London + Edinburgh
 

Is it crazy to take 2 days out of a week lond London trip to see Edinburgh? If not is the train the best way to get up and back? Any "must sees"? I've done Paris in a day from London and that was great so wanted to try a new destination this time.
Thanks.

Get the sleeper train both ways and it becomes somewhat more sensible - otherwise it depends if you think spending 9 hours on a train is a tadge silly.

Any chance you could either fly into or out of Edinburgh at the start / end of your trip? Makes it a bit more sensible

We did exactly that in February (although we did actually have 9 days total). Had a terrific time and were glad we did it. My husband had never been and my last visit was 15 years ago. Since you've been to London before, you've likely hit the major sights there...well worth the trip IMO even though brief.

Must-sees for me would be Holyrood Palace and the castle, but I'm big on that sort of thing. Lots of things to do packed onto the Royal Mile. Very walkable area and easy to get to/from Waverly Station. We stayed at the Royal Carlton, which was decent enough and a screaming deal on Priceline. The downside was that it was a bit noisy at night as our room faced a main street.

You've evidently been to London before, so - why not ? (The one thing I envy my friends near London - oh OK, apart from their weather - is being able to get cheap flights to places like Venice and Rome *for lunch* !!!).

Wouldn't recommend the sleeper, though, unless you're happy to go the whole time without a shower.

Check for flights with BA, bmi and Easyjet.

You can cover all the main sights using the open top bus tour; if you wish, getting off at the stop nearest the Castle, touring the Castle, walking down the Royal Mile, touring the Palace, then back on the bus.

You can shower in Waverley (gone are the days when the lifts from the Balmoral-then known as the North British, or NB- went all the way down to the platform and student up for the Fringe sneaked up to the upper floors to use the bathrooms)

Sheila, I know there are showers in the first class lounge - but are there others open to anyone ?

If you take a train, you could possibly eat up a day or two just travelling. Any chance of flying up and back?

Flying isn't significantly faster than taking the train, nor is is any cheaper.

The only exceptions to this are

a) travelling when there is maintenance work on the system
b) you are already at the airport.

As others have said IF you want to maximise your time in Edinburgh then take a sleeper one or both ways - remember you don't need a hotel room so you save some money

I was in Edinburgh a couple years ago and there's so much to see just on the Royal Mile. However, a couple of highlights for me were touring Mary Kings Close and a Ghost and Ghouls walking tour.

http://www.realmarykingsclose.com/home.htm
http://www.mercattours.com/ghosts-and-ghouls.asp

From experience I think its a great idea! I agree with the advice to check airfares as an option. BMI Edinburgh/London was very inexpensive when we did it last summer!

Ah right - well I learned something today !