I am going to Edinburgh Scotland in March for 5 days. I have limited packing space. We will be going to castles and outdoors. Should I pack rain boots?

I've never been in March but have been in June, July and August on a couple of different trips. Each time I took my rain boots and was glad that I did.

If you are going to "castles and outdoors" are you actually going to Edinburgh? Or somewhere else in Scotland? There is of course a magnificent castle in the center of Edinburgh, but in all my many visits to Edinburgh I have not once taken rain boots.

Sturdy shoes, yes. Or lined booties in winter - yes. Rain boots - never.

If you have limited packing space don't bother. If you need rain boots you could always buy the UK equivalent called Wellington boots very cheaply (under £20) and just leave them when you leave. You wouldn't need them in towns anyway but they can be useful if you're visiting the countryside. In March you might also have snow to consider.

Edinburgh is full of charity shops. On a visit last spring, my wife need wellies to help a friend in her garden. She bought a pair, no wear showing at all, for 2 GBP. These weren't Hunter but they did the job for the right price.

Reminds me of the Billy Connolly song:-
<i>"If it wisnae fur yer wellies, where wud ye be, yid be in the hospital or in-fir-mary..."</i>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SguYlpm3ffQ

When I'm doing outdoors stuff and need boots (not rain boots, but my walking boots are waterproof) I wear them so I don't have to pack them.

Where are you ACTUALLY going?

I appreciate all your comments. I am only going to Edinburgh for 5 days. No other places. So it appears as a whole, this is unnecessary in the city. Thanks everybody. Anybody been there in March? Would appreciate any insite on the weather. Again, only Edinburgh, no other places in Scotland.

Gordon_r I enjoyed the song!

If you're going to be in Edinburgh you don't need rain boots (assuming you mean high rain boots) - just sturdy waterproofed shoes or booties. If you're going to be hiking in the countryside then I would just buy boots there rather than hauling them around with you.

You will need good sturdy shoes to walk on the cobble stones. A pair of water resistant leather shoes will do. You may enjoy a pair of silk long underwear. Pack a long raincoat with a hood. I have a gore tex one from LL Bean that weights nothing but covers me from head to mid shin.

We were there the last week in March last year, and the Royal Botanical Gardens were full of blooms, and we could walk around in sweaters. But I would not count on that. When our daughter was a student the the Uni, we visited in April and it was cold.

Until March 25 when the UK goes on summer time (daylight savings time) it will get dark very early.

You can be sure that it will rain, and you can be reasonably sure the sun will shine. It will be windy, and not. Often all in the same day.

<i>Until March 25 when the UK goes on summer time (daylight savings time) it will get dark very early</i>

No it won't: by the time we get close to the spring equinox (in mid-March), the local sunrise/sunset times will be approximately the same whatever time zone you're in (i.e. around 6am/6pm). This "it get's dark early" in Scotland myth seems hard to shake off - it is true in December/early January, but otherwise not.

Sorry, Gordon.

The amount of daylight remains the same before and after summer time, but the amount of useful daylight increases by moving the clock.

This is more important in the US, where time zones are also drawn for all kinds of political reasons. The West Coast of Florida is in Eastern Standard time, the same time zone as Boston, which is several hundred miles further east. So the length of the day is the same, but when you get the sunlight on the clock can vary wildly. The sun rises in Eastern Massachusetts at 0629 today and sets at 1719. In Naples, Florida, it rises at 0659, half an hour later, and sets at 1823, surely a more useful band of daylight for the visitor.

Though the cows reportedly hate it, summer time simply shifts the band of useful daylight from morning to evening, so in fact, the tourist's day will be more useful. Not so much for the cows or the farmer. As you know, during the War, Britain went to Double Summer time to take advantage of those very late hours of daylight in the north.

Thank you everyone. all your comments are quite helpful.