Itinerary feedback please!

Hi, CaliMom,

That's an ambitious itinerary, but it's doable.

On day one, if you're staying near the Canongate, you'll probably be walking up the Royal Mile, as opposed to down, if you're going to see St. Giles. If you've booked a specific time to see the castle (3:00 p.m.), you may not have time to get down to the Grassmarket for the Beehive, then back up again. It's a steep climb back up to the Royal Mile, then uphill to the castle. But if you're not pressed for time, it shouldn't be a problem.

On day two, how are you getting to St. Andrews? Will it be train, then bus or taxi, or will it be bus all the way. Make sure that you leave yourselves enough time to walk on East Beach in St. A's. Sunset isn't 'til about 10:00 p.m. on July 4th., so you may want to eat first before walking up Calton Hill. If it's absolutely pissing down with rain, best to avoid getting soaked.

If you're starting the Water of Leith walk at Dean Village, it's about a two hour walk out to Leith, not including your time at the Botanic Gardens. (Be sure to give yourselves enough time to do justice to the gardens.) It's much much farther to the North Sea. The walk ends at the Port of Leith, which is on the Firth of Forth. You could terminate your walk at the Royal Yacht Britannia, and maybe have a late lunch on board. I hear the Cullen Skink is excellent. Bus back to town is a very good idea, The Scott Monument closes at 7:00 p.m., so you should give yourselves enough time to get all the way to the top and back down. Best to arrive no later than 6:30. Be sure to bring a camera.

Hope that helps! Perhaps Unclegus can supply you with more accurate information.

Slainte!

Mike (Auchterless)

Thanks Mike! I haven’t booked our tickets to Edinburgh Castle yet but was thinking we would have lunch upon arrival then walk “up” the Royal Mile taking in St Giles along the way. We can just find a place along the way.

I was tying to spend Wednesday in Old Town and Friday on the Leith Walk and New Town so we’re not zig zagging all over town. Does that make sense?

On July 3 you've given yourself just 2.5 hours to walk the Royal Mile in between checking into your lodging and arriving at the castle. If there are any particular sights along the Royal Mile that are must-see for you, mark them out ahead of time, otherwise you will run out of time. It is easy to spend an entire day exploring the Royal Mile, not counting time at either end (Edi Castle and Palace of HR) because there are dozens of points of interest along the way.

Thank you! Perhaps we won’t walk so far on the Water of Leith Walk then can have a couple more hours in Old Town on our third afternoon.