We are planning a 2-part visit to the UK in early May 2018. Edinburgh is the nexus between Part I and Part II.
Part I of the visit is a trans Atlantic cruise from the US ending in Southampton, then taking a train to London Euston then the Caledonian Sleeper Lowland route to Edinburgh Waverly.
Part II includes 3 days in Edinburgh, then a more-or-less "loop" rail journey counterclockwise route from Edinburgh, to Sterling, Cairngorms, Inverness, Kyle of Lochalsh, Isle of Skye for 2 or 3 days , Mallaig, Ft. William then on to Glasgow for 3 days. We'll fly home from Glasgow. Including the day we arrive in Edinburgh and time in Glasgow, Part II would be a total of 14 days and nights.
We’ll drop our luggage at the hotel in Edinburgh and reserve most of the first day for "housekeeping necessities". This will include finding and using a self-serve laundry and a shipping site (DHL, FedEx or other) to send home the clothing we won't need in Scotland and, third, get our bearings in Edinburgh (purchasing a transportation card, obtaining maps of public transportation, etc).
After Edinburgh and during the train journey, we anticipate being off-and-on the train perhaps 3 times not including Edinburgh and Glasgow (and another 2 on-and-offs for a bus). We’ll arrive in Edinburgh with each of us having a standard size piece of luggage probably weighing around 35-38lb. At the very least we want to lighten the weight, and would like to also reduce the bulk by sending some of our belongings home before beginning the train journey. If we could reduce enough, we'd even send one piece of the actual luggage home with the cruise clothing. We’d then only have to manage one piece of luggage for the balance of the rail journey. If we could find a laundry in Portree (or Ft. William) this would be a bonus.
We are planning on booking lodging at Edinburgh in the Old Town in the vicinity of the Central Library (Cowgate at George IV Bridge). An internet search yielded a launderette on Montrose Terrace at Abbey Street, a FedEx at 12 Southbridge and a Tourist Information Center at 3 Princes Street. We’re wondering if these places are currently in-operation, or is our information out-of-date?
Thanks for any help.