer is you've got this great big long day of daylight to just do and pack in loads and loads of stuff. So point number nine, getting to Edinburgh.

Tracy Collins [00:26:21]:
Now Doug should really be doing this one, but the train from London is an experience, not just a journey. And Doug actually has a YouTube video about how to get from London to Edinburgh by train and shows you the different train options. So do check out the video, I will link to that as well. You know, it's just a fantastic journey. So lner is my favorite. From King's Cross you go through York, you go up through the Northumberland coast. Make sure you sit on the right hand side in direction travel, you can see Holy island visible from the train. You cross into Scotland at Barrack up on Tweed and you know, arrive at Waverley station in the heart of Edinburgh.

Tracy Collins [00:27:05]:
So it's absolutely fantastic. Takes about 4 1/2 hours on LNER and honestly arriving right into the center of Edinburgh is. That's always advantage of a train, isn't it? If you drive trying to get parked in Edinburgh, good luck. So to be honest, if you're going to stay in Edinburgh, take the train in because you don't need a car when you're in Edinburgh at all. Yeah. So it's, it's a perfect trip to do. It's a really pretty fast trip to take as well. If you decide to take the train from London up to Edinburgh, stop off in York.

Tracy Collins [00:27:42]:
That's my tip actually as well. Don't just go straight through. If you can give yourself a couple of hours at very minimum, go and have a look around York because it's probably one of the most beautiful and wonderfully historic English cities. Now when you, if you fly into Edinburgh so you decide that you don't want to take the train, you're actually flying in. I know a lot of the flights from America and from Middle east fly in directly to Edinburgh. You can get the tram directly into the city center which is again really easy. And Doug also has a YouTube video about how to use the Edinburgh tram. So I'll link to that now to get around Edinburgh there's buses, trams use Contactless, I believe that's just come in recently.

Tracy Collins [00:28:25]:
So you don't need any cash or any pre bought tickets. You can use Contactless to tap on. I'm not sure if it's on and off. Doug would probably know that. So I would check out his video. To get around on the trams. It's fantastic because we the tr. We were actually in Edinburgh a couple years ago when the tram to Leith opened, which was kind of the extended bit and unfortunately I got sick so I wasn't able to go down to the Royal Yacht Pretender which is really what I wanted to do.

Tracy Collins [00:28:55]:
So we did that in September 2024, took the tram from accommodation straight down at Leith, straight down to go and see the Royal Yacht Britannia. And as I say there's now also the Tram. Well, I guess that was done beforehand, but the tr. The tram was running from the airport as well in Tenba. Now it goes all the way down to Leith. It caused a bit havoc when they were doing or putting all the tram lines down, but it's definitely worth it. Yeah. So as I said, we've got a YouTube video, how to get from London Edinburgh by train.

Tracy Collins [00:29:26]:
So you can watch that. If you into YouTube, you want to prefer to watch a video. Also have a look at how to use the Edinburgh family to get around Edinburgh. And we've also got other podcasts that just. If you're planning any trips around, we've got Edinburgh Inverness by train as well. So if you plan to go and do a few trips from Edinburgh as well, you can, you can do that. You can take the train out and go under, go and explore a bit more of Scotland. Okay.

Tracy Collins [00:29:56]:
Number 10 is the palace of Holyrood House. And now that is the attraction at the end of the Royal Mile. And often visitors under plan about visiting there. Now it sits at the foot of the Royal Mile, so the castle's at the top, Holyrood's at the very bottom. Now it's a working royal palace. So King Charles stays there during Holyrood Week, which is, I say late June, early July. So what is worth spending a bit of time exploring at Holyrood House? So you can see Mary Queen of Scots apartments. Her bedchamber is said to be the most famous room in Scotland.

Tracy Collins [00:30:32]:
The David Rizzio murder. His secretary was stabbed 56 times in her presence in 1566. And supposedly a stain remains on the floor of her outer chamber. I must check that out when I go back. I have been before. There's also the Great gallery with 111 portraits of Scottish monarchs. You also can see the ruined Hollywood Abbey, which is included in your ticket, which is really beautiful. Now, notice that you can't take photography inside Hollywood palace itself, but give yourself a good couple of hours to explore Hollywood Palace.

Tracy Collins [00:31:13]:
It's definitely worth visiting. I've been once before actually. What stuck in my mind is the there was a dress that belonged to Queen Victoria. Was just how tiny the dress was. I think it was a dress she worn. She's about 19, but it's so tiny. She really, really was tiny. So that always sticks in my mind.

Tracy Collins [00:31:35]:
But as I say, if you're planning to go to Hollywood House, always, always check if it is open, especially outside of the main summer season. It's not open on a Tuesday and Wednesday. Now, tip number 11 is Leith and the raw yacht Britannia. And that's a place that a lot of first time visitors don't reach. And I'm gonna make a confession is that Doug and I went for the first time in September 2024 to the Royal Yacht Britannia and absolutely blew us both away. We absolutely thought it was fantastic. It took about 15 minutes by tram down to, to the actual harbor district in Leith and honestly we just thought it was absolutely fantastic. Apparently it's the Royal York Britannia is quite often the number one UK attraction apparently, according to TripAdvisor.

Tracy Collins [00:32:38]:
I'm surprised, but that's what's come up and maybe I would say in Scotland, but um, it, it really is fascinating to go. So it was actually the late Queen's ship yacht shut it for 44 years. It's now permanently docked and open to visitors. So you can go and have a look around the royal apartments. This little diner, the state dining room, her bedroom, crew quarters, engine room, it's, it's really, really good. So definitely go and include that into your trip. There's also a tea room which I'm sure Doug, I can hear Doug saying to me, tell them about the tea room, tell them about the tea room. So we did go onto the tea room on the Royal Britannia and had a nice cup of tea, but had some very nice Victoria sponge cake.

Tracy Collins [00:33:27]:
You kind of knew I was going to say that, didn't you? Yeah. So it's definitely worth going down there. And also at Leith as well, you've got some nice waterfront pubs and restaurants and again, some, some really good places to eat. If you've only got three nights in Edinburgh, give yourself like half a day to go down to Leith, go and have a look at Britannia. Because honestly I've, I've spoken to a lot of people about it and everybody I speak to absolutely loved it. I just said how much they enjoyed going to see the Royal Britannia. It was just not what they expected. Yeah.

Tracy Collins [00:34:01]:
So if you've been, let me know, get in touch with me and let me know what you thought. Now tip 12 is to leave some space. I know we all get very tempted and I do the same to put a crammed itinerary together. But honestly, just go and don't over schedule it. Just walk around Edinburgh, give yourself an afternoon, maybe a free afternoon where you just go and have a stroll, stroll through the old town, go and check the closes out, go and sit in a pub, you know, enjoy the atmosphere, talk to the locals. A lot of people will chat to you. You know, Edinburgh people from Edinburgh are genuinely warm. They're really proud of the city.

Tracy Collins [00:34:49]:
And I have to say that most people I talk to who've been to Edinburgh want to go again. It really is an extraordinary, amazing city. It's one that I return to again and again and again because there's so much to do and see. I mean, if you're gonna stay, you know, longer than three nights, there's things that you could do, like, for example, Rosslyn Chapel, that's 30 minutes by bus. It's. It was mentioned in the Da Vinci Code. And it's just a beautiful, beautiful building, beautiful chapel to go and visit. You know, there's just some fantastic things that you can do and see.

Tracy Collins [00:35:30]:
If you stay longer, you can obviously take some day trips out. It's very easy by train to get to numerous places. For example, St. Andrews isn't particularly very far away. I actually have got a YouTube video that I did just telling you how to get from Edinburgh to, to St. Andrew. So if you've got an interest in the home of golf and you're going to go and check that out, that's something you could do. But you really need to give yourself, I would say, you know, give yourself those three nights if you're going to include that.

Tracy Collins [00:35:54]:
Otherwise you're going to find just that you're rushing to do a lot of stuff and you, you may find that you just a. You're going to be exhausted because you're going to be walking up and down steps and up, up and down hills. But honestly, you'll want to go back. It just is one of those places that just calls you back. Now, I hope these 12 things have given you some kind of angles on Edinburgh you haven't considered before. You know, I'm gonna. In the show notes, there's going to be booking links, the website articles and the YouTube videos that I've mentioned. So go and check those out.

Tracy Collins [00:36:31]:
We have a lot more on the website to help you plan Edinburgh and Scotland, and I want to make sure that, you know, it's all there. So that's UK travelplanning.com where you'll find loads of resources to help you plan your trip to Edinburgh and Scotland. Also, we've got lots of podcast episodes about Edinburgh as well, which I'll link to in those show notes. Obviously, I've mentioned YouTube as well. We've got quite a few YouTube videos and more coming, so please go and check those out. If you're not part of our Facebook group, come and join us. Ask Edinburgh questions in there we we love to hear what it is that you what did you enjoy, what do you want to do, what are you planning, have you been before? All sort of stuff. And remember as well that if you want help putting your full Scotland itinerary together, Doug and I are available for consultation and that's what we love to do.

Tracy Collins [00:37:25]:
That's what we we absolutely love to meet you. We absolutely love to do consultations. It's just an absolute joy and we have made so many friends around the world from consults which just makes us so happy. So if you want a bit of bit more help and you want to you know, firm up that Scotland or Edinburgh itineraries so you can make the best out of your time. Yeah do check out for a one to one consult with myself and Doug. Yeah Now I hope you enjoyed this episode. As I say, this is the first, the first in our new before you visit episodes of podcasts. Let me know what city you'd like me to talk through next.

Tracy Collins [00:38:11]:
Where would you like me to talk about? Which city would you like me to do a series of kind of 12 points of things to know before you visit. I'm interested in it to know is it you want me to want us to do one in York? Do you want me to do on Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool, Manchester? Where where would you like to know about tips on before you visit? Anyway, that's enough for me from this week. I hope you've enjoyed the episode. As I said, get in touch with Speak Pipe. I love to hear from you. I'll put a link to that in the show notes as well. But as always from me, until next week, Happy UK Travel Planning. Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the UK Travel Planning podcast.

Tracy Collins [00:38:54]:
As always, show notes can be found@uktravelplanning.com if you've enjoyed the show, why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favorite podcast app? We love to hear from you. And you never know, you may receive a shout out in a future episode, but as always, that just leaves me to say until next week, Happy UK Travel Planning.