Arriving Edinburgh from Newcastle on a train at 0856, leaving by train to Newcastle at 1958.
Is it reasonable to see both the castle and Holyrood on a day trip or stick to one attraction only? How about one of Holyrood/castle and the Scottish Parliament building?
Also, can I get Scottish pound notes (for a collector friend of mine, not to use) at any cash machine?
Date will likely be Tuesday 2 July.
Thanks!
I would definitely choose the Castle over the Palace. The views from the Castle are quite extraordinary. If you have time, go to the top of Calton Hill where the views are equally spectacular.
I can't answer the question about Scottish pounds since we never withdrew money from a cash point on our two week trip to England and Scotland last June. I remember reading somewhere that the 3 Scottish banks will issue Scottish pounds: Bank of Scotland, RBS, and Clydesdale Bank.
Yes, it is possible to visit both. The Edinburgh Castle is at one end of the Royal Mile and Hollyrood is at the other end. Parliament is across the street from Hollyrood Palace. It does not take a lot of time at all. All three are well worth visiting. Scottish pound notes are easily obtained from a bank or atm based in Scotland. Edinburgh is a beautiful city, hope you enjoy your day there.
If you do decide to do both, do the castle first. Why? It's downhill to Holyrood House.
As for Scottish notes, my Scottish iends tell me that if I want Scottish notes, go to a Scotland based bank. If I want British notes, go to a British bank. It seems to work.
But remember, the smallest note is 5 pounds.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is still issuing pound notes seemingly. They haven't been in general circulation for years now, so your mileage may vary at a branch there too.
Your best bet might be to seek out a currency collectors store in Edinburgh. I can't imagine paying much over face value for a run-of-the-mill pound note.
[edit: I totally took it to mean actual Scottish pound notes, like a £1 note. If you mean just general currency issued by Scottish banks, you get that at any ATM :)]
The three banks each issue different notes
so for completeness, you could get notes from each bank.
If they are for a collector you really want to try to get Clydesdale Bank notes. The bank has been taken over by Virgin Money. While new notes are still being issued they are only available through Virgin ATM's, not partner ones so are becoming rarer.
As stated, you can do both. If you only picked one, I’d choose the castle, my wife would choose Holyrood. I never had a desire to go into the Parliament building, but it is across the street from Holyrood. Choices, choices
Wandering from the castle at the top of the Royal Mile, to Holyrood at the bottom, is a great way to spend a day in Edinburgh. Go straight to the castle when you arrive, spend up to two hours, then have lunch. Then spend the afternoon wandering down the hill, pop into St. Giles, and other places on the way and leave yourself about an hour and a half for Holyrood and go to the train stn. from there. This web site has a good plan for a day. https://www.abroadwithash.com/one-day-in-edinburgh-must-visit-edinburgh-sights/#tab-con-7
