Very early itinerary for a week in/around Edinburgh 2025

I don't have any suggestions for your itinerary, mainly because we apparently like different things and always rent a car.

I will suggest you aren't too early to plan a trip. I typically have two or three years worth of trips planned out in great detail, and start pushing buttons 10-11 months in advance. I buy airline tickets on T Minus 330 days, when they become available, then start booking lodging and car hire immediately after. Our May 2025 trip was completely booked by Aug 1st except for two B&Bs that refuse bookings until Jan 1 and various ferries which aren't available early.

I work from a spreadsheet and refine a given trip over the year leading up to the button pushing, then once I start makings bookings, I only play with the fine details, like order of visits, checking websites/FB for unexpected closures, and selecting restaurants and cafes. I rarely cancel stays to relocate a route. Sometimes I'll switch car providers, or at least check prices. Our trip in 2024 was at revision 56 by the time I locked everything in.

We used to travel without bookings., but those days are long gone, thanks to the internet and people like me :-)
I think making travel plans will be my principal pastime for at least the next four years.

On Day 4 you can certainly add Dunbar. Eve Coaches #120 runs roughly every 2 hours between the two towns- 40 minute ride.
The funny thing there is I thought Eves had sold out to Lothian last year, but if they did they are still running under the old name.
I think you have enough on that day but the 120 and the Dunbar to Edinburgh buses all pass through East Linton.
When I went there for the station re-opening I was quite distinctly wowed by the village, which I have only ever heard of as a stop off point on the A1 (which it now bypasses). I very nearly wrote a trip report, but decided it wouldn't be read. Read up on East Linton online if interested.
Some of the buses pass through Musselburgh- now a suburb and a seaside resort for Edinburgh- but also worth a history of it's own. Being a suburb there are loads of buses back into the city.

On Day 7 a few weeks ago I was on McGills/Midland Bluebird buses from Edinburgh to Stirling (long story) and a lot of the buses in Falkirk had adverts that there are now 8 buses an hour from Falkirk Town Centre to the Kelpies. I've not followed up on that one, because the Glasgow to Falkirk bus says it stops at the Falkirk Wheel. It doesn't- it stops at the roundabout at the road end. I think the Kelpies is the same- one or two an hour to the parking lot, the others probably stop on the road bridge over the canal just past the Kelpies on a town route. So unless something huge has happened hop into a taxi at Falkirk Grahamston station (Stirling trains all stop there). Makes things easier.

South Queensferry is best done IMO by heading out from Edinburgh on Lothian Bus #43 every 20 minutes, or Bus #71 from the Gyle Centre (for tram connections), every hour, not evenings. The #43 runs every frequently to almost midnight.
It would be awkward to add that onto a return train from Stirling.

On Day 6 are you thinking of walking north into Scotland or south on the English path? What sort of mileage are you contemplating?

Thanks for the information regarding some of my days, Stuart. I looked into East Linton for Day 4What a beautiful little village! I think if we could go to North Berwick, Dunbar and then East Linton it would be a wonderful day. I found this walk for there that has an audio guide: https://geotourist.com/tours/5864/A_walk_around_East_Linton

I also saw there are boat trips out from the Scottish Seabird Center. I think the seabird catamaran cruise might be more my style and we wouldn’t have to have waterproofs. Has anyone done these trips?

So for the King Charles III English coastal path On day 6, I was thinking walking south from Berwick Upon Tweed after looking around that town a bit. Maybe a total of about 6 miles on a path? It will be the end of the week, so I am sure we’ll be a bit tired (or at least I will probably be! Lol) I saw there is a place called Cheswick Sands and Cheswick Black Rocks which look amazing. From a website it looks about 3.5 miles from Berwick Upon Tweed. Could we walk there and back? Or would there be a place further south to go to and then catch a bus/ train back to Edinburgh?

We could go north into Scotland from Berwick upon tweed, too. We just would love to walk along the coast. If that’s a more scenic or preferred direction, I would be interested in learning more.

Thanks so much for the advice!

Re East Linton-

Just for clarity Transpennine Express and Scotrail both run trains every 2 hours (which doesn't equal an hourly train!) from Dunbar to East Linton (7 minute ride) then on to Edinburgh Waverley (19 minute ride EL-Wav). Buy a single Dunbar to Edinburgh ticket for £7.60 each and it covers a break of journey at East Linton.
So a lot faster than the bus. Unlike miserley me you aren't looking for the cheapest possible deal which would be an East Coast Buses day ticket.
The village was one of those totally unexpected finds for me. It was a functional visit for me that turned into something rather special. A day I wished I had allowed more time, on my Cumbria to Edinburgh to Newcastle to Cumbria schedule. The sort of place where the TI kiosk is in an old red phone box. I happened by chance to meet the village historian who was doing organ practice in the village kirk- he has done a really good website. From a brief search of my records I can't immediately find where I noted that down for reference. Will look a bit more later.
If you do go, a TR on here may be useful for other travellers.

Re The Kelpies- When I 'came out' of Church at 10pm last night (2pm PT) I followed up the thought and Midland Bluebird are indeed being a bit economical with the truth-
Bus F14 runs to Etna Road (a few minutes walk away, you can see them from the bus stop) from Grahamston station at 13 minutes past each hour, coming back at 31 minutes past each hour.
The other buses are on routes 2 (to Bo'Ness, twice an hour) and routes 3 and 4 (to Grangemouth, each route every 30 minutes, so combined 15 minute frequency)- all stop at the entrance to the Helix Country Park the Kelpies are in, which is a 15 to 20 minute walk from the Kelpies. Route 2 also has a closer stop within the estates further on towards Bo'ness but not really for a newbie to the area in terms of finding the stop.
I can't find the alleged 8th bus an hour

The coastal walk - I've been applying some thought to this.

Your proposed walk above ends about 2 miles from a bus stop on the side of the A1 or 2 1/2 miles from the stop at Haggerston Castle. So I would take the bus to Haggerston or Cheswick Road End and walk back north to Berwick.

Heading north from Berwick my first thought, on the Berwickshire Coastal Path, was Berwick to Eyemouth- https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/borders/eyemouth-berwick.shtml

But that is too far for you- so Eyemouth to St Abbs looks just right- https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/borders/st-abbs-eyemouth.shtml

You could extend that a bit to St Abbs Head Lighthouse and back

Eyemouth is on the 2 hourly Galashiels to Berwick via Melrose #60 bus route, and on the 2 hourly 253 Edinburgh to Berwick on Tweed via Dunbar bus route, both towns are on the broadly every 2 hours Berwick to St Abbs route (with a few extras from Berwick to Eyemouth).

So lots of interesting possibilities for you there- Galashiels is on the Borders rail line (from Edinburgh).

Even if you don't walk all the way to Cheswick the first 1 1/2 or 2 miles Berwick to Tweedmouth or on to Spittal is still easy to do. with local town bus service #B1 back every 30 minutes.

I think you could definitely see the highlights of Edinburgh in a day and a half. Just remember to check and see if the Palace of Holyrood is open, as it closes sometimes for events or royalty. I wasn't able to see it when I was there because it was closed during my stay. If you like museums, I would highly suggest the National Museum of Scotland. It is really amazing and well worth a visit. I was absolutely mesmerized during my visit.

Also, I'm sure you've done your research so you probably know about the free guided tours offered at Stirling Castle. Definitely take advantage of this. They are each hour on the hour starting at 10am. You don't have to book them; just head over to the designated area before the hour and the guide will meet everyone there.

I agree with jjgurley about booking ahead as much as you can.

I’m just here stealing ideas for my own trip. :-) I’ll have to watch some videos on East Linton.

Not sure if you know, but the tram goes out to Leith now.

https://edinburghtrams.com/plan-journey/route-maps-stops

So, you can take that when you visit the Britannia. Hopefully, the RS Scotland that came out in Sept. is updated with this info. I have the Best of Scotland that came out in January, and it still only mentions the bus to Leith.

I was not a fan of Stirling. You seem to favor the coastal towns like I do. Did you consider St. Andrews as an option for a day trip?

The Royal Mile is always super crowded and on a Saturday afternoon it will be jam packed and I fear you will not enjoy it. I think this would work better early morning on Day two if you can fit it in. Or before one of your self-guided day trips.

If you’re an early morning person like me, it’s possible to spend an hour or two in Edinburgh before heading out on your day trips. Last year, I walked to Dean’s Village, then came back and took the train to North Berwick. Another morning, I walked up Arthur’s Seat before taking the train to Dunbar.

It’s hard to squeeze everything in, which is why I’m returning. :-)

I've been going through the 9 reports I wrote for the Office that day and have finally found the East Linton Heritage website- https://eastlothianheritage.co.uk/eastlintonheritage/

You will see the name David Affleck on that website- he's the person I met by accident on the day.

mardeeI am glad to hear that. I don’t want to shortchange getting to see the city. We plan on getting early starts each day if we can. I will check the openings of everything. We’ve been really lucky on things so far, hope it holds out! I’m sure my museum professional travel partner will be excited to hear about the National Museum of Scotland… I am not as big of a museum fanatic, but I enjoy some more than others.

Stuartyour information on transportation is always so helpful and valuable. Thank you. I’ve been looking at the walk suggestions and I am beginning to think the Berkshire Coastal path might be preferable. I may be conservative on the mileage I think we could do, as well, so having the option to extend it to the St Abbs if we wanted would be nice. I guess it will depend on how much time we spend in Berwick Upon Tweed, too, and the bus schedules. Thanks for the link from East Linton Heritage. We love fresh, locally sourced produce and the Heritage Orchard project information was really interesting. I searched a bit further and found a farm, Kilduff Farm, that planted 28 varieties of apples and pears sourced from Scottish Heritage Fruit Trees. If we are near that farm, I would love to visit.

Carrie, I stole so many ideas from you from your last trip already! I read and re-read many of your posts!
That’s a good point about the crowdedness on the Saturday afternoon we arrive. We could do a dabble here and there as you said, but we may just have to grin and bear the crowds for that afternoon. We would go back all day Sunday. Any other suggestions on a different arrival day plan?

I hadn’t thought about St. Andrews instead of Stirling. My daughter has a friend who got back from a trip and she suggested it. I will look into St Andrews, too. My golf loving husband would enjoy a gift from there for sure!

Thanks everyone for your help!

@mustlovedogs-

This is becoming very interesting. Thank you for starting a thread I thought no-one would be interested in, as I am learning things too. I've taken my time on this so as to be a primer for other people interested in East Lothian.

You won't believe this but you can actually get to Kilduff Farm by public transport- Eve Coaches #121 stops at the road end (and it's less than 2 miles walk from Drem (see below) on farm roads. You could also start at Drem, walk to Chesters (see below), then across the fields to Kilduff (3 miles in all) and another mile over fields to Athelstaneford, as well as the bus (I'm looking at paper mapping, not new fangled computerised stuff).
Also in Drem Village (while you are there) is the remains of St John's Chapel (not worth a special visit, but if passing)

and this is the 120 timetable- North Berwick to Dunbar.

When I started digging this morning I also found out that Athelstaneford (where the farm is) also has the National Flag Centre (in an old doocot) which was news to me.
And the 121 also goes to the much better known National Museum of Flight (a mile or so beyond Athelstaneford)- I never knew a bus went there.

Then the 121 timetable says it also serves Drem Station (on the East Coast Main Line but only served by North Berwick trains).
And just outside Drem Village is an iron age fort- Chesters Hill Fort.

Also on the 121 route is the Hopetoun Monument.

On the road between the Hopetoun Monument and Kilduff is Garleton Castle (probably just a see from the road place, no admittance that I can find).

Also at the back of Drem (between there and Aberlady) so better visited by car is the Myreton Motor Museum (somewhere else I had never heard of).

I'd also forgotten about Dirleton Castle 3 miles before North Berwick (on the bus routes) before getting the map out.

I'm really sorry I've just made one day into two or three full days, if you take up all these thoughts.

The tap tap £34 weekly cap Monday to Sunday includes all Lothian services in the city, all EcB and Eves services as above and the airport bus in and out of Edinburgh.

What Lothian Buses don't tell you (but Eve Coaches do) is that the one day Lothian/EcB TapTap £8.30 Day Bus Ticket is also valid on all of Eves services (and the Edinburgh Trams) since the Eves buyout. If you speed things up and use the train to North Berwick and Dunbar/East Linton the East Lothian County Day Bus Ticket is £5.50 for all Lothian East Coast and Eves services.

Re- Eyemouth and St Abbs those buses are run by Borders Buses- for them the best value tickets are on their app.

You could do some of your Day 2 listed items (New Town walk and Carlton Hill ) on your arrival day. I think most anything will be less crowded than the Royal Mile on a Saturday afternoon. But, like you said, you have limited time and there’s no way to avoid the weekend.

I like to keep my schedule as flexible as I can. So, I always have a list of things to see and do, but no set I’m going to do X on this day and Y on that day. A lot depends on the weather. If your Day 2 looks like a nice day, you might want to head over to the coast that day.

One of the nice things about Scotland is that the train tickets do not need to be purchased ahead of time. I bought all my train tickets on the Scotrail app right before I headed to the train station. So, for your non tour days, you can decide in the morning what to do. And if you go somewhere and it’s too crowded, go to another place on your list. You could hop on the tram to Newhaven for a bit.

isn31c, I appreciate the detailed information on East Lothian. It has definitely peaked my interest.

I’m sure my museum professional travel partner will be excited to hear about the National Museum of Scotland… I am not as big of a museum fanatic, but I enjoy some more than others.

It's very eclectic, which is why I like it. One item of interest you will find there is Dolly, the first cloned mammal, stuffed in perpetuity. My favorite exhibit is the collection of the Lewis chess pieces, that were created in Norway sometime during the 12th century. There are more at the British Museum, but I like seeing the ones in Scotland, since that is where they were discovered.

We could easily break things up a bit for arrival day and the full Edinburgh day. So, maybe stay away from the Royal Mile till Sunday and do some other sites in Edinburgh, like New Town, Britannia, etc. on Saturday afternoon.

I’m glad the train tickets don’t have to be purchased ahead. I’ll be trying to map out a more detailed North Berwick, Dunbar, East Linton plan (and trying to keep it to one day! You are right, Stuart, there’s so much there to see! Thank you SO MUCH for the bus info!)

When do you all suggest booking through the tour groups for the day trips? I have no experience with this, so I don’t know how full they get, do you eyeball good weather days, etc.

My trip is booked for Sept, including my Rabbie’s tour. This is a 3-day tour, but last year I also booked my one-day tours when I booked my flights and hotel.

This is the return policy for the Rabbie’s one-day tour:

You'll receive a full refund if you cancel 24 hours or more before the
tour departure.

https://www.rabbies.com/en/info/faqs

It looks like Timberbush has a similar policy:

If you cancel a 1 day tour with more than 24 hours notice before the
time of departure, you will receive a 100% refund.

https://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/book-tour-confidence

I would book once you have your flights and hotel booked as there's no risk in booking early.

I debated about adding a comment because you know your travel style better than I do BUT!!.... I think you have too many day trips. You do have 3 self-guided tours which is good because if you don't feel like doing one of those it's easy enough to cancel and plenty to do in Edinburgh.

I 2nd Mardee's suggestion of the Museum of Scotland. I'm going back to Orkney next July and am in the process of planning a few days in Edinburgh just to go to that museum which houses some of the artifacts archeologists have found on Orkney. Plus some of the adorable Lewis Chessmen Mardee mentioned.

I'll also add that in 2023 I did a multi-day tour which I chose entirely because it went to Lindesfarne/Holy Island. I thought that place was very cool and it's worth going with someone so you don't have to figure out the tide schedule. IF you are birders, do take your binoculars as there is a "hide" on the short walk out to the castle and the Gertrude Jekyll Garden.

https://holy-island.uk/things-to-do-on-holy-island-lindisfarne-a-short-guide/

Pam, I really appreciate your opinion about over scheduling. It is definitely something I should consider. I’m thinking if I am gassed at the end of the trip, we can always forego the trip out of Edinburgh on that last day (the trip to Stirling rn) and take it slow going around the city to places we want to revisit or didn’t get to.

This happened during our London trip. I had a day out planned to Richmond, but changed plans and stayed in London. Granted it was a longer trip and I had busted my shin pretty bad on the flat’s bathtub edge on day 7 (out of 9) but still… I was feeling it.

If I was feeling like my 30 year old self on day 7, we could always go, but just leave it to decide until then. Quick question, if the spontaneity were the plan for that day, would going to Glasgow be a better, more convenient choice to go/ come back? Just to get a peek, ride a HOHO bus, etc? I also read on another blog that someone went to South Queensferry for a soft day out.

Thanks for bringing this consideration to my attention l I appreciate any and all suggestions!

South Queensferry is a great place to go for a couple of hours or longer. It’s just a 25-minute train ride. I got some great pictures of the Forth Bridge there. I have it on my list again for a return visit if I have time.

I haven’t been to Glasgow, but that is also on my list for next year. That is a 50-minute train ride. Stirling is also just 50 minutes away.

So many great options. And not that you need another one :-), but I also have Dunfermline on my list. That is just 35 minutes on the train.

I found the National Museum too crowded to enjoy. Since you don’t need tickets, you can always pop in for a quick look and if it’s not packed with people, stay longer. I ate at the museum kitchen a couple of times. I like it because you pay at the counter when you order. So, no sitting around waiting for the bill.

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I’m thinking if I am gassed at the end of the trip, we can always forego the trip out of Edinburgh on that last day (the trip to Stirling rn) and take it slow going around the city to places we want to revisit or didn’t get to.

Mustlovedogs, I hate confusing you too much, but Stirling would be at the top of my list, and I would hate for you to miss that. I didn't really care for Edinburgh Castle that much (I am in the minority, of course, and I know most people want to see it), but Stirling is really wonderful. You might want to leave off the Kelpies and South Queensferry, but that's something that you could decide on the day of. There's no need to make a decision now.

And I agree with Carrie about the National Museum. You don't have to spend the day there. It's easy to go in, visit some exhibits you want to see and then head on to your next destination.

One last place I would consider in Edinburgh is Greyfriars. It's best seen in the early evening around dusk, if possible, as it has a very macabre vibe to it, so it shouldn't have to interfere too much with your other daytime sightseeing. If you're not a Harry Potter fan, it may not interest you but it's pretty cool in its own right. The first thing you will see is the memorial and grave of Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal little dog who guarded his master’s grave for so long. Then I tracked down the gravestone of Thomas Riddell, whose name was the inspiration for J.K. Rowling’s notorious villain. A quick way to find it is to enter "Thomas Riddell's Grave" in Google maps and it will show you the way and what it looks like. It was also fun looking through the black gates to see the school that inspired Hogwarts. And lastly, there is a very good gelato shop a few steps away. :-)

If you do get to Falkirk (for the Kelpies) there is a Harry Potter inspired magic shop on the High Street- The Lonely Broomstick

Certainly from the street outside it looks a very interesting place.

It's just up the street from the main bus stops outside Asda.

I know that Falkirk on this forum only means the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies but there is a lot more to the town (including Robert Burns at The Soo House)- see this Town Trail- https://visitfalkirk.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/trail-booklet.pdf

I’m not sure that in a trip of this length I would do two trips south along the coast (3 if you count North Berwick). I assume one would be by road with Timberbush and the other by train to Berwick-on-Tweed, but you will be covering roughly the same land twice.

As alternatives you could consider the wonderful coastal villages of Fife and the Borders country to Melrose and Sir Walter Scott’s home at Abbotsford. The latter can be reached by both bus and train and you could fit in a walk along the River Tweed, passing by the house my mother-in-law was born in.
Edit- I guess the bus tour might use the A68 one way, but still two trips in the same direction.

Since I figure there's another trip to Scotland in your future, I'll go ahead and mention this even though you surely don't have time for it next year: Dundee is an affordable place to stay quite near St. Andrews (with frequent buses), and Dundee has several good museums, including the relatively new V&A Dundee, a design museum. I see that some reviewers have felt it was emptyish, but I didn't have that reaction at all. Other museums of note include the Verdant Works (industrial heritage), Discovery Point (naval heritage) and the McManus Museum (art). And there are quite a few others. I was happy to spend several nights in Dundee in order to see the museums important to me and make a side trip to St. Andrews. I am not promoting Dundee as one of Scotland's greatest beauty spots, but it was nice to have a stop where hotels weren't expensive.

I liked Glasgow a lot; I'm a big fan of Charles Rennie Mackintosh architecture, and Glasgow is much, much less touristy than Edinburgh. Maybe you'll have time for it on your next visit.

A lot of great input from everyone, thank you! Mardee and Stuart, my daughter has put in a vote to go to Stirling. Like you, a friend of hers liked it a great deal, and is really encouraging us to include it. And we will include the National Museum. My two Harry Potter fanatics will surely enjoy seeing Greyfriars if we can squeeze it in. John, I was wondering about going the same way numerous times and I am glad you mentioned the need, especially for this short of a trip. Maybe we could do the Timberbush tour bc I really want to get to Holy Island and then do North Berwick, Dunbar and surrounding area. Forego Berwick Upon Tweed. IF we decided to add another day trip, we could include Glasgow, or South Queensferry. A friend of mine just recently visited Scotland and liked Glasgow a great deal.

Again, thanks to everyone for taking time to help me consider what to plan for.

If you do go to Stirling, then IMO you should also visit the Church of the Holy Rude and Cambuskenneth Abbey

The Church has a history interlinked with the Castle, and is a mini Cathedral in all but name. The coronation of King James VI of Scotland took place there and the Church was used as a gun tower during Cromwell's uprising to attack the castle, you can still see the scars at the Church from this unorthodox activity. It is also almost unique (I hesitate to say unique in case someone knows of another example) in that from 1661 to 1935 it was split down the middle into two separate Churches (East and West) due to theological divisions.

It's a nice and not uninteresting walk along the river (past Stirling Old Port when ships could reach Stirling) to the Abbey (about 30 minutes, a city bus also gets that way). It was an Augustinian Priory founded to serve the Castle, two Scottish Parliaments happened there and King James III of Scotland is buried there. There is now a bridge over the river but historically the pleasant village was served by ferry, so had a more liberal attitude to the Sunday licensing laws.

This walk also takes in the Wallace Monument (another of Stirling's great visitor attractions). The Monument is also serviced by a half hourly city bus and the seasonal Open Top tour bus- https://www.instirling.com/walks/cambusk.htm

Maybe we could do the Timberbush tour bc I really want to get to Holy Island and then do North Berwick, Dunbar and surrounding area. Forego Berwick Upon Tweed. IF we decided to add another day trip, we could include Glasgow, or South Queensferry.

I think that's a very good idea. :-)