Thelma and Louise

Afraid to take a break with someone you've never met? This is the story of a trip four UK members took together to Edinburgh in September 2010. Hopefully, it will allay your fears and tempt you to visit that beautiful city too.

I flew from Manston in Kent through clear blue skies into an Edinburgh monsoon. I was seriously wondering whether this whole City Break trip was a good idea! Three other Thelma & Louise Members were probably thinking the same - "Crested_Grebe" had caught the train from London, sloshed her way to the hotel,and arrived looking like a drowned rat. "JMR39" had flown up from Birmingham and was looking for someone who might be me at the baggage claim, and we didn't know it, but "ellie1" had set out from Cornwall days before and was driving up a rainy motorway to surprise us all. Only "Crested Grebe" and I had met before. A recipe for disaster? No - have faith! -T&L Members are resilient and friendly, and Edinburgh has enough on offer to keep everyone happy.

Hotels in the city are expensive, so I'd chosen The Boisdale Hotel -slightly off-centre, but still only a twenty minute walk into town, or a short bus ride. It proved a good choice, despite having to listen to the Lithuanian manager's life-story before we could collapse into our rooms. Sharing with "Crested_ Grebe", I found a note:- " Gone to art gallery -ring me!". She'd wasted no time in getting out there, and we arranged to meet at the massive Scott Monument in Princes Street. After 10 mins of waiting around and under-breath cursing, we found each other - we'd been waiting on opposite sides! That's the thing about Edinburgh-everything is massively built, as if the town had been peopled by giants. Introductions over, we made for the recommended Doric Tavern in Market Street, and were just tucking into "cullen skink", a wonderful warming smoked haddock soup, when my mobile rang. "I'm here, where are you?" said T&L Member "ellie1", and 20 minutes later, there she was, bouncing into the pub and making us into a surprise foursome. Raspberry Cranachan trifle and some drinks later, the rain had stopped, and we were ready to totter back to the hotel.

Things continued to look up when we met at breakfast next morning. Just about everything was on offer, - full Scottish breakfast with black pudding, kippers, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs... This break was clearly not going to be good for our figures! A walk was proposed along the Water of Leith Walkway - a 12 mile long foot and cycle path which runs from Edinburgh city, through the attractive Dean Village, and ends at the docks in Leith. There are many joining points along the route, and we decided to start at the Gallery of Modern Art and finish at the Royal Botanic Garden - about 4 miles. "JMR39" didn't feel she could walk that far and elected to do some shopping instead. We'd all agreed that no-one should feel obliged to do things they couldn't or didn't want to do, and this worked well.

Except we nearly fell out at the Gallery of Modern Art! There was this big oil can, you see. It was an exhibit, and "Crested_ Grebe" got the point and we didn't. It wasn't exactly an argument, more a heated discussion in which the words "proportion", "perspective", "c**p" and "rubbish" were equally bandied about. Luckily, we found other exhibits we could agree on, and harmony was restored! I'm still not sure about Modern Art, but this Gallery is certainly worth a visit, if only to question your pre-conceptions.... ;+)

The Water of Leith Walkway is a must-do in Edinburgh. With the water rushing alongside,and beautiful half-timbered houses and stone walls dripping with ferns, you are a world away from the tourist hordes of the city centre. Tea was taken in the Botanic Gardens, where "JMR39" rejoined us, and we all toured the Victorian glass houses and gasped at the weird tropical plants.
Our day was perfectly rounded off as we had pre-booked tickets to the ballet, (we managed to get an extra one for "ellie1"). Theatre ticket prices are very cheap compared to London and it was an unforgettable performance.

Saturday saw us looking forward to meeting another T&L Member - "Chai" who lives an hour away in Perth, and met us outside the Royal Lyceum Theatre, where we were privileged to have a backstage tour of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We were extremely lucky that the week-end we had chosen was "Doors Open Day", and many places were offering a free peek behind normally closed doors. Standing on the stage of this beautiful Victorian theatre and meeting the crew was unforgettable. We would come back that evening to see the performance itself.

"Chai" then led us on a tour of the old town - from the Castle, down the Royal Mile, with a peep into all the 'wee alleyways'. "Crested_ Grebe" then went off to view a collection of early keyboard instruments,while the rest of us headed for Harvey Nic's and George Street for some designer shopping.(not that we bought anything, but it was nice looking!). The Georgian House was next on our agenda -quite an eye-opener into the lives of the wealthy in the 18th century. Did you know they rarely washed? And a chamber pot was passed around at the dinner table! Afterwards, "Chai" joined us for an Italian dinner, then we said goodbye sadly as she headed for her bus -she had been the perfect Scottish hostess.

The fine weather of the week-end continued on Sunday, so we took the bus up to Ocean Terminal to tour the Royal Yacht Britannia.A time-warp back to the 1950's, you can "tut" at the Queen's taste in furnishings, ogle the very small double bed where Charles and Di spent their honeymoon, and sit at the bar in the officers' mess. We were so fascinated, the normal one and a half hour tour took us four hours, and then,of course, we just had to have lunch on board!

Back in town, "JMR39" headed back to the hotel to rest, whilst the rest of us went to look at the new Parliament building, Holyrood House, and to climb a little way up Arthur's Seat. Next time, we'll make it all the way up -but for now we headed back to the hotel for a picnic and an early night, as I had to leave for the airport right after breakfast. When I left, "Crested_ Grebe" was headed for another art gallery, and "JMR39" and "ellie1" were off to find Charity Shops before they also left for home. I think we squeezed every drop out of our Edinburgh four- night Citybreak and thoroughly recommend it as a trip destination.

Would I organise another? Definitely! I not only had a great time, but made three new friends as well. Prague anyone?

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Practical Information.

You can fly to Edinburgh with Flybe, EasyJet, Bmi, BmiBaby, British Airways and Jet2. -look out for their cheap offers. My Flybe flight from Manston in Kent took 1.5 hours. Shuttle bus from the airport into town costs £6 return.
Trains from London take 4.5 hours .
Three of us shared a large room at the Boisdale Hotel, for £35pp/per night, including breakfast. A single room will be £50/60 per night. Book directly with the hotel for the best price.
A day pass on Lothian Buses costs £3 and will take you all over, including Ocean Terminal and the Royal Yacht.
Theatre tickets cost £15/16 for excellent seats.

Where we went.

The Doric Tavern,
15/16 Market Street
Edinburgh, EH1 1DE
Phone: 0131 225 1084
Website: www.the-doric.com

The Gallery of Modern Art.
75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Gmainfo@nationalgalleries.org
Http://www.nationalgalleries.org/

The Water of Leith Walkway.
Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road Edinburgh EH14 1TQ
Telephone: 0131 455 7367 0131 455 7367
Fax: 0131 443 1682
Email: admin@waterofleith.org.uk
Http://www.waterofleith.org.uk

Royal Botanic Garden.
Caledonian Hall
Inverleith Row
Edinburgh, EH3 5LR
Scotland
Phone: 0131 552 7171 0131 552 7171
Email: info@rbge.org.uk
Website: www.rbge.org.uk

The Festival Theatre,                                                    
13/29 Nicolson Street,                                                  
Edinburgh EH8 9FT                                                      
Http://www.eft.co.uk

 

The Royal Lyceum Theatre                        

Grindlay Street,
Edinburgh EH3 9AX
http://www.lyceum.org.uk

 

The Royal Yacht Britannia
Ocean Terminal
Leith,
Edinburgh EH6 6JJ

http://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk

 

The Georgian House,                                                    
7, Charlotte Square,                                                       
Edinburgh EH2 4                                                                                 

Http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/56