Weekend in Edinburgh on budget?

[ClockWatchingLady]

Does anyone have any recommendations for how to do this? Really want to take DS, walk up Arthur's seat, go to the museum, etc.. But all the hotels/B&Bs look really expensive. Has anyone ever stayed in a hostel or cheaper B&B and found it OK? I'm not very good at coping with dirty places, but don't mind sparse/very basic.
Is camping in late September a crazy idea?

Thank you in advance.

We stayed in the Travelodge at Cameron Toll recently. It's basic but clean and not very far from the centre.

Thanks thescottishplay - that looks really promising. Will check it out for our dates.

We also stayed in a budget hotel just outside Edinburgh and drove in (although there are plenty of buses etc because parking is very expensive). We went to the National Museum of Scotland which was amazing, wandered around, the restaurants were really cheap too compared to English equivalents.

Second vote for Travelodge - works out cheaper than B&B or hostel for a family. The ones at Dreghorn and Musselburgh are much cheaper, but with good links to the centre.

So many wonderful things to do - Museum of Scotland/Museum of Childhood, you can book a free tour of the Scottish Parliament online, walk Arthur's Seat/Crags or Calton Hill. If you have Historic Scotland or English Heritage membership the Castle is wonderful, but expensive without. Don't feel bad about missing the Zoo - not so great in my opinion. I never regret paying for the Camera Obscura, however - seems expensive, but great experience if the city is not too busy and you get a chance to enjoy all the illusions. Same goes for Scott monument. Plenty of places to eat/local supermarkets to stock up on hotel room essentials.
Have lots of fun!

There's a Travelodge on Princes Street that would be more convenient for city centre stuff. Not sure if it is more expensive but you would save fares from Cameron Toll which is a bit out of the way. You could walk into town from these but it would be quite a hike.

I'm not sure how it compares price wise but if you're driving could this be an option - Timber tents, Linwater?

We stayed at that site in the summer, its immaculately clean and the owner is very helpful. Short drive from the site to park and ride and then bus or tram to Princes Street in less than 30 minutes £5.50 for a day ticket for you and your son.

Another site we've used that also has wigwam type accommodation is Mortonhall, I imagine it would be more expensive though. Its a much bigger site, play area for children, pub on site etc. You can get a bus from right outside the site.

If you do have a car with you I'd really recommend Five Sisters Zoo, smaller than Edinburgh Zoo (and cheaper) and no pandas but its family run, the staff are great and really know their stuff about the species in the zoo and the individual animals. The animal talks are really interesting and the handling sessions are excellent.

Might be worth looking at university accommodation - Edinburgh or Napier, think Heriot-Watt and QMU might be a bit far out. If you're only up for a weekend, I'd try to stay as central as you can just to avoid spending lots of time on buses (although the service is generally very good). Otherwise I second Travelodge type places, but I think the one on Princes St is a good bit more expensive than ones slightly further out.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions - they're extremely helpful.

I love the look of those wooden "tents" - I'll check out the dates for those, and also the various Travelodges. Glad to hear the museum is still good (spent a lot of time in Edinburgh when a small child, so remember these things as incredible and want to take DC, but am sometimes nervous that nostaligia is playing tricks...).

Thank you all again.

Have a look at the Premier Inn at Edinburgh Park. It is only about 2 years old. Although it is on the outskirts of town but has a direct rail and /or tram link to the city centre. The train takes about 10 minutes, the tram about 30 minutes. Kids go free off peak on the train. There is also parking at the hotel. It is a great budget solution and saves the stress of driving into the city and trying to park which really is a nightmare.

motel one ( 2 branches) very central and no more than the travel lodge. Also there are properties to let in the Stockbridge colonies ( see their facebook site) lovely place to be and you can walk into the centre quite easily. - Whatever you do make sure you walk along the water of Leith to Dean Village and if you like art to the galleries .

We have stayed in various places in Edinburgh. For cheap, we do any of the central travelodges. If you book a fair bit in advance you always get a good rate.( £35 ish a night)
Medium priced we have stayed twice in the Holiday inn beside Edinburgh zoo. Bus outside straight in to the city centre.
We normally pay around £90 a night with breakfast.
For expensive, we rented an apartment for a week in Leith a few years ago during the Edinburgh festival it was bloody gorgeous but £££. Would love to do that again.
Op, I would say the central TL would be your best bet.

Just seen your replies, higgle, 3nations and Celtic - thank you so much. I'll look into all these things.

I'm actually starting to make this into a week plan rather than a weekend now. I lived in Edinburgh for several years as a child and have fantastic memories of so many things that it would seem a shame not to have time for lots of them.

Thank you all again.