Edinburgh with kids: kicking off our Scottish adventure

Scotland, and especially Edinburgh, has been on my must-see list for a while now. The scenery! The history! The accents!

So naturally, as soon as we arrived in Edinburgh with the kids we set straight out to go see a mu-

Ah hell, who are we kidding? The first thing we did was head for Diagon Alley in Edinburgh, where we promptly dropped a small fortune on wands from one of the Harry Potter-themed shops in Diagon Alley (regrettably we didn’t meet Olivander himself, however). If you are wondering, Owen ended up with Harry Potter’s wand and Fiona ended up with Ginny’s. Since we all know the wand chooses the wizard, I assume the fact that these two wands chose them has nothing at all to do with the fact that Harry and Ginny happen to be Owen’s and Fiona’s favorite characters. (As you may already know, if you remember that Fiona spent most of our Belgium trip refusing to answer to any name but “Ginny.”)

I did not get myself a wand because I’M A REAL GROWN UP, GUYS.

Also, my husband would have made fun of me.

Anyway, back to our visit to Diagon Alley. Fellow HP nerds would no doubt like to scream that DIAGON ALLEY IS IN FREAKING LONDON. Yes, yes. I KNOW.

(Don’t think it didn’t occur to us me to include London in this itinerary).

Anyway, if we are going with accuracy I suppose the best way to describe this area is by its proper name: Victoria Street. However, JK Rowling was living in Edinburgh when she was busy crafting the masterpiece that is Harry Potter and it is believed that this curving, split-level street was the inspiration for the famous Diagon Alley. (A belief reinforced by the fact that she suggested filmmakers working on the movies visit the area for inspiration).

3 days in Edinburgh with kids: Our itinerary

Ok, so now that I’m finished nerding out over here (just kidding, am I ever done?), let’s backtrack a little bit. As I mentioned in this post, we took a 12-day trip that included Berlin, Scotland and (briefly) Potsdam. We flew from Berlin to Edinburgh around midday on a Tuesday and left for Stirling Castle on Friday morning, giving us really about 2.5 days in the city.

What we liked: Honestly, we loved Edinburgh overall. We enjoyed our visit to Edinburgh Castle, two fantastic museums, the Royal Mile and, obviously, our Harry Potter activities. It was a very family-friendly city with a lot to do, and I could easily see returning there some day to hit up the many places we missed in our 3 days in Edinburgh.

Where we stayed: We booked an AirBnB on Drumdryan Street. While the apartment itself was serviceable but unremarkable, the location was excellent. We were only a short walk from the Grassmarket area and the Royal Mile. The area was cool with a lot of different dining options — Thai, Greek, Spanish, Chinese, Indian, etc.

Reminder: If you are considering booking at AirBnB for the first time, please consider using my referral link. You’ll get $40 in travel credit when you sign up, and I get $20 for our future travels. Win-win, no? Here’s the code: www.airbnb.com/c/kaseyh50

What we ate: Eh. I wouldn’t so much described food as one of Scotland’s strong suits, if we’re being honest. (Even Oink, a place famous for takeaway pulled pork sandwiches, pretty much got a ‘meh’ from us). However, if you are going I’d suggest hitting Wings,  a small restaurant on Fishmarket Close (near the Royal Mile) for — you guessed it — chicken wings. We also got Thai takeaway two nights in a row from a Thai place right next to our AirBnB called Thailander. The fact that we went there twice should probably tell you what you need to know about how tasty it was. (And affordable too, which made a nice change …)

If you are wondering, only Chris would try Scotland’s famous haggis (which he deemed “not bad at all”), but we all tried its national drink, Irn-Bru. I didn’t much care for its over-the-top sweetness, but Chris and the kids liked it a lot.

How we got around: Edinburgh was an incredibly walkable city, so even though we had a rental car with us (for various boring reasons), it stayed in a parking garage the whole time. We never even bothered to find out about public transit because nowhere was more than a 30 minute walk at the absolute most and walking is our preferred way to see any city.

And finally …

What we did in Edinburgh with kids:

Day 1: Harry Potter and hot wings 

As I mentioned, we geeked out pretty hard on Victoria Street. Beyond that, we mostly walked around checking out parts of the Royal Mile and stopping at places like Advocate’s Close to see some great views.

If you are unfamiliar with the term, close is a Scottish word for small, narrow alleys that lead off the main street, mostly ending in gardens or dead ends. You’ll see tons of these labeled as you walk around Edinburgh.

We also spotted JK Rowling’s hands along the way! They are just off the Royal Mile near the Edinburgh City Chambers.

Afterward, we had dinner at Wings, which, as I mentioned, was one of the few restaurants that we heartily recommend in Edinburgh. It also had a lot of fun decor to keep all four of us amused.

Day 2: Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Dynamic Earth

“It seemed as if the rock and castle assumed a new aspect every time I looked at them; and Arthur’s Seat was perfect witchcraft. I don’t wonder that anyone residing in Edinburgh should write poetically.” -Washington Irving, author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 1817.

It was hard not to stop at stare at Edinburgh Castle every time the buildings around us opened up for us to catch a glimpse (though sadly I don’t think this trip has made me any better at poetry). Naturally then, we kicked off our first full day of our 3 days in Edinburgh with a visit to Edinburgh Castle.

As you can see, Edinburgh Castle is perched atop a cliff (appropriately called Castle Rock), in what is obviously a pretty good defensive position. There’s evidence that it has been occupied since at least the 2nd century AD, and there’s been a castle there since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century. It’s one of the oldest continuously-occupied defensive structures in Europe.

We went to Edinburgh Castle in the morning, which I’d recommend as it is the most popular tourist attraction in Edinburgh. I’d also suggest buying tickets ahead of time, which we did not do because I’d been worried about the weather report and consequently we had to wait in line for a while. We opted to take the free guided tour, which is advertised as leaving “on the hour” but seems to actually happen about every 10 minutes. It was excellent, and I’d highly recommend it! It is pretty short, perhaps 30 to 40 minutes, but during that time the guide gives you a lot of history of the castle and Scotland in general. The guide does not actually take you into any of the buildings, but lets you know what everything is so you can explore on your own afterward. It’s a solid system, giving you the overview of what everything is and some fun historical tidbits, but then letting you actually look at your own pace.

For me, visiting this castle (and, later in the week, Stirling Castle) aligned perfectly with my other major “thing:” British history. Seeing places that have shown up in so many books I’ve read, both histories and historical fiction, always makes me happy.

So, there’s a lot to see at Edinburgh Castle. We spent more than two hours there, and still didn’t catch it all. Highlights, though, included seeing the Royal Apartments — once home to the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots — as well as seeing the crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny. This stone, otherwise known as the Stone of Scone, is a chunk of sandstone that was used in Scottish coronations before being captured by the English and made part of their coronation throne. It wasn’t returned to Scotland until 1996, but now it will remain in Edinburgh Castle except for when London needs to borrow it for a future coronation.

Edinburgh Castle is also home to the Scottish National War Memorial, built to commemorate the Scots who died in the First World War. It later expanded to include those killed in World War II, and then the soldiers killed in subsequent conflicts. The names of these soldiers are listed in books placed all over the the memorial, and you can leaf through them and read some of the 200,000 or so listed. Names continue to be added to the lists.

We were also there to hear the 1 p.m. “time cannon” shot every day at that time, except for Sundays, Christmas and Good Friday. The purpose of the blast was to alert mariners in the Firth of Forth of the time, as is common in other port cities. In other places, such gun usually signal at noon. Our guide maintained that the reason 1 p.m. was the selected time for the shot from Edinburgh Castle was because it was cheaper to shoot one ball signaling 1 p.m., rather than 12 shots to signal noon.

Edinburgh Castle marks the end of the Royal Mile, the “main drag” in Old Town Edinburgh that links the castle and Holyrood Palace, the current residence of Queen Elizabeth II when she is in the city. We were interested in walking down the historic streets, but our ultimate destination was a museum called Dynamic Earth.

To my surprise, Dynamic Earth ended up being the kids’ favorite thing — not bad, considering it almost didn’t make it onto our 3 days in Edinburgh itinerary! The museum was very interactive and engaging for the kids as it basically told the story of the history of the earth. Right off the bat it started with inviting you into a “time machine” elevator, then guides gently guided you from place to place. We learned about the formation of the earth, ancient creatures and more through a series of interactive museum displays (include a giant chunk of glacier ice you could touch) and iMax-style movies during the experience. It wasn’t quite like anything we’ve done before, and we loved it!

This museum is one my kids have consistently been talking about since we got back, so if you are a planning a trip to Edinburgh with kids, I’d suggest you look into it!

From that end of the Royal Mile we had a pretty good view of Arthur’s Seat, the highest of the hills surrounding Edinburgh. We’d had ambitions to walk up there for ages but ultimately didn’t end up doing it this trip, in large part because I either fractured or badly strained my ribs during a bout of bronchitis a few weeks before the trip and was still struggling with it at the time. Next time!

Day 3: National Museum of Scotland and MORE HARRY POTTER. 

I’ve mentioned before that Owen is our little museum enthusiast; long after the rest of us have exhausted our interest in a place, Owen will be begging for just one more exhibit. The National Museum of Scotland was no exception.

This museum was great and, even better, free. (Donations welcome). It reminded me a lot of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, though in addition to those topics the museum also had galleries dedicated to the natural world, space, world cultures and fashion. There was a ton of hands-on stuff for the kids to do, including a children’s playroom, so it was a good spot for the whole family. Unless of course you are the type to be disconcerted by seeing a toy you played with as a kid in a museum. coughcoughCHRIScoughcough.

I would say it is an excellent stop if you are heading to Edinburgh with kids, and especially if you are caught in the rain and looking for an indoor activity.

Another benefit: it is a 3-minute walk from the museum to BrewDog, a nice spot to grab a beer after you’ve spent the morning being dragged through a massive museum by an excited 5-year-old.

As our 3 days in Edinburgh started with Harry Potter stuff, obviously it had to end the same way. Because symmetry. Our final big activity was hitting the Potter Trail, a donations-based walking tour that brought us through all the most important Harry Potter-related sites in Edinburgh.

I loved it. Chris did not. Owen liked the first part, but got tired. Fiona fell asleep.

Mixed reviews, I guess, but if you are a HP fan I can confidently predict you’ll enjoy yourself. Same deal if you happen to be a person who just likes waving around wands and magically changing the crossing lights with a spell, as we learned to do. Or competing for house points, as our group also did (Gryffindor won, obviously).

The tour meets by the Greyfriars Bobby, a statue of a terrier who gained fame by sitting by his master’s grave for 14 years. To join the tour, you simply have to show up at the statute at the appointed time (which depends on the time of year — check the website for details).

The tour took us into the Greyfriars Kirkyard, an old cemetary where our girl Jo used to walk through while she was living in Edinburgh and writing the first of the books.

…which included seeing the grave of TOM RIDDLE! GASP!

Ok, so it is spelled differently. And there’s no real indication that this guy was a Dark wizard. But still, it is now one of the most photographed graves in the world, at least according to our wonderful guide, who was extremely enthusiastic and amusing. He also had a lot of stories for us about Jo Rowling, including a surprising amount of trivia that I didn’t already know.

This is the cafe that advertises itself as the “birthplace of Harry Potter,” but actually she didn’t start writing here until around the second or third books. The real birth place of Harry Potter was the Spoon cafe below, formerly known as Nicolson’s Cafe, which was owned by Rowling’s brother-in-law at the time. Contrary to some media reports, Rowling didn’t write in cafes because she “couldn’t afford to heat her apartment.” She just liked writing there while her infant daughter napped. 

I found the whole thing extremely fun and interesting, well worth an hour and a half of our time. If you’ve got Harry Potter fans in your family, then I’d suggest putting it on your Edinburgh with kids itinerary.

So, that about does it for our trip to Edinburgh. Overall, I really loved this city! There was a lot we didn’t have time to see, but that just means we’ll need to make a plan to go back some day.

By the way, if you think this was a lot of Harry Potter in one post and that maybe I’m a little nuts, well — I’ll leave you with this. On the flight from Berlin, I ended up stranded with Fiona at the front of the plane while everyone else got off because Fi had a bathroom emergency. Consequently I got to spend a solid 10 minutes talking to a flight attendant who turned out to be a big Harry Potter fan as well, and he basically told me where to find JK Rowling’s home and preferred grocery store.

We had the information, we had a car and we totally could have gently stalked my hero. But we didn’t!

So how nuts could I actually be?