london/edinburgh
 

We are planning a trip in Nov. to visit our son in London. Need some suggestions for dinner in the East End (he will be at Queen Mary U.)and dinner before the theatre (Women in White)in London.
Also planning a weekend in Edinburgh by train. Good places for dinner. Has anyone taken any of the evening ghost tours? Any experience taking the train for the day to Stirling, will we need a car to see the sights?

Keep in mind they drive on the left, but maybe your son is going and is used to that. We didn't trust ourselves, but I have friends that say if you are left handed the shifting is easier and driving the loops, etc. in_wyoming

The tours are mostly the same but with different locations. I took a tour of the vaults one night and they give the history etc and try to spook you a bit all in fun. The next night we did the Greyfriars tour and it was fun because it was a bit spooky in the cemetary. No one in particular was ever better than the other. Some are more walking outside though.

Suggestions for dinner in London:
Cafe Naz in Brick Lane (trendy part of the East End) Bangladeshi restaurant.
Viet Hoa Cafe (Vietnamese) in Kingsland Rd East End
St John (English food) near Smithfield Market in ST John St City
Central London- lots of choice around Covent Garden
Edinburgh- again some great places to eat off th Royal Mile or in New Town I loved Hendersons Vegetarian restaurant in Hanover St. Have tea in Jenner's dept store with a window seat looking out over Princes St Gardens
I've been on an Edinburgh ghost tour and they're great fun & a good way of orienting yourself. Trains to Stirling fast and frequent and you won't need a car

You might want to think about flying from London to Edinburgh if you are only going for the weekend. The train takes over 4 hours and you can fly on EasyJet from Gatwick to Edinburgh in an hour to hour and 1/2. If you look at the Easyjet web site, you can book a round trip for around 50 GBP (this includes all taxes) which may be cheaper than the train. The sooner you book your tickets, the cheaper the price. Their ticket prices go up close to flight time. We used them a couple of times and had no problems.

I second the EasyJet idea (we did this from Aberdeen to London).

Edinburgh ghost tours - We loved the evening Witchery tour (as well as their restaurant). http://www.witcherytours.com/

We also did a Mercat day tour (http://www.mercattours.com/) to the vaults under South Bridge. That one was more realistic and up to your imagination. We liked the story telling on the Witchery Tour better.

amelie

I think you should stick with the train, unless they are working on the tracks and the trip would take longer. The time difference is not very much when you take into consideration getting to the airport, being there an hour or so before your flight, then the flight time and time to get from the airport into the center of Edinburgh. And you won't see anything of the countryside.

The train is a fun experience, and there is lovely scenery on the trip from London to Edinburgh. Also, the food is much better! If you're going early in the morning, do eat breakfast in the dining car.

Take the train. You really can't see much from 30,000 feet.

I am actually a big fan of the train because I like to look at the scenery, however if the trip is just for a weekend, you still might be better off flying and it very possibly could be cheaper. If you fly Easyjet from Gatwick at a 6:50 am flight, you are in Edinburgh at 8:20. If you take the 7:00 am train, you arrive at 11:30. Yes you have to get to the airport earlier than the train station but you still will be saving a couple of hours and maybe some money. If you do searches on this forum, there are a lot of threads about this. Everyone has their opinion. Like I said, I like the train but for a weekend I would rather get to my destination earlier. I believe BMI also flies London to Edinburgh.

Places for dinner in Edinburgh?

Stac Polly
Howie's
The Marque and Marque Central
Rogue
Martin Wishart
Wisart in the City
the Kalpna
the Siam Erewan

Train to Stilring is easy, but I think you'll be frustrated you didn't just spend teh whole wekend in Edinburgh- There's plenty to see. You certainly don't need a car in the city

Sheila - "Wisart in the City" ? Did you mean Fisher's in the City ? Fisher's in Leith is my favourite seafood restaurant here - personally I don't think the city one is as good.

I second all Sheila's other recommendations except for Rogue - the last time we went there they'd introduced the cheaper menu & we thought it was quite dull. And it's always been noisy, smoky & had poor service, IMO.

Martin Wishart is the tops but you'll need to book early. Number One at the Balmoral is Edinburgh's other Michelin-starred restaurant but I haven't been for 3 years (note to self - must check it out :-) ).

For vegetarian food I like Black Bo's which is casual almost to the point of scruffiness but has very interesting and inventive food. Bann's is a much smarter vege restaurant but I'm told it's not as good.

I used to like the Witchery tours but the last time I went on one I thought it had become a bit of a caricature of itself, and was more jokey than informative or spooky. I noticed someone on another thread recommended the 'City of the Dead' tour and it sounded quite good.

I also vote for the train - and make sure you book starboard out, port home, to get the best views of the Northumberland coastline, and the Angel of the North if you manage to catch it (between Durham and Newcastle stops).

Do take one of the open top bus tours in the daytime (if it's raining you can always sit inside) - they are a good way to get an overview of the Old Town & the New Town & you can get on & off at all the major sites. I've done the Guide Friday one several times, with different visitors, and also learn something new. Doing that & visiting the castle & the palace would take one day, IMO (but I'm quite lazy & need frequent food & drink stops :-) )

If you like art also consider the 4 national galleries which are linked by a free bus - see www.nationalgalleries.org.uk.

Please be aware that there is rail repair work on the line from Newcastle to Edinburgh EACH WEEKEND ONLY for the next few weeks. I think this is due to finish sometime in November so you might be lucky and just manage to avoid this. If not you have to do a detour via Carlisle (west of England) and will miss out on the best of the scenery on the way up to Edinburgh - Lindisfarne (Holy Island), the coast etc. It will also make your journey considerably longer and might make the plane a more attractive option.
There is a very regular train service from Edinburgh to Stirling - www.railtrack.co.uk gives full details. It takes about 50 minutes. I have only passed through Stirling (never stopped) but the castle looks wonderful.

Train v Plane? If you fly and it's a clear day (quite possible in November) you do get to see some beautiful scenery as the plane doesn't fly very high - and it takes a fair bit off the journey depending on where you're flying out of in London.

You could also do an overnight train and then a regular, daytime train on the way back. That way, you save some time with the overnight trip (they have beds for you to sleep in...pay the extra ten pounds or so for first class) and you get to see the scenery on the way back.

I'd second the vote for eating in Edinburgh at Black Bo's. As well as the Mercat tours. It is truly fascinating and really shouldn't be missed.

Hope you have a great trip!

I'm amazed at people who recommend the most ridiculous journeys by plane. If you were to try to catch a plane from Gatwick at 0650, you'd have to leave London by 0500 which would mean getting out of bed in the middle of the night.
From London to Edinburgh, there will normally be little difference in the journey time if you add in the journey times to and from airports, and check-in times. Edinburgh station is right in the heart of the city - you step off the train and you're there.