My friend and I will be spending four days in Edinburgh, and I'm looking for some tips on day trips we can take. We'd love to see some wilderness, some more castles or ruins, or anything unusual! Not too much into nightlife or big city--we want history, culture, and nature! We're getting a BritRail flexipass and we're limited to just trains and buses.

Also, would getting up into the Highlands somewhere for a day (and possibly a night) be too much to ask?

I wouldn't think a flex pass would make sense for the sorts of trips you are talking about

W/ 4 days in the city you would have time for one day trip (or 2 at the very most). There is a LOT to see/do in Edinburgh.

Instead of a train trip, you might want to check out the many guided day trips by coach that base in Edinburgh. You can get info about all of them at the Tourist Information Center at Waverly Station - or search on-line for specific tours. I'd wait until you are IN Edinburgh before booking any day trips since weather can make a big difference.

There are tours to Loch Ness/the highlands, or Loch Lomond and the Trossachs or other parts of Scotland.

BritRail Flexipasses come in minimum of 4 days over a 2 month period - four days unlimited travel - calendar days

if you use one each way from London then you have two more days to use or throw away

I've been in that situation with my pass and have done two great day trips from Edinburgh by rail:

Sterling- a sweet regional town with one of Scotland's most famous castles right in it - Braveheart associations i believe and a place of Scottish national patrimony

Plus Sterling is a thriving market town and has other sundry sights like the Old Gaol - or whatever this old Victorian jail is called that you can tour and thank the Queen you're not in it for good.

You can walk to some monument in the countryside that marks one of (the few) Scottish battle victories against the hated English.

2- St Andrews - train actually takes you to Leuchars, a few miles from lovely seaside St Andrews - known most for its five, i think, golf courses, including the venerable Old Course where i guess this golfing thing all got started - there is a museum of golf.

and the town is really old and there is a great seaside with some old ruins on it.

and a prestigious university - Prince William went here - helping make this a special town.

And on the train ride from Edinburgh you go over the unique cantilever bridge over the Firth of Forth, one of the world's most famous bridges.

So unless you can use your two days on your flexipass better elsewhere (and Sterling would certainly not cost much on a day return - www.nationalrail.co.uk for fares and schedules - may as well use them here.


Firth of Forth Cantilever Rail Bridge
Due to the tragic collapse of the Tay Bridge, The Firth of Forth bridge, completed in 1890, was heavily over-constructed in an attempt to regain the ...
bridgepros.com/projects/FirthofForth/FirthofForth.htm

BTW from the Leuchars train station buses meet trains to whisk you the five miles into St Andrews itself

I'm sorry, I should have been more detailed. Edinburgh is one stop on an 18 day trip I'm doing around the UK. I will probably buy the 8 day flexipass and supplement it with regional transport when I need to. Thanks for the tips so far! They're wonderful!

We daytripped to Stirling (not Sterling, in case you Google it) from Edinburgh last year, and took the hop-on-hop-off tour around the city. It takes you to several points of interest around town; we got off at the Castle (really interesting) and at the Wallace monument. Easy and fun day trip; the train goes direct from Edinburgh to Stirling pretty regularly, and the HOHO bus picks up right outside the Stirling station. We got back to Edinburgh in time to climb Arthur's Seat while it was still daylight (we were there in June).

I went to StIrling in late nov and it was dark by 3am - much better in summer

PQ, PQ, PQ - dark by 3 a.m.?? I would hope so!

(I think if someone from Stirling knew you were calling it "sweet" they'd have hunt you down)

I really like the short daylight in the winter months. Well, I know that I am different, also getting old. Good excuse to hit the pub as the sun goes down. A cold beer and warm fire, how good is that!

I cant remember exactly how long of a drive it is but Falkland Palace is one of the loveliest placest I've ever been. Linlithgow and Dunfermline area also great options.

Falkland Palace is just over an hour's drive from Edinburgh except at evening rush hour. It's possible by public transport, best bet would be an express bus to Glenrothes then the local bus to Perth. Linlithgow (birth place of Mary Queen of Scots) and Dunfermline (birthplace of Andrew Carnegie, tombs of Robert the Bruce and of William Wallace's mum, spiritual home of St Maragaret, our "other" patron saint) are a short train ride from Edinburgh.

The Borders Abbeys are also an easy bus ride from Edinburgh south - Melrose area with Jedburgh Abbey and lovely walks, etc.
there was talk of re-opening the train line here but now only buses, not valid with a railpass but cheap and frequent.

And don't neglect Glasgow - in spite of the fearsome feral 'boys' of Glasgow - they only come out at night

Glasgow, Edinburgh's arch-rival in every way has a rather nice town centre and some good collections of old Victorian and Georgian buildings, nice parks, etc.

It does have some derelict areas but it has some really nice and interesting ones as well - and less than an hour by train from Edinburgh i think

The Highlands, and Falkland, and Glasgow, and Stirling, and St Andrews - every other place mentioned are worth visits. However - the OP only has 4 days total. (plus she says they are not interested in cities - and Glasgow is a huge city) There is not enough time for more than 1, or at most 2, day trips.

eleutherium: If you want to be out in the country and are not that interested in cities, I might consider a different plan altogether. You will want to see Edinburgh - it is an amazing place.

But after a 1.5 days, 1 night in Edinburgh - take the train to Inverness and use it as a base for the other 3 days. Normally I advise folks to stay outside of Inverness, but it makes sense in your case. Inverness is the main center for shopping, accommodations and tourism in the north of Scotland. It has frequent train connections and a large Tourist Information Office. You can take local bus tours from there to places like Culloden, Loch Ness, boat trips on the Moray Firth to see the Dolphins, or even day trips to Skye or the Orkneys.

The Inverness to Kyle of Lochlash rail line is one of Europe's most scenic and can be an easy day trip from Inverness - about two hours each way

the fabled scenery of the Highlands - lochs, rugged seaside as you near Kyle - at Kyle there are buses from the train station going over the bridge to Isle of Skye