Edinburgh for 24 hours
It was not our first time in Edinburgh; nor was it our second time. Infact, Mr E’s university was in Edinburgh and one of my most memorable experiences was his graduation. We have been back one more time in winter of 2018 so this time, it was summer vibes. The main reason for this trip was to visit the Scottish highlands. I won’t go into too much but my best friend introduced me to the Outlander series and I’m obsessed. Therefore, we flew into and passed through Edinburgh for 24 hours before heading to the highlands.
The fact that we were going to be in Edinburgh for 24 hours only, meant that we had to be selective with what we saw, where we stayed and what we did. I’m a huge believer that short trips are not the time to see and do everything. Mr E and I love to relax and since we had the big highlands trip coming up, Edinburgh had to be easy.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is located in Scotland and is known as its hilly capital. It has an old town, which is quite medieval, and a new town, which gives off a neo-classic vibe. The most popular landmark would be its Edinburgh Castle, which you can see from so many parts of the city. It’s literally just there; turn into the next street and it’s still there!
I chuckled when I found out that a person from Edinburgh is an Edinburgher. Imagine introducing yourself “oh hi; I’m Malcolm and I’m an Edinburgher” LMAO!
We flew into Edinburgh airport via British Airways and goodness me, it was exciting. The last time I was on a flight was March 2020 and even though it was not abroad, flying to Edinburgh felt wonderful.
Edinburgh for 24 hours: What we did
As soon as we got to the hotel, I slept off. We had to wake up quite early to catch our flight that morning and that sleep was needed. After I had caught up on sleep, it was time to explore Edinburgh. We ended up leaving the hotel at about 5pm but thankfully; it was a really sunny day so the skies were still glistening blue.
Princes Street Gardens
It was such a beautiful day and we walked through the mini rose bush until the Ross fountain. This is particularly my favourite spot in the gardens because of the views of the castle. The fountain is beautiful on its own but it sits with the backdrop of Edinburgh castle, which makes it special. We have been to Edinburgh castle a few times so it was nice to see it from different angles this time. I mean, you can see that castle from so many view-points in the city so it’s not hard to find the next best spot. It’s also a lovely chill spot as with all gardens. There were people hanging out, picnics were happening and it just felt like a lovely, sunny day out.
St Cuthbert’s Church (& Graveyard)
This was just through Princes Street Gardens and quite a historic site on its own. I’ve wanted to visit this gothic and well preserved graveyard for ages, so this was the perfect day. Graveyards can be quite eerie especially the gothic ones. They are always dark and moody and all things that we see in scary movies. However I find them so fascinating. To have a burial ground where the remains of someone from the 17th century is buried just blows my mind. We walked through it and it met my expectations; I definitely didn’t feel scared at all. Just in awe of how well preserved the headstones, vaults and mini mausoleums were. There are a few historic names buried there – John Napier, inventor of logarithms and the uncle of THE Charles Darwin, to name a few.
The current Parish church was completed in 1894; however the first record of a church on that exact site is from 1128. It is the site of the oldest Christian site in Edinburgh. Most importantly, THE Agatha Christie was married in St Cuthbert’s.
Dean Village
A village within a city? Yes that’s what this Edinburgh heritage site is. It is a peaceful slice of greenery with the most spectacular scenery. In the past, Dean village housed mills, remnants of which are still visible.
Dean Village is a beautiful place to go for a romantic walk and also for pictures. Both of which we did to our heart’s content. As it’s a residential area, it is important to be respectful with noise levels or standing too close to door fronts. Dean village is not as popular as other Edinburgh must visit sites but it’s possibly the top place we visited this time. It was so tranquil and we had the river walkway to ourselves, which gave us an intimate feel. It was just us, the beautiful scenery and the sound of the water. Truly spectacular!
Water of Leith
A bit of a cheat one as Dean village literally runs through and over water of Leith. So if you visit Dean village, you would have visited water of Leith as well. It’s a beautiful river and even though the sun was shining it had a shade to it. Giving it a more moody feel in contrast with the vibrant sky.
Grassmarket
Located in old town, this is the area we were quite familiar with as we’d previously stayed in old town a few times. It’s the bubbly “center” of old town and there’s always something fun happening. My plan was to find the insta-famous stairs that shows the castle in backdrop. As if I hadn’t taken enough photos with castle backdrop lol!
I found it and realised we’d passed it a few times and didn’t even notice. So this time, I got some cute photos and videos.
Victoria Street
The colourful Victoria street in Old town is a must visit. It is possibly the most popular street in Edinburgh and was built between 1829 and 1834. Harry Potter fans also believe that Victoria Street inspired Diagon Alley and since JK Rowling spent some time in Scotland, it is not a far-fetched belief. As for me, I was there for the colours.
Just like the popular London Nottinghill streets, I’m always drawn to Victoria Street. There are shops, restaurants and offices on it so it’s constantly bustling; regardless of time of day. I find it interesting because Edinburgh old town is quite medieval in looks so to have this burst of colour is a nice contrast.
Edinburgh for 24 hours: Where we stayed
This was a big part of our trip just because Edinburgh was going to be the break to and fro the highlands. We booked Kimpton Fitzroy in Charlotte Square, which was perfect. I love this hotel a lot and was excited to stay over. The hotel just smells so boujee and clean. It’s also a plus that we were able to check in at noon when we arrived, even though check in is usually from 3pm. Hotels that go above and beyond will always have my full attention.
Kimpton Charlottte Square is in new town and nearby a lot of restaurants. It’s also a short walk to old town and everything we wanted to see. Our bookings both nights included breakfast and it was so lovely.
On our return from the highlands, we checked into Kimpton Fitzroy once again. We were so tired from all the wandering we had done so this time, no exploring and more resting. I had booked a spa visit for 7pm but we were too tired to even go downstairs for that. Now thinking back, I wish I pushed myself to go but I guess I just have been so fatigued.
There’s a state of the art gym (honestly it’s like a proper gym; not like the small ones hotels usually have). Further along, there’s an indoor swimming pool and sauna for relaxation. The perfect thing was that everyone had time slots to visit the facilities so it would never be too full at any time.
Edinburgh for 24 hours: Where we ate
Kimpton Fitzroy has a garden space for breakfast and both mornings, we had a full Scottish breakfast there. Yes, full Scottish including haggis. I still can’t explain what haggis tastes like but it’s not something I’ll be having often lol.
Wagamama
You will come to know that we’re quite basic with our food so as we wandered on the first leg of the trip, we spotted Wagamama. Mr E and I hadn’t been to Wagamama in years so we were so excited to go in.
Chinese take out – Golden Dragon
This was no ordinary Chinese takeout. It was boujee AF. I mean, the special fried rice was £13.80 lol. Anyway we loved it so I guess it was worth the boujee prices. Also it was delivered in a fancy takeaway bag and I oooooop! Ok I’m rambling but it’s not everyday your Chinese takeout comes looking fancy and all.
Edinburgh is one of our favourite cities. It’s somewhere we most likely will always return to. My continuous obsession with Outlander has even made me love this Scottish city so much more. I wish we spent more time so I could trace the series’ locations – there are a few of them. Anyway, that’s a reason to come back; isn’t it?!
Edinburgh for 24 hours (or 24 + 17 hours): Heading Home
This was after we had returned from the highlands and spent another night in Edinburgh.
We checked out early on a Sunday morning after breakfast and hailed an Uber to the airport. Usually I’m mute in taxi rides as I really can’t be bothered to chat but something made this journey different.
The driver Jason, asked about out stay and I started chatting about how wonderful it was and of course told him about my Outlander obsession. He’s from Edinburgh and has lived there all his life with his family. He told us about the trip he had completed the week before after I told him about the Outlander filming location we visited the day before. Turns out he had driven the daughter of the Earl of Hopetoun House the week before, back to their stately home. How cool is that? Always mind blowing when the universe conspires and you meet someone connected to something or somewhere you’ve been.
Stay tuned for my next Scottish adventure and I’m so excited to write about this one. From Edinburgh for 24 hours, we went off to the Highlands next!
Bisous, ‘Bugo x
