Edinburgh Questions...
 

Looks like I'll have four full days in Edinburgh in early March after working in Belfast -- so no jet lag :-).
Is there a "best" area to stay in to be close to attractions? Would that be "Old Town?"

We're big walkers and prefer to walk or take public transport if that's easy. Is that do-able?

Any "must-see" suggestions? Our interests include castles, museums, quaint, old buildings. We love nature and walks, but figure this won't be the right time of year for trekking in the countryside.

FYI, no interest in whiskey, gourmet dining, or golf. :-)

Thanks!

(I didn't post on your other thread and was going to suggest Edinburgh -- good choice)

>>Is there a "best" area to stay in to be close to attractions? Would that be "Old Town?"<<

Anywhere in the general rectangle roughly between Queen St/George St/Princes St in the New Town and the National Museum of Scotland/Cowgate/Grassmarket/Royal Mile in the Old Town. Some prefer being down the hill around Princes Street/Waverly Station/George Street and some prefer being up the hill around the Royal Mile. But anyplace in that general area would be convenient to almost ALL the major sites.

>>We're big walkers and prefer to walk or take public transport if that's easy. Is that do-able?<<

Good, since those are basically the ONLY practical ways to get around Edinburgh.

>>Any "must-see" suggestions? Our interests include castles, museums, quaint, old buildings. We love nature and walks, but figure this won't be the right time of year for trekking in the countryside. <<

Edinburgh has ALL of than -- even the 'nature bit'. You don't have to go into the countryside to get . . . countryside ;) Arthur's Seat is basically in central Edinburgh in Holyrood Park. So if the weather is decent and you want to ramble -- it is right there.

Edinburgh Castle is the must of musts. Then you have tons of other choices -- the Museum of Scotland, The National Gallery, GladstonesLand, Holyrood Palace/Abbey, The Whisky Centre, several other museums, the Camera Obscura, the Botanic Gardens, the Royal Yacht, a short train ride to Linlithgow or North Berwick/Tantallon, maybe a day trip w/ Rabbies https://www.rabbies.com/one_day_tour..._ed.asp?lng=en

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I starting to stop sniveling about not being able to get to Rome ;-). I think I really will like Edinburgh.

Edinburgh is much like Rome ,built on 7 hills.As janisj, loads to do.
The bus service in the city is excellent and easy to get to the ventre if you happen to have a hotel a bit further out but thar areas already suggested are great. I would also suggest the Minto street,Mayfield road ,Craigmiller road area, one long street where there are numerous hotels and B&Bs, great bus services on that road too,Furthest point is only 2 miles from the centre.
http://www.royal-mile.com/
this is a good website for loads of info on what you can see and do.

I have a long WoRd doc. If you email me, I'll send it to you

"FYI, no interest in whiskey, gourmet dining, or golf"

Glad to hear it, as it would be whisky in Scotland.

Interesting!
FYI, I have no interest in gourmet dinning or golff, either. ;-) HAHA

Sheila: thanks so much. How can I email you?

Addy is in the profile

I know you aren't going to be there at festival time, but this TR might be useful anyway for stuff like cafes, bars, museums, Greyfriars etc:-

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rgh-fringe.cfm

sheila: I don't see your e-mail address in your profile. Maybe it was before the re-format a few years ago. When editing a profile one can put their e-mail in the 'website' field.

I think (hope) you will LOVE Edinburgh!! We went for the 1st time in '13 and I was so enthralled with how wonderful it is. We stayed at a quirky place in the New Town that was a great location for walkability to pubs, restaurants, but longish for the Royal Mile, altho quite doable for sturdy walkers. The prices include breakfast in a very snazzy place next door, so the juxtaposition of old townhouse next door to a modern pub was just really charming.

http://www.53frederickstreet.com

Edinburgh is wonderful and you will not want for things to see and do. We stayed at an excellent B&B called 14 Hart - the name is it's address. It is in new town but an easy walk to Princess St and the Royal Mile. There are very good, but not expensive restaurants nearby and the hosts are kind and have a wealth of information both practical and historical.

If there is one, do not - repeat do not miss going to a Ceilidh. Following is an excerpt from my TR:

Ever been to a Ceilidh? We went to one in Edinburgh last month and it was more fun than should be legal. If you are in Scotland, be sure to find one and attend - it is an authentic Scottish experience and often they are held to raise money for a charity - this one was to raise money to help Edinburgh's homeless. We learned of it through the TI office.

Have a great time. I know you will.

All this info is GREAT!!! Thanks so much.
I'm actually getting quite excited about the destination.

RM67: thanks for the link!

socialworker: 53 Frederick Street looks great. But I think we're going to look for an apartment. DH doesn't like B&B's. On Hotwire there was a 4* apartment in Old Town listed for $49/night (plus fees) -- and a 5* apartment for $80/night.

If you get good weather then Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags make for a wonderful ramble and they are right in the centre of Edinburgh too.

janisj has given a comprehensive list of places to see. Do try and be at the castle for the firing of the one o'clock gun.

As well as Gladstone's Land on the Royal Mile, you may also enjoy the Georgian House in the New Town. There is also the ruined Craigmillar Castle with its links to Mary Queen of Scots, easily reached by bus from teh centre of Edinburgh.

A bit further out is Rosslyn Chapel, again doable by bus. This suddenly appeared on everyone's tick list after Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code'. Even without the Holy Grial connection, the architecture is stunning.

HI Songdoc--- just an FYI, this place is really not exactly a B&B, if that makes any difference to DH. It is more of a quirky small hotel. Now if DH's objection is to the typical B&B where they expect you to chat up the other guests, I am with him and that is SO not what this place is…..OTOH, if he likes hotel services and a staffed front desk and that is the part he objects to, then he would not like this place.

And b/c you eat brkfst at private tables in a restaurant/club/pub which is next door, the second B of the B&B is not like you are in a B&B at all! :)

No matter what you decide on, I hope you both have a great time!

Thanks socialworker. Chatting is only part of the issue. Although DH definitely does NOT chat until at least the second cup of coffee. ;-)

With dietary concerns we prefer a place with a kitchen where we can prepare some of our boring, healthy meals. Also, he sometimes gets insomnia, so likes a place with a separate room where he can watch TV or read if he can't sleep.

You've given me such great suggestions. I realized we'll actually have five full days (not four), but it sounds like we won't have any trouble filling them.

Re: hiking and walking ...
It's hard to predict the weather that time of year. We've been working in Northern Ireland the end of February/beginning of March at a music festival for the past ten years. Last year, it was VERY cold, and we hit snow that kept us from even going out one day. But we still did a couple of walks on other days. It also snowed 6 or 7 years ago -- and it was unbelievably beautiful.

But we've had years when it was bright and sunny and we hiked wearing only sweatshirts. We're pretty hardy and I'm guessing we'll do some of those walks.

But what's really crazy is that I'll be coming from Hawaii!!!

The castle and St Giles' Cathedral are must-sees - The Thistle Chapel blew me away.

Hi Songdoc!
Nice to see you. I'm betting you will both like Edinburgh so much, you'll be plotting a return trip before you leave.

HiBokhara!
I hope you're doing great. That's quite an endorsement for Edinburgh!
We're getting excited.

gailscout: Thanks for the suggestions! All if this info is going into a file.

Edinburgh is a mixture of a wonderful late mediaeval city with a planned Georgian New Town, and modern bits round the edges. A visit to the Castle is a must, and a hike up Arthur's seat (a hill in the centre of the town above Holyrood Palace) will give you magnificent views out over the whole of east central Scotland. The approx. 1/2 mile hike provides a commanding view of the city, castle, sea, and surrounding countryside.
Castle Hill is the most westerly end of the Royal Mile. Directly below the Castle, to the south, is the Old Town -- tightly wound streets, buildings piled on each other (often literally). On the west side of the Castle is Edinburgh's commercial area. To its north is Princes Street Gardens, directly below the Castle, with the New Town section of the city just beyond. The New Town is built on grid-plan streets with plenty of restaurants, and shopping. To the east of the Castle runs the Royal Mile -- the High Street (which becomes the Canongate) -which runs from the Castle down to the Palace of Holyrood House at the east end of the Mile.
The Castle includes all manner of interesting things: from the Scottish military history museum to the Great Hall to the Honours of Scotland to the Stone of Scone, a humungous cannon called Mons Meg – made in Mons, Belgium; nicknamed in Edinburgh. The Great Hall was the hall where the Scottish kings held court before the Union of the Crowns in 1603. The Honours are the Crown Jewels -the sword, sceptre and crown of Scotland- which were considered redundant in 1707 as part of the Treaty of Union, when the parliaments merged. Sir Walter Scott (author of Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, and others) led the movement to rescue the Crown Jewels and in 1818, he unearthed them from the chest in which they had lain within Edinburgh Castle since the signing of the Treaty
The Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny, is literally the crowning place for the Scottish king, because that is where they sat when they were crowned. It is now in Edinburgh Castle after a short (750 year) stay in England, having originally been used at Scone in Perthshire, where 42 Scottish kings or queens ascended the throne.
The Castle has great views over Edinburgh, some nice museums, too many shops for good taste and plenty to wander around and enjoy.
The Royal Mile is split into two halves by the North Bridge: High Street above and Canongate below. North Bridge leads over some streets below the Royal Mile (on the lower parts of Castle Hill and its surrounds) and into the eastern edge of New Town. High Street contains about 70% of the shops, pubs, activities, etc. of the Royal Mile including the vast majority of souvenir shops, Scottish trade shops (BUY YOUR TARTAN HERE), whisky shops, etc. Canongate leads down to Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament.
Mary Kings Close, near the top of the Mile, is a street which, in the middle ages, was on ground level but when the great plague came to visit Scotland (and Edinburgh in particular) it hit the place hard. The worst section of the city was right in the heart of the 'Old Town', where the present City Chambers are nowadays. This street was known as Mary King’s Close (after an advocate’s daughter, so the story goes) and the local authorities, the kind beings that they are, decided to seal both entrances of the street up with everyone still inside. This street was rediscovered many years later and now you can take a tour down there. WARNING - they tell you that because of the many people sealed alive down there that there are ghosts aplenty. Tours can be arranged from the Royal Mile.

Incidentally, there are a bunch of themed walks run from the Mile, pretty much to suit all tastes.
Various closes and wynds connect the Royal Mile to the city below. The closes tend to be narrow enough to touch the walls on both sides and are steep (often with stairs) and they are all over the place. Buildings on the Mile were erected over the alleyways so that you now have attached structures with a close tunneling under one part of one or two buildings. In the closes and wynds were built tenements– multistory stone apartment buildings.
Edinburgh was one of the first cities to build four and five-story (or more) tenements. It also walled itself off in the 1500s so that an area just one-mile long and about ¼ to 1/3 mile wide comprised all of Edinburgh.
Edinburghers, until the late 1600s had no indoor plumbing -- instead they'd toss their human waste from their homes every night at 10 pm, yelling "Gardey loo!" as a warning (from gardez l'eau -- beware the water).
It’s redolent with histories and stories.
For example, William Burke and William Hare turned a profiteering venture into a mass murder scheme. In the early 1800s, Edinburgh University scholars were delving into the mysteries of human biology by dissecting cadavers, but only executed criminals could be used, and each doctor could only have two bodies per year from the executed, although they had hundreds of students. The university researchers offered bounties for fresh bodies. Burke and Hare ran a ramshackle lodging house with their wives, and one lodger died. They took the body from its casket to Dr. Robert Knox, who paid them nearly £7/10/- – a huge sum – no questions asked. The two lads then hatched a new scheme: plying lodgers and whores with drink, killing them, then taking the bodies to Dr. Knox for money. The scheme fell apart when a prostitute’s body showed up on Dr. Knox’s table and many of his students recognized the nude body that they’d seen before. The authorities investigated, learned that Burke & Hare had been seen with her in a pub, arrested Burke and Hare and obtained a confession from Hare. Burke was executed and his body sent to a rival of Knox (who had claimed ignorance and got off scot-free), who removed the skeleton whole and displayed it at Edinburgh University (where it remains today). Burke’s skin was cured and used as leather. Hare was reportedly lynched and blinded by a mob.
You’ll see, on the Royal Mile outside St. Giles Cathedral a heart shape in the cobblestones of High Street. This is the Heart of Midlothian and symbolizes the old Tolbooth where criminals used to be publicly displayed against the building that had stood on that spot. The accused would be tacked against the building by their ears for three days before their “trial” and passersby would throw insults, or rubbish at them or spit on them. Today, the Heart is the only place in Edinburgh where it is legal to spit – it’s now “good luck.”
At the bottom of the Mile is the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. The Palace is still a crown property, and the Royal Family uses it when it so chooses, A palace has stood on the same spot since King David I of Scotland erected the first structure there in 1128. Noet the increasing ornate-ness of the columns in the inner courtyard from boring Doric on the ground floor, to semi-ornate Ionic (ram-horn shape at top) on the second floor where the various meeting and dining rooms are, to very ornate Corinthian on the top floor where the Royal apartments are. Inside the Palace, great rooms, art, furniture, etc., but more importantly, the gory stuff: including the spot where Mary Queen of Scots’ Italian secretary was found murdered by lackeys of her second husband, Lord Darnley – you can still see some of the blood stain in the wood.
The Abbey is a ruin where Scottish royalty had been buried until the late 1600s.
Across from the Palace is a large structure of meandering design and a conceptualistic lack of concept. It has random integration of stone, metal, glass and wood and extends for more than a block up into the Canongate away from the Palace. It includes contemplation alcoves built into the building that jut out over the street and tiki-hut sticks acting as wood finishes on its outside awnings.
The structure is the new Scottish Parliament building – an unmitigated disaster of poor financial planning, but spectacular architecture.
In the New Town, in Charlotte Square you’ll see the residence of the Scottish First Minister and the one-time home of Joseph Lister. Lister was a surgeon who used carbolic acid in a solution as an antiseptic in surgery and to clean surgical instruments – the pioneer of antiseptic use. Listerine is named after him.
The former Royal Yacht Britannia is berthed at Leith, Edinburgh's port, and can be visited by the public. Some of Edinburgh’s best restaurants are in Leith. The Museum of Scotland in the centre of the City is pretty good, for the architecture as well as the exhibits.
Edinburgh is also a great shopping city. The best places to shop include the West End, George Street, the area around Victoria Street and the Grassmarket, and Stockbridge.

Think of using the hop-on, hop-off bus for transport.

It’s a fabulous place for pubs, some of which have particular slants. The two best places in Edinburgh for folk music are 2 pubs (surprise!) One is the Tron and the other is Sandy Bell's. Sandy Bell's also used to produce a news-sheet "Sandy Bell's Broadsheet" and I think they still do, which lists all the folky stuff going on all over Scotland. One other, a bit more touristy, is the Ensign Ewart which is situated near the entrance to the Castle - can't miss it. Walk along the length of Rose Street (or just nip up for a look) whilst it’s busy in the late evening and just take in the atmosphere. Great pubs (not all in Rose Street) include the Café Royal, the Barony, Mathers, the Diggers (posh name the Athletic Arms), the Roseburn, Bert’s, and the Abbotsford

In the northwestern suburbs, in Davidson's Mains there is a baronial (i.e., circa 1895 but looking very medieval) house called Lauriston Castle. The tours are great, as this "castle" has secret passageways, a library bookshelf that hides a secret door, etc. From Davidson's Mains it is a very short (7-8 minutes) drive to Cramond, which has a yachtsman's harbour, the mouth of the River Almond, a medieval church (Cramond Kirk) and the remains (in the churchyard!) of Rome's northernmost garrison fort. It is one of the most important places in Stevenson’s “Kidnapped”

A random list of things to see includes:-
The New Town-planned grid Georgian -makes Bath pale by comparison
The Royal Mile -Medieval route between the Castle and Holyrood palace
The Castle
Valvona and Crolla -best deli in the UK
Greyfriars Bobby - statue of dog who sat at his master’s grave for decades
The Meadows - huge park in the town centre
Dean Village - working men’s planned village
The Scott Monument -Gothic Sky rocket memorial to Queen Victoria’s favourite Scottish author
Calton Hill –Observatory. It’s on the northeast side of town and gives great views over Edinburgh and Leith.. There are monuments to Scottish Philosopher Dugald Stewart, Adm. Horatio Nelson and many others.
Arthur's Seat -see above
Holyrood- Palace and Park - Queen’s Scottish town house and big garden
The parliament - this trip can be arranged. There is a visitor's gallery at the Scottish parliament and you can get tickets from (would you believe) the ticket office! There is no dress code.
The Museum of Childhood - on the Royal Mile
Cafe Vittoria - neighbourhood Tally restaurant. Very down to earth.
St Giles Cathedral - on the Mile. Scene of Jenny what’shername’s tantrum. Crown tower
Parliament House - where the big wigs hang out (what a terrible pun)
Make sure you visit the National Museum of Scotland (Chambers St) in Edinburgh.
Gladstone’s Land, -mediaeval close off the High Street (the Mile)
John Knox’s House on the Mile
The Malt Whisky Heritage Centre at the top of the Mile
Go to Deacon Brodie's pub and understand why it's called that
Eat in the Grassmarket and shop in Victoria Street


Plus there are great restaurants, gardens and parks. If it's atmosphere you like try The Witchery. The prices are a little steep, but the food is good and it's right beside the castle. (as far as atmosphere, the name says it all)

Other great restaurants include Stac Polly, Café Hub, Browns, Le Sept, Est Est Est, Bann’s, Henderson’s, the Kalpna, Viva Mexico, Shamiana.

At the moment the best restaurants in the city are Martin Wishart and Kitchen. But there are really nice places to eat, everywhere.

This is a city heaving with museums. I believe I have mentioned the National Museum of Scotland and the Museum of Childhood. In addition there are:-
The National Gallery and Royal Scottish Academy
the National Portrait Gallery
The Gallery of Modern Art
The Dean Gallery
The Georgian House
The City Art Centre
The Fruitmarket Gallery,
The Collective Gallery
The Printmakers’ Workshop

The City Council runs a free shuttle bus between the big museums

Or you can go to the Zoo; Dynamic Earth(mixed reviews- haven’t been myself), or the Botanic Gardens.

It’s awash with places to walk, sporting facilities, cinemas, theatres, music venues, and stunning architecture.

Walk through the new town with a proper guidebook to how it was all done (free except for cost of book- probably somewhere on the web).

Good day trips out of the city would include:-

1/ To the south you are about an hour's drive from the Borders; lovely rolling hills and some lovely stately mansions including Abbotsford which was owned by Sir Walter Scott- whose memorial is in the middle of Edinburgh's main shopping street, and which can be climbed for the view over the gardens and up to the Castle.

2/ The Forth Rail bridge is worth driving past. The estuary of the Forth widens to superb beaches (with wonderful links golf courses behind them ) and in Fife you have St Andrew's, home of golf (the beach where they filmed the opening sequences of Chariots of Fire?). Just over the river (the Forth) Dunfermilne is on your left. Robert the Bruce, the hero king who won Bannockbrn is buried here in Dunfermilne Abbey (although his heart is buried at Melrose in the borders); go back onto the main road and you will shortly come to Loch Leven, where Mary Queen of Scots was locked up in the castle on the island (v. romantic…..the story of the escape- she then fled to her cousin in England for succour. She locked her up for 20 years then beheaded her.(perfidious Albion!) There is a very pretty bird reserve at Vane farm on the south side on the loch.
3/ Dechmont Law near Livingston, West Lothian. Site of an attempted alien abduction of local forester Bob Taylor in 1979. This is the only UFO site in the world where the local authority have acknowledged what went on there and have erected a plaque accordingly.
4/ Anstruther, Fife. Visit the fishing museum, then have the best fish in the world for your lunch. After that drive along the coast to Largo, home of the 'original' Robinson Crusoe. When Daniel Defoe wrote about Robinson Crusoe, he was writing about a real person. His name was Alexander Selkirk and he came from Largo in Fife. Defoe was an English spy up in Scotland in the 1700's and nicked the story. That area of Fife is well worth a visit
5/ Go slightly further west and see New Lanark, a model community built by social philanthropist Robert Owen; and it's near the Falls of Clyde for scenery.

6/ Whisper it not in Gath- go to Glasgow for shopping and culture (and you can do it by train)

7/ Linlithgow Palace, followed by Bannockburn- battle site, where we beat the English- and Stirling. Linlithgow is one of my favorite castles and can be done in a quick afternoon visit along with St. Michael's Church.

8/ Golf- pick any one of half a dozen gorgeous courses in superb scenery.
9/ Drive eastward along the coast through East Lothian to North Berwick and Dunbar. North Berwick is a great seaside village featuring a beach, Bass Rock, and Tantallon Castle. Dunbar has a great seaside castle ruin. This drive is about 40 miles roundtrip from Edinburgh. The Sea Bird Centre at Aberlady is now a lovely and interesting addition on this route

Wear comfortable shoes. All the hills in Edinburgh go up. This should be physically impossible, but it is so.

Definitely go to Calton Hill.

Just as easy to stay in New Town as Old. Just a short walk to Old Town from New. Yeah, it's uphill . . . so is everything.

If you have any interest in the local hooch, go to Royal Mile Whiskies (which is on the Royal Mile, natch) and to the Cadenhead shop (also on the Royal Mile, the Canongate side).

<<Defoe was an English spy up in Scotland in the 1700's and nicked the story>>

Bloody English - everything is their fault. You'll learn that within 15 hours of landing in Auld Reekie.

G'day Songdoc

Store up and report your Edinburgh impressions - it's on my list for my next trip that way! Are you heading this way again?

But holey-moley - look at Sheila's lists! Thanks, Sheila.

shiela, you should sell those 2 posts to Fodor's.

Loved Sandy Bell's, one of the highlights of our visit.

Edinburgh is on our short list. Thanks, everyone, for the great info shared here!

Songdoc, Let us know where you stay.I have been looking at apartments on airbnb tonight. It is four or five of my girlfriends so we need two bathrooms. We can take a pull out sofa but need two baths. There are some great places listed that are smaller.

Thank you Sheila, sending this to my friends. Two of us have been but two have not so know they will love it.

Good heavens, Sheila - you've answered questions I didn't even know I had! I'll be referring to this thread for my own upcoming trip to Edinburgh.

Songdoc - I hope you enjoy your trip!

I hadn't checked back because I've been so busy booking other trips that are coming sooner. (Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Saskatchewan, Hawaii, and Northern Ireland). They're business-related (except for Hawaii), but I'll manage to add on some days and squeeze in a bit of fun. Sometimes I think I should have been a travel agent. Other times, I think I AM one! :-)

I'm completely overwhelmed (in a good way!) from all the the responses. Sheila--you truly have written a book -- and I'm SO very grateful! I've copied all the suggestions into a document.

Edinburgh wasn't even on my list. But now, I'm super excited!!!

Hi Margo! I hope you're well. I was actually supposed to be working in Papua New Guinea and then Australia right now. But that didn't work out. Now I'm guessing it won't be for about another year :-(.

Again, thank you all so much for your help!

Thanks to all who posted here ~ I'm going to print out much of this thread.

For the person who asked where we'll be staying ...
We chose Stay Edinburgh City Apartments (217 High Street, Royal Mile) in Old Town. I booked it on Orbitz for $70/night -- which includes ALL taxes and fees, as well as a bottle of wine! I couldn't believe how low the prices were. Coming from the U.S., I guess we partly have the exchange rate to thank.

This is going to be a crazy 7-week trip. I'll start in Nashville, go to work in Saskatchewan Canada (where the HIGH temperatures will never reach zero F.); then to Kauai; then N. Ireland; and end in Edinburgh! (Much of it includes business, but there will be plenty of time for vacation. 100% of Edinburgh is holiday.)

In N. Ireland we'll be working at a music festival in Belfast, but first, we'll spend five days in a cottage that we absolutely adore. (www.limepark.com) This will be our 7th or 8th visit (because of the music festival) and we never stop being in awe of the beauty of the Antrim Coast. I think it's a well-kept secret -- so don't tell anyone ;-).

I'm excited!!! Thanks again for all your help!

Songdoc. That flat is in a TERRIFIC location!. At the corner of the Royal Mile and Cockburn street (which is a very direct road down to Waverly Station/Princes Street . . . though it is a real slog back up the hill ;) ) and really close to St Giles. Amazing price.

That is a great price, Songdoc. We will be staying at this apartment in May - twice what you paid but it is 2 bedrooms.

http://abc-edinburgh.co.uk/accommodation-16-4/

Love all the info on this thread - absolutely can not wait!

songdoc, we took a couple of excellent walking tours in Edinburgh. They left from just outside the Starbucks on the Royal Mile. For most of them you can just turn up and join the next tour. One was free with a request for a donation at the end if you had enjoyed it, the second one included the castle and there was a fee but I can't remember how much it cost now.

Thanks so much for the replies and the great suggestions.

janisj--I'm SO glad to get your feedback about the location.