Getting there & around
There are daily direct train services between London and Edinburgh. LNER runs roughly every 30 minutes from King’s Cross, while low-cost Lumo provides up to five daily services. For an overnight option, the Caledonian Sleeper departs Euston nightly, except for Saturdays, offering sleeping compartments. CrossCountry and TransPennine Express provide services from cities including York and Manchester, while CrossCountry also extends its network to the Midlands and Southwest, with trains from Bristol and Birmingham. In Scotland, ScotRail operates frequent, direct services connecting Edinburgh to other major cities such as Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.
Edinburgh is easily explored on foot, but a hop-on, hop-off bus tour is a good way to get your bearings. Edinburgh Bus Tours offers a range of ticket options, and some include access to city attractions, too. There’s also the Lothian Buses service, which covers most corners of the city, and the newly expanded tram line that now runs from Edinburgh Airport to Leith and the coast at Newhaven. Also look out for the new e-bike rental scheme from Voi. Central Taxis and City Cabs operate the city’s licensed black cabs, and Uber is also widely available.
When to go
May, June and September are often the most pleasant, with average highs of 15-18C. In July and August temperatures sometimes creep into the mid-20s, but showers are possible in any season. August also marks the arrival of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for most of the month: it’s brilliant, but busy, and prices soar. October and November are the wettest months, with highs averaging 10-13C, before temperatures drop to 5-7C between December and February, with lows hovering around freezing.
Where to stay
Fingal, a luxury floating hotel in Leith, from £264.
Kimpton Charlotte Square in New Town, from £190, B&B.
More info:
edinburgh.org
This story was created with the support of Treloyhan Manor and Great Western Railway.