Edinburgh

Its been a long time since we last did a blog post so i think i best up our game a little!

Here's our latest trip - Edinburgh for a weekend in the VW T5 Campervan.


Dates -  July 2014
Distance from our base -  180 miles /  4 hours driving time
Campsite - Morton Hall,  Edinburgh    http://www.meadowhead.co.uk/MortonhallHome.aspx
Cost - approx £27 per night,  grass pitch with EHU (2 adults, 2 infants)  + Awning/tent cost

The Campsite

Morton Hall is a fairly large site situated a short 20 minute bus ride from Edinburgh centre.
The bus picks up right outside the gates and you can get off it at numerous stops throughout Edinburgh city centre.    The cost for a day rider ticket for the bus and city trams is £3.50 per adult. 

The Campsite itself is lovely.  Picturesque grassed areas with some tree cover, you really wouldn't think it was that close to the city.   The pitches offered are mostly grass with some hard standing.  We chose to go for a grass pitch with electric hook up, mainly because our 10 month old will sit and eat the pebbles/stones if we go on a hard standing pitch.     It costs extra to bring the tent or awning (substantially more for the awning!) so we chose to take just the pop up tent which we used as storage for the kids toys, buggy and carseats.     

There were picnic benches dotted around so we commandeered one for our pitch which was great.

The toilet facilities were relatively clean for such a large site, not sparkling but not disgusting either.  The showers were ok, plenty of hot water.  Large washing up areas with hot water were dotted around the site as were drinking water points and bin facilities.

The campsite featured a fairly well stocked shop but remember to bring some Citronella candles with you as the midges are everywhere up here in Scotland and surprisingly the shop didn't stock any repellents at all.  

There is a bar on site, though having two small children and spending the full day in Edinburgh we didn't make it into the bar! It looked fairly popular though.

The campsite staff that we encountered were all helpful though we think they spend alot of time talking to non-english speakers as they spoke to us like we had a limited grasp of English which got quite frustrating!


Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a beautiful city,  its centre dominated by the impressive Castle sat ontop of an extinct volcano, a position occupied since the Iron Age, the tail bone of this volcano being the Royal Mile.    

Edinburgh castle itself is well worth the trip and ticket price  http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/  and we highly recommend taking one of the guided tours around the castle which take around 20 minutes.     You could literally explore all day but with two small children we found we had seen the majority of its major parts in around 3 hours and it was time for a well deserved drink and a sit-down.    There is a cafe and licensed bar within the castle grounds or numerous ones back outside on the Royal Mile.

The Royal Mile was an education in itself with wonderful architecture to be seen and enjoyed from the many cafes and pubs along its length.   Street performers were out doing their thing and were definitely worth stopping to watch.    

There are plenty of tours of Edinburgh that can be booked and joined along the royal mile including tours of the now subterranean streets which were built over leaving them more like underground cellars than the streets they once were.  Tales abound including those that describe plague victims being walled into their homes which were then built over.   We didn't get to try any out as many are not suitable with a buggy but we look forward to coming back and doing them one day!

Palace of Holyroodhouse looked great but unfortunately it was shut by the time we'd done the castle and then meandered our way down the Royal Mile.  Its on our to-do list for our next visit.

The New Town is also worth a visit especially for those of us who enjoy a spot of retail therapy!

All in all a fabulous visit,  we wished we'd had more time to do the city justice.  I have no doubt we'll be back again soon, perhaps in the Motorhome next time.