edinburgh on the cheap

[frazzled74]

we are going to edinburgh in summer hols and our spending budget is very tight. can anyone recommend cheap or free attractions and budget restaurants. I have english heritage card with free entry to historic scotland sites so will be able to go to castle for free.

not sure how old your DC are - but Craigmillar Castle is great for exploring and generally running around having fun.

Used to go there often when I was at school up there, and I took my DS's 2 years ago (on a cold and bitter January day!) and they loved it too.

Will be taking them again when we're up in August

Which week(s) are you there?

If you'll be there in the festival there'll be more free things on than you can shake a stick at, including loads of stuff for kids.

A good cheap place for lunch is the Engine Shed

Other good free stuff

Museum of Childhood

the Botanics is lovely for a walk / picnic, and they also do quite a lot of events for kids.

The People's Story museum

Beware most pubs don't let children in, even to sit on tables outside. A few do though. A brilliant exception is Pearces which is a lovely pub, and even has a kids area.

Another pub which let kids in (last summer anyway) is Negotiants which is a nice place to stop in the daytime (it can get very busy later on).

thanks the links are great.we are there last week in july.will def be having trip to the museum of childhood and the botanics.

Arthur's seat is a good walk. It's an extinct volcano (very exciting!)

If your kids are little you can cheat by driving up to the car park which not too far from the top, and walking p the last bit. Which is enough to feel you've done a bit of a walk, but not far at all really.