PalQ

Many Scots, including my ancestors came to America from the Borders region. the family history says the English, when introducing sheep to the area, got rid of the peasant farmers by shipping, or shantying them to Northern Ireland or even paying trans-Atlantic boat fare - anyway the ones that went to Northern Ireland were called 'Shanty Irish' and many of these eventually went to Canada and the States. Galashiels is the main commercial/regional town of the Borders area.

holly2020

I wish we had weeks instead of just 6 days; I could only take a week off work though. My grandmother emigrated when she was 16; she planned on going to New Zealand but apparently met my grandfather once she stopped in the US and never left. She worked in the woolen mills in Massachusetts before having kids.

janis

If you grandmother was from Galashiels you definitely need to go to the Borders.

I have what may sound like an off the wall suggestion -- Even though your B&B is set for the whole time in Edinburgh, I'd take an over night trip to Galasheils, Melrose, Dryburgh, Kelso, Floors Castle, and Mellerstain, and maybe Jedburgh if you have time.

You would have to "eat" one night of the B&B in Edinburgh but there is waaaaay to much to see/do around Galashiels in a day trip from the city.

If your budget can take the added expense of an extra night's accomodation you would get a TREMENDOUS lot out of this excursion. You could even hire a driver in Melrose or Galashiels to take you around to all the sights.

I'd do it in the middle of the trip w/ 2 or 3 days in the city on either end.

holly2020

Thanks Janis, we may wind up doing that. We'd also really like to get up to the Highlands, maybe even some of the islands and may have to eat another night of our B&B stay. I really, really wish we could have booked a longer trip ...

janis

I wouldn't try to do too much. 4 days in Edinburgh during the festival w/ a day trip to Stirling and maybe a 1/2 day to Linlithgow, and 2 days in the Borders is still a pretty full itinerary.

As much as I LOVE the Highlands/Islands I don't think a trip NW fits into your short timeframe.

caroline_edinburgh

As flanneruk said, the Fringe website is www.edfringe.com. The International Festival website is www.eif.co.uk & the Book Festival one is www.edbookfest.co.uk. If it's a nice day, the Book Festival site in Charlotte Square is a nice place just to hang out and maybe have a glass of wine.

The daily guide to which Kate refers is published with the Guardian newspaper each day Mon-Sat & is also available to pick up free all over the place. It's handy if you find yourself thinking - ooh, I've got an opening at 10pm, what's on ?

If you can identify beforehand any EIF or Fringe shows you fancy, it would be easier to book them online or by phone & have them posted to your B&B (if you're quick, as postage will probably now take 7-9 days). Or you can book them in advance but pick them up when here : that way you get to join a much shorter queue for pre-paid tickets. At the height of the festivals, you can otherwise waste a *lot* of time queueing, especially at the Fringe office. Alternatively buy them at the venues : with the exception of the Assembly Rooms at peak hours, there's not generally much of a queue.

Most things at the Traverse theatre are worth seeing and they are on all day from c.10.30am. See www.traverse.co.uk. The best I've seen there so far is 'After The End', although if your mother is elderly and/or easily shocked it may not suit. I haven't seen it yet but everyone who's seen it is saying 'East Coast Chicken Supper' is very good and very funny.

The most amazing thing I've seen so far is a Japanese performance which can best be described as dance, in a specially contructed installation to which you travel in a minbus with blacked-out windows. (Still don't know where it was !) The show is 'Ren-Sa' and it's put on by Aurora Nova based at St Stephen's Church.

I am aalso looking forward to two performance/installation pieces, 'BREATH{e}' which is put on by the Traverse but takes place in the Lyceum Studio and particularly 'Don't Look Back' at General Register House.

For my tastes, the worst thing you can do is go to a performance, particularly one by school pupils or students, on the basis of having accepted a flyer for it.

In the International Festival I am particularly looking forward to 'The Death of Klinghoffer' by Scottish Opera and 'Nuts CocoNuts' by the Spanish company La Cubana.

If you go to the Botanic Gardens ("the Botanics&quot, check out the Ian Hamilton Finlay exhibition in Inverleith House which is in the gardens. Another two exhibitions I have enjoyed are the Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang at the Fruitmarket gallery and Paula Rego at the Talbot Rice gallery.

The main Edinburgh bus company is Lothian & this is their website - www.lothianbuses.co.uk. It looks like the number 15 goes to Roslin (the village next to which the Rosslyn Chapel is located).

If I can help with any other Edinburgh info, please ask.

Hope you have fun !

MaureenGP

My daughter and I just returned from Edinburgh last night, and we saw the Tattoo on Saturday evening. It was fantastic--your are in for such a treat!
We arrived in Edinburgh Friday morning from London, and spent the afternoon walking along the Royal Mile, which was busy because of all the festivities going on in the city, before going to dinner at The Witchery, and then taking a ghost tour. The meal was fine; the ghost tour was hokey.
Saturday we toured Edinburgh Castle, and happened upon a wedding taking place at the tiny chapel there. We went to an exhibit about the Tattoo, did a bit of gift shopping, and got ready for the Tattoo in the evening. On Sunday morning, we toured Holyroodhouse Palace, then the Royal Yacht Brittania, and in the evening, went to a Scottish Night show at the Prestonfield Hotel. In the midst of all of this, there was enormous fun and activity surrounding the Fringe Festival. Edinburgh is an amazing place, and those three days gave us just the briefest taste of it, so do allow time to see more of it than we were able to do.
We never left the city, so I can't tell you about transportation to other sites. Within the city, we walked or took a cab, and the drivers we had were all amazing. The one volunteered to return to Prestonfield to pick up us after the show--and he was right there on time. He joked that he had to come back to see how we liked the haggis! There is also regular bus service around the city.
You are going to have a grand time!

holly2020

I am getting so excited about our trip after talking with you all; what great suggestions and such helpful hints. I'd been looking forward to the trip but now I'm on fire about it! I'm so glad I'm going to have the memories of the time spent with my mom. One last question, she and I are both huge Dick Francis fans and I found a horse race going on at Ayre that she'd like to go to in his honor; is that a place we can get to fairly easily by train/bus from Edinburgh?

janis

Yes you can get to Ayr from Edinburgh by train -- seems like you have 12 days worth of things to do in 6 days though.

You can take the train from Edinburgh to Queen street Station in Glasgow and then walk 2 1/2 blocks to Glasgow Central station for the trip down to Ayr. (You'll love the races if you can work it out time-wise)

SiobhanP

I was in Edinburgh last August and we saw the tattoo as well. It was great and worth seeing. We drove over from Dublin so we had our car and went to the Roslyn Chapel. It was stunning and a wedding started when we finished viewing the Chapel. Its nice for a day out and If its a sunny day its lovely to see. There is not much else in the village though.
Do take some time out to see a few events during the daytime while you are there. It has such a great Buzz during the festival there is nothing I have seen like it.

Enjoy.

holly2020

Janis, you're right, we've got way too many things to try to do in the limited time we have and how Mom feels when we arrive will no doubt dictate what we're able to do (she's 72 and has a couple of health issues). What she and I have talked about is spending most of our time in Edinburgh, because it's such a great city and there will be so much going on while we're there, but we'd like one or two day trips as well. So, we'll sort through all this great info and decide what suits us best when we get there. All said, I can't stress enough how much I appreciate all of your help.

MaureenGP

Holly, if your mother is elderly, take into account the fact that everything in Edinburgh seems to be uphill and walking can be strenuous. You won't be able to hurry about. The best thing would be take a bus or taxi to the Castle and work your way down the Royal Mile---much easier that way!

celticmoon

I agree with above posters, that The Borders is a beautiful area to visit. My husband and I drove up from Northumberland, and spent 4 days in, and around this area.
The Border Abbeys are wonderful ruins to explore as well as Floors Castle, Traquair House, and many other sites which we vistited.
We dined at The Wheatsheaf Inn in Swinton, and had a wonderful dinner. We love to fine-dine and we were not disappointed. With a copy of last years Bon Apetite Food magazine in hand (which was devoted entirely to Scotland) we dined at several terrific restaurants in this area.
We look forward to returning in the autumn, touring a different area and of course spending more time.

holly2020

Maureen, you're entirely right, we'll not be doing lots of uphill walking, Mom gets out of breath too easily. Also, while we want to see as much as we can, we want our trip to be enjoyable rather than frantic and trying to cram too much in wouldn't be fun.

caroline_edinburgh

IMO the best thing to do is the open top bus tour, to get an overview of the Old & New Towns. Then (maybe on a 2nd circuit, depending on where you got on), get off at the castle, see that, then walk down the Royal Mile to the palace. Or get back on the bus if it's too far.

Where are you staying - maybe I could help with public transport options ?

holly2020

Mom had mentioned the open bus tour and we'll definitely want to go to the castle, Royal Mile, gardens on Princes street, etc. We're staying at a B&B called Sandeman House which is at 33 Colinton Road.

janis

holly: I normally advise folks to take the hop-on-hop-off bus tour from Waverly Bridge up to the Castle, then walk down the royal Mile and after Holyrood, get on the bus again for the rest of its route around Calton Hill and into the new town.

Definitely do take the tour - but in your case it probably isn't good for a jumping off place for the castle. The tour bus stop is around a corner and down the hill from the Castle. It is about the equivilent of a 4 block walk from the bus stop to the castle gate and much of it is steep up hill.

Normally a cab would be able to take you right up to the castle gates - but w/ the tattoo bleachers in place in the castle forecourt it might have to drop you a a bit farther away - but at least it would be basically a level walk.

holly2020

I think the cab for mom's sake; she not only gets out of breath very quickly but she also twisted her ankle about three weeks ago and it's still a little tender. This is probably a dumb question, but should I plan on tipping the cab driver in addition to the fare and if so, how much is customary?

caroline_edinburgh

If they are nice, 10%. If not , nothing.

Goodness, holly, you are staying just round the corner from me ! I just googled & found their website & see it contains bus information. If it is as close to Holy Corner as it looks on their map, it's only a couple of minutes walk to a bus stop with lots of useful routes.

holly2020

Thanks Caroline, I hate sounding like an idiot about the cab fare but I don't take them often, I live in a moderate sized city in Texas and we drive everywhere. I printed out the B&B address information and saw they list a number of bus routes. I found them by a google search and it looks like a neat old place; the woman who owns and runs it has been super, I'm sure we're going to enjoy staying there.