Day trips from Edinburg

Sterling Castle, or Falkirk Wheel. Each about 40 minutes or so by train, then a bit of walking. However, there is plenty IN Edinburgh.

Don’t miss seeing the Royal Yacht Britannia, retired by Queen Elizabeth II, in Leith, a suburb a few miles northeast of Edinburgh. The dining room, spotless engine room, the captain’s bridge, and the on-board Rolls Royce are remarkable.

And just so there’s no confusion, it’s Stirling with an “i.” Don’t forget the “h” at the end of Edinburgh, too. Have a great Scotland tour!

In case you're fans of "The Da Vinci Code": Rosslyn Chapel is about 30 minutes south of the city in a very pretty setting. There are some very nice walks in the area once you've visited the old chapel, and we found a cute little tea room just up the street in the village of Roslin before we headed back into the city.
We had a car but I noted at the time that there was bus service from the city center to Roslin village or, alternatively, you could probably taxi or Uber at a reasonable cost if you wanted the door to door service.

Visit the Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery in Glasgow. It is "The Last Great Museum of the Victorian Era" Built in 1909. Look it up and you will be surprised.

We were in Scotland for a couple of weeks in September and can heartily recommend all of the above. Do try to check out the Kelvingrove museums while in Glasgow. The Britannia is easily reached by both bus and tram. And we visited the Rosslyn Chapel by bus. Very easy, and you can just tap on with your contactless credit card when you board the bus.

Thank you all for these great tips. They are all very helpful….and I won’t forget the “h”

My trip report might give you some ideas. Scroll down to the Edinburgh part.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-the-uk-my-york-and-edinburgh-trip-report

Craigmiller castle is an easy bus ride and walk. Not sure how you intend on getting around, but Bamburgh Castle and Holy Island are a couple hours away. If driving, en route you could stop at the border abbey’s (Jedburgh, Dryburgh, Kelso, and Melrose). There’s also The Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galasheils.

If you visit Falkirk for the wheel and the Kelpies, maybe stop at Forth Bridge. It’s not far from the airport and is architecturally interesting.

You can also walk to Leith to see the Britannia. The Water of Leith Walkway is an excellent footpath that goes through Dean Village. If you start out the back of Modern Two, you can see Andrew Gormley's Six Times along the way. Probably 3-3.5 miles.

What G3rryCee said. I have been dying to visit Leith and Dean's Village and did not have enough time on my last visit, so that will be tacked onto the next one. Highly recommended!

Another consideration is the Palace of Holyroodhouse. I would have loved to have seen that, too, but it was closed for an event when I was there.

Carrie, thank you ever so much for your trip report. It’s going to help us so much with our planning “next steps”. Thank you for taking the time to share it. Happy travels

The National Museum in Edinburgh is very good, with exhibits appealing to all ages. Both Edinburgh and Glasgow have multiple good art galleries as well.

We enjoy a good ruin over a restored castle, so Doune Castle was more interesting than Stirling. Unfortunately, it's very near Stirling, and you've been there.

Another vote for Craigmiller Castle (Outlaw king filmed there). We had a free day and instead of going a distance we went to Dean Village/Stockbridge in the morning and Craigmiller in the afternoon. One of my favorite days.

Another vote for Roslyn Chapel

You don't say whether you will have a car. This summer, we did a day trip by car to see the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel (both so cool!), and on the way back, we stopped for lunch in Linlithgow, which was a lovely little town and the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, as it turns out. We went to (but did not pay the fee to tour) her home and enjoyed the beautiful views. The chapel next door has a super-cool modern spire. All in all, a great day out.

Let me put in a mention of Dundee.

There's a branch of the V & A Museum as well as the Discovery museum next door. The Discovery was an early ship headed to Antarctica. You can visit the ship itself as well as an excellent museum dedicated to its voyages.

Both are literally across the street from the train station.

You could visit Dundee and St. Andrews on the same day. Take the train from Edinburgh to Dundee in the morning. Visit the two museums. Then walk back across the street and catch the #99 bus to St. Andrews. It stops right outside the train station.. It's only about 12 miles.

I second the recommendation for the Water of Leith Walk. Stockbridge is a great place to begin the walk toward the river's mouth at Leith, where the Britannia is docked.

Thank you all so much for these great suggestions.
We were not planning on renting a car while based in Edinburgh.