My Super Quick Trip to Edinburgh

In my quest for 2024 to be the year I average 1 flight per week, I started to look for flights closer to home to see what was available.

Ryanair flies to Edinburgh and Belfast. They were both £14.99 each way. I have never been to Edinburgh so I decided that’s where I would go. I looked at the flight times and they totally worked for me.

The flight out was at 12:25 on the 29th and the flight home was at 06:15 on the 30th. Yep, that would give me a total of about 18 hours between both flights. Yep, I am THAT mad to do it like this.

I decided since both flights were on my days off I would just book them and make it a super quick trip. More of a scope out of where I would want to see when I come back again.

Flights and trains got booked (I had about 2-3 weeks between booking and leaving) and I carried on with work.

One of the good things about booking flights for the time I did is that I didn’t need to pack anything and I didn’t need to take anything other than my backpack so it was so much more stress-free than my usual trips.

I also may or may not have found other places to go and booked them too.

The time came to leave. I didn’t tell anyone I was going and left it as a surprise for when I came back.

I headed to the airport around 08:15. It was so nice to just have a nearly empty backpack to carry. I decided to take a jacket as I would still be out in the early hours and I figured that far north it would be cold.

I got to Stansted and realised I didn’t have a charger for my phone so I had to buy one once I was through security (which went super quick). I then went to the furthest set of gates figuring that would be where my flight went from. It didn’t so I headed back to where I saw some free sockets so I could sit and charge my phone. I sat there for about an hour and then the gate showed and I headed to that.

They were the gates that were closest to the departure lounge. As I was going there I spotted a screen that showed the flights from that set of gates. I hadn’t seen it before and it was a game-changer. Next time I am at the airport I can check there first and then to the gates furthest away and then to my favourite set of gates, if needed. It will save me a lot of time and having to ask to be sent back to the departure lounge.

I just waited at the gate patiently. It was very crowded there because there were a few gates grouped together.

We finally boarded and then took off. The flight was pretty uneventful. Not much in the way of turbulence either which was good.

We landed and it was weird to walk out of the airport as a domestic passenger. We mingled with those who were heading to the gates to leave. It was nice not to have to cross a border and get out of the airport quicker.

I knew I was in Scotland as one of the things that greeted me as I was walking out of the terminal was an Irn Bru vending machine.

I got out of the airport and saw that the public transport – buses and trams – was right there and since I love trams I went straight for them.

I spoke to someone who worked there and got advice on the best ticket to get. I bought the NetworkDAY ticket for £12. It gave me access to all the trams and buses in the network area and, importantly, gave me access to the night bus to the airport (which is £6.50 on its own). I took enough trips on the tram to make the ticket worth it.

I was trying to decide how to do the trip today and I figured I would go to the end of the tramline (there was an Asda there so I could get some food) and if I saw anything on the way I would come back to it.

It was weird sitting on the tram here. I am so used to travelling on trams on the continent and my brain was confused about travelling on the left-hand side.

I went and got my food and drink and then decided I would go back to St Andrew Square and have a look around there. I got off and walked down so I could get some views out over the harbour.

I then walked back up to the square and had a walk around it and then went to find the souvenir shops to get the obligatory flag and magnets. I had seen some as I was on the tram coming into the city.

I found them and bought them and then headed to where the train station was to get some pictures but it started to rain. It was a little heavy so I hot-footed it to the Waverley Mall and was in there for about 15 minutes whilst it passed. I went and got some cash hoping to get some Scottish notes. I got a normal £30 and then I went to Greggs to get the cheapest thing I could find so I could see if I could get some Scottish notes in the change. I got a Scottish tenner and a Scottish fiver. I was happy. I had to go back into Greggs though as they gave me too much change.

I then headed back out and started walking down towards the bridge over the rail lines so I could get some pictures. I got some pictures and decided I would head higher towards the castle.

Thankfully walking up the street was easier than it would be if I was walking up the steep stairs. I stopped to get some pictures of the Scott Monument but there was some guy there chatting on the phone just stealing the view. My sighs and tuts weren’t enough to move him so I had to reach around him to get the pictures I wanted.

I walked a little further up and got way better views. Screw you person taking the space!

I decided to carry on walking up and around. I saw a lot of cyclists and was impressed at them going up the hills. It turns out it was deceiving and wasn’t as steep. When I got to the top it was The Royal Mile. I recognised it from the street view when I was looking at the map.

I stopped and listened to a bagpiper for a few minutes and then went across the road to St Giles’ Cathedral. It was about 17:00 at this point so I went in and had a look around before it closed. It was a nice cathedral. They suggested a donation of £6 and a lot of people were putting in £10 notes. I passed it by and just walked around and got some pics. It’s definitely worth a visit.

I then headed back out and walked up towards where the castle was. There are some great buildings and churches around here too. It’s another part of the city that is worth viewing.

I want to go to the castle but the price is too much for me. It’s £20 to get in. The only thing I’d want to do is get some views of the city and £20 is too much for that.

I walked down the hill a little and got some good views out across the city and the harbour. I also came across a quaint little street that made for good pictures.

I walked down the steps and stood overlooking Waverley station for about 30 minutes and got some pictures and videos of trains coming and going. It was really nice. I really enjoyed it.

I then headed back to the main street and decided to walk to the West End area so I could get some pictures on my way back to Haymarket. As I was doing this it started to rain so I decided to get back on the tram and head to the end of the line. I wanted another drink and I needed to use the bathroom.

I then headed back on the tram and went to St Andrew Square so I could go to McDonald’s and get some food. I also wanted somewhere to just sit for a little bit and give my feet a rest. Look at the picture below and this will tell you that you are in Scotland.

They have Irn Bru available as part of the meals. It was nice to have it straight from the tap.

I sat in here for about 90 minutes and then got on the tram and headed to the airport. I wanted to kill some time until it got super dark and I could get some night shots.

I got back on the tram and went to the end of the line in Newhaven and went to Asda to buy some socks and some food and drink to have with me for when I went to sit in the airport.

I got back on the tram and went to St Andrew Square to walk around and then get some night shots and I walked down towards the castle to get some night shots there too.

By the time I was done taking pictures, I headed towards the train station to pick up the bus to the airport. It was about 01:00 and I got on the bus. The bus was comfortable and I was able to rest my weary head.

It took about 25 minutes to get to the airport. I was both happy and not to be there. I was glad to rest but not glad that I still had 5 hours until the flight.

I found somewhere to sit and charge my phone and have some food. I was done here after a couple of hours and then went and changed my socks. It was so good to have fresh socks on. I dumped the other ones and I was glad to have them off my feet. I pitied whoever had to come empty that bin.

The time came for security to open and I was first through and then headed to where the gate was so I could just sit in some seats and wait.