How many pounds should I bring and what should I see in Scotland?

July 13, 2005 12:03 AM

I'll be in Edinburgh, Scotland, for about a week. How many pounds should I plan to bring, and what should I see?

I'll be in Edinburgh, Scotland, for about a week, attending a conference. I've already paid for my hotel and airfare. I don't plan on doing too much sightseeing while I'm there. What is a ballpark number of pounds to bring for spending money? Should I change my dollars here in the states? Will I be able to use my Visa for most purchases (at restaurants and some shops)? Also, are there any restaurants or sights that I simply must visit in Edinburgh?

posted by AlexanderBanning to travel & transportation (27 comments total)

It so depends.
An alcoholic drink will put you back about £2.00 and restaraunt food will probably cost you about £10-£20. At the cheaper end of the food spectrum, Pub Grub, Pizza hut, curries, etc will furnish you with food for approx £6-8. Cinema = £10 (with popcorn, etc). Soft drinks = 70p; sandwich=£2.00; local travel (bus, etc) should be around £2.00 a journey.
I'm thinking you could get away with £100, but £200 should be fine.
Your Visa will work mostly everywhere except bars/pubs, buses, small newsagents. As a rule of thumb, If the thing you'e buying usually costs more than £10.00, you'll be able to use your visa.
These are general (read extremely vague and guessed) prices, as I've no real idea how expensive Edingburgh is.)
posted by seanyboy at 12:30 AM on July 13, 2005

I've no real idea how expensive Edingburgh is.

Then why give advice?
posted by the cuban at 1:36 AM on July 13, 2005

Edinburgh Castle is well worth a visit. I think entry was £7 when I was there in 2000. It's probably gone up a bit now.
posted by nomis at 1:59 AM on July 13, 2005

This point was touched on in a previous thread so I'll sum up what seems to be the general consensus of the comments:

There is no real need to get currency previous to your trip. The UK is a financially well integrated country and ATMs do in fact exist there. There is a high chance that you will find a compatible ATM in the airport itself (provided that you are flying into EDI but I imagine the other airports will also have these magical devices.) Also, whilst on the aeroplane itself, the delightful lads and lassies that are in the employ of the modified autogyro service will accept both pounds sterling and U$ should you desire to buy anything on the flight.
posted by Dagobert at 2:00 AM on July 13, 2005

Edinburgh Castle's now about £10, and unless you have an enormous interest in castles, not really worth that expense. (At least in my opinion.)

Seanyboy's prices seem about right, although you should understand that the bus only costs £0.80 or £1 each way, and £2 return.

Visa's easy-peasy, and otherwise the best bet is just to use your debit-card at an ATM. You'll get your bank's standard (competitive) rate, but will be dinged a buck or two by yr bank, so take out big sums.

The best things in this city are the Salsbury Crags and Calton Hill. Both are free. It gets dark here very late; you would do yourself a wonderful service to go up one of these on your first evening here. It's a stunning introduction to the city, really truly oh do I mean it, and so close to town.

Calton Hill is a hill just to the east of Princes Street (ie, the main drag). There's a road that winds up it. At the top are various old monuments, an old observatory, and a (close to?) scale model of the Parthenon, which was never completed. It's quiet, extremely peculiar, and affords a good view of the Crags, Princes Street Gardens, and Leith. Fantastic, in its own way.

The Salsbury Crags (and Arthur's Seat) are those crazy little green-and-brown mountains which you can see from downtown. Arthur's Seat is much higher than the Crags, but the Crags are still this amazing thing, only minutes from the core of the city. You can hike up them in less than half an hour, starting from near the Scottish Parliament/Holyrood or (more easily), from the southern end near Newington. What's most incredible is that they're not a drive away, or a voyage, or anything - it can be just part of an evening's stroll, after or before the pub, and yet is such a little marvel.

The hike is lovely, not too strenuous, and at the top you see the city painted in dusky tones, the sun over it, the castle in the background, with the wind blowing about you and a long stretch of green scotland behind. I could spend days up there - it might just be my favourite place in the world.

When are you coming over? If in August, you realise that the city will be wild with things to do as it's Festival season? (This is a good thing.)
posted by Marquis at 2:27 AM on July 13, 2005

Marquis, I'll be in town starting next week.
posted by AlexanderBanning at 2:30 AM on July 13, 2005

Oh - in that case, no Festivals. But I think you'll still have a lovely time!
posted by Marquis at 2:34 AM on July 13, 2005

See this thread ..
posted by ascullion at 2:41 AM on July 13, 2005

My rule of thumb is that what Americans pay in dollars, we in the UK pay in pounds. Except, of course, for petrol (which for some inexpicable reason Americans call gas), where we pay around four times as much as you guys. Hence travel is expensive.

You will pay about $5 for a latte in Starbucks, around $30 for a reasonable meal, around $50 for a good meal. I was astonished when in the US last week at how far $10 went in terms of food/drink compared with the UK.

But the pound has dropped against the dollar in the last week, because of the bombings, so you will get a slightly better deal than you would have two weeks ago.

And yeah, go to the Castle. It's about £10 ($17-$18) admission.
posted by essexjan at 2:56 AM on July 13, 2005

Thanks, ascuillion. Somehow I missed that thread when I did a site search...
posted by AlexanderBanning at 3:03 AM on July 13, 2005

The pound has recovered from the post-bombing decrease in value and then some. It's still close to an 52-week low, but that has little to do with the bombings.
posted by grouse at 3:32 AM on July 13, 2005

Personally, I took only my Visa card (well, I actually took two identical ones, and kept one in the room and one on my person) which worked out just fine. I did not change the money ahead of time. There are plenty of ATMs to use that accept the Visa and give you currency at the exchange rate for the moment, it isn't a problem at all.

Castle? Nah, go to the big rock thing, the "seat", or the little unfinished parthenon. There are so many nice things to see just walking around.

Speaking of the money, though, one thing I wish I had tried was to walk down to the central bank (near that train depot) and try and exchange my paper money for silver. It says on the money that I could, theoretically, do so... eh.
posted by odinsdream at 6:00 AM on July 13, 2005

I would just like to another vote in favor of the castle, if you have some interest in history. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me.


I would also add that if you do go to the castle, it's well worth getting the little audioguide thing; it fills in a lot of the historical details that make the place so fascinating. Without it, it's just a big castle.
posted by yankeefog at 6:37 AM on July 13, 2005

Oh poo. Edinburgh castle rocks! The Scottish Crown Jewels and a very spiffy war museum and a DUNGEON museum are in it! :P
posted by By The Grace of God at 6:42 AM on July 13, 2005

I think you should make the journey to Glasgow for one day/evening if possible. Get a fast train (approx £8 return) from Edinburgh-Falkirk-Croy- Glasgow Queen St (40 mins) from Waverley or Haymarket Stations to centre of G'gow without too much probs (every 15 mins). If you arrive in Queen Street Glasgow (as you should if you get the express train via Falkirk detailed above) you are slap bang in the centre of town for walking about Glasgow (some of the best architecture anywhere) and can relax being in a more earthy place than gentrified Edina. You can get the tube to Hillhead from the adjoined underground station at Queen Street and head to the boho West End if more architecture, boozen in nice and lots of greenery is your fancy

Either of these options allow you to see a different side of urban Scotland and there are merits to both. As I say, if you get a chance go to Glasgow its worth it. (it is slightly cheaper than Edina as well).

You may guess that I come from the West Coast!
posted by ClanvidHorse at 6:43 AM on July 13, 2005

I don't travel internationally all that often, but when I do, I never bring "native" currency with me. Every airport in the modern world has ATM's. Any service fee you might incur there is so much less than the fees and lousy exchange rates of currency exchange booths (like Thomas Cooke).

Pay for as much as you can by credit card, staying within your budget.
posted by mkultra at 6:47 AM on July 13, 2005

the modern art museum is pretty good. it's walkable, but not in the town centre. there are (were) a bunch of other places that also had exibitions. leith (the port area) has been tarted up in recent years and has a bunch of nice restaurants. if you like creamy curries, the kalpna would be worth a visit, if it's still there.

where is the conference, and where are you staying, since that influences where you'll be eating?
posted by andrew cooke at 6:59 AM on July 13, 2005

(that reads odd - the kalpna isn't in leith!)
posted by andrew cooke at 7:00 AM on July 13, 2005

I vote in support of the castle, and of visiting Glasgow if you have the time.

At the risk of exposing my cheesy, fragile underbelly to the world, I will also recommend checking out the ghost tours - bad jokes and blatantly fake supernatural tales aside, there is at least one tour that goes into the catacombs under the old city, which are very cool. I can't remember specific names, but you will be deluged with flyers for these things in any touristy area, and those that go underground will advertise that fact heavily.
posted by hilatron at 7:58 AM on July 13, 2005

As others have said, go climb that big hill. It's awesome!
posted by MsMolly at 7:59 AM on July 13, 2005

Ah, yes, hilatron's suggestion is a good one (even if it is somewhat cheesy). When I visited, one of our friends was working as a guide at the Mary Somethingorother Close. This one was very enjoyable, and, according to her, it was the most interesting one. At least, I thought it was interesting.

They do indeed take you underground, into the old part of the city that has since been buried and built upon. The history is real, even if the jokes aren't.
posted by odinsdream at 8:32 AM on July 13, 2005

You probably mean the Real Mary King's Close.
posted by JanetLand at 8:49 AM on July 13, 2005

I don't plan on doing too much sightseeing while I'm there.

You don't really need to do much sightseeing to fall in love with Edinburgh, just have a wander, especially around the Old Town/New Town (to the South and North of Princes St respectively).

The whole area at the bottom of Arthur's Seat - Holyrood Road - has been redeveloped very recently, and instead of abandoned breweries and warehouses is now full of modern architecture: the Scottish Parliament, The Scotsman newspaper offices, and some kind of eco exhibition I think.

Another vote for Arthur's Seat and Calton Hill, the catacomb tour you want to go on is to Mary King's Close, which is under the City Chambers and is a street that was bricked up during the plague - the Old Town of Edinburgh exists on many levels (physically that is), with very tall buildings which sometimes open out onto two different streets at different levels. They just built the City Chambers on top of Mary King's Close.

The Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street is great for the modern, beautiful building, though I can't remember much about the contents.

local travel (bus, etc) should be around £2.00 a journey

Bus journeys are a pound or less, you can get an all day ticket for about three quid. Buses are a great way to get around if you're going further than you can be bothered to walk, but be aware that on some circular routes, buses have different numbers depending whether they're going clockwise or anti clockwise.

The castle - I lived there for 4 years and never went, never felt I missed much from what I heard. Walk up to it though, for yet another fantastic view across the city.

The Royal Botanic Gardens are a great place to chill (and yes, they have another good view, in fact Edinburgh looks so great that everywhere has a good view...), and are North of the centre, just past Canonmills.

If you want to escape the centre for half a day and have never experienced a traditionally cheesy, slightly battered looking UK beach, try Portobello - still part of Embra, but on the coast. The swimming's not too tempting though - as well as the probably chilly weather, you can see the neighbouring power station from the beach.

For a better beach experience, if you have a car, you could head for Gullane beach, a few miles South/East of the city, for big windsweptness, and have some fish and chips in one of the villages you pass through on the way back.

Sorry, this is excessive for someone who said they wouldn't be sightseeing much.... enjoy though!
posted by penguin pie at 9:29 AM on July 13, 2005

Edinburgh Castle also has the Stone of Scone).
Note: stone does not incude scones.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:04 AM on July 13, 2005

where is the conference, and where are you staying, since that influences where you'll be eating?

andrew cooke: I'll be attending the Material Cultures conference at the University of Edinburgh.
posted by AlexanderBanning at 11:55 AM on July 13, 2005

I recommend most of the above and also: Holyrood Palace and along the Royal Mile is (was?) a little shop that sells nothing but playing cards. Sounds weird, but I spent quite a bit of time in it. Also, don't forget to have tea. Lots of places to do that. I still miss clotted cream and strawberry jam on scones.
posted by deborah at 1:54 PM on July 13, 2005

Try taking a walk along the water of Leith - a small river that goes through the heart of the city from the port of Leith all the way up into the Pentland hills. One of the most interesting sections involves making a start at Stockbridge (an interesting neighbourhood just to the north of the New Town) and walking upstream for about 2 miles. It is very tranqil and very scenic. Eventually you end up at the Modern Art Museum and Dean Gallery. See some art, have some tea and catch the (free) shuttle bus back to Waverley station.

Another good trip would be to take a local train bound for Fife (Kirkcaldy etc). You can get off at Dalmeny/South Queensferry and then walk over the Forth Road brige to North Queensferry - much to see. A little further on on the line Aberdour has some good walks, a great beach (Silversands) and views back to Edinburgh.
posted by rongorongo at 4:06 AM on November 23, 2005