An unforgettable weekend in Edinburgh

Our small group of 6 excited travel agents met at OR Tambo International Airport at 6pm on a Friday evening, for what promised to be a truly unforgettable weekend in Edinburgh!

After a seamless check-in, we headed straight for the business class lounge (we were flying business class after all!), where we were treated to a variety of snacks, treats and drinks, and as this was the first time some of us met, it was the perfect opportunity to get to know each other a bit. After spending some time in the lounge we all headed to the gate to board our flight.

Once on the aircraft (A380), we were directed to our super spacious seats, and after settling in were offered a glass of champagne while we waited for take-off, we were also given the menu from which we had to choose what we would like order for our 3-course dinner and breakfast. After dinner was served, I made my oh so comfy lie flat bed (sheet, blanket, comforter and all!) chose a movie and eventually drifted off to sleep.

The following morning, I was woken up by the very pleasant air hostess, who was ready to serve me my coffee and croissant and after a short while we were landing at London Heathrow where we would later catch a connecting flight to Edinburgh! The overnight flight was incredible and the service from the crew was flawless.

We had 3.5 hour wait in London, but luckily we had access to the British Airways lounge, so after a short walk around the shops, we made our way to the lounge, which overlooks the runway, and waited for our onward flight.

The flight to Edinburgh was just 1.5 hours  and even though it had been a long journey we were all so excited just to get there. Finally we arrived, quickly got our bags and thankfully our transfer driver was waiting for us in the arrivals hall. Our driver, a Scottish lady with quite a heavy accent, was very friendly and only too happy to give us some tips, advice and quick little facts about the areas we were driving through.

We arrived at our hotel at about 3pm and after a quick freshen up, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city (even though it was freezing cold and the sun sets at about 4pm in the winter!), and what a beautiful city this is – besides the fact that everywhere you look at this time of year, there are Christmas lights and Christmas trees – you can really feel it’s the holiday season and as you walk through the old streets and buildings you get the sense of the rich history this city has – it’s truly enchanting! Even though we didn’t have much daylight left we made the most of it and enjoyed our first dinner at a real Scottish pub called The Beehive Inn. Then off to bed to get some rest as we had an early start the next day.

After an early breakfast at the hotel, we took a taxi to the tour meeting point, today we went on a full day tour called “Jacobites & Rebels – an Outlander Experience”, now if that sounds a wee bit familiar to you, it is because it follows the filming locations of the TV series “Outlander” as well as the story of the historic Jacobite Rebellion that took place in the 1700’s.

We start the tour by venturing into Midhope Castle, or Outlander’s “Lallybroch Castle” and have quick photo stop and to soak in the atmospheric grounds, before we journey on. Following our trail, we continued to Blackness Castle, located on the shores of Blackness. We then stop for lunch break in the beautiful royal burgh of Linlithgow where we had some time to explore the town and visit Linlithgow Palace, Outlander’s ‘Wentworth Prison’. The palace was originally used as a retreat for the royal family between Edinburgh and Stirling Castle. We then continued onto the country home of Callander House and visited the famous kitchen, which is the set for the Duke of Sandringham’s home in Outlander. From here we travel to the royal burgh of Culross. A tiny village in nestled on the coast of Fife, Culross is arguably the best example of a 17th Century town in Scotland. The gardens here were used as Claire’s herb garden, and the Mercat Cross the mystical Cranesmuir Village. Here we stop with plenty of time to explore the village and its cobbled streets, have some refreshments in its quaint Biscuit Cafe, before moving on to the Tuilyies Standing Stones. We then travel on to Hopetoun House which is the setting for the home of Outlander’s Duke of Sandringham, after a tour of the house and exploring the beautiful estate, we head back to Edinburgh and even though it rained pretty much the entire day, we all thoroughly enjoyed this tour.

Once back in the city, some of the group went back to the hotel to warm up and relax before dinner, while the rest of us preferred to go walk the cobblestone streets of the Old Town. We all met up a bit later at The Holyrood 9A, warm and cosy restaurant for dinner and probably one of the best burgers I have ever had!

Today we woke up to a much clearer sky however still a bit nippy, and after breakfast off we head off for our morning walking tour of the Royal Mile & Edinburgh Castle. The best way to explore this city is definitely by foot, where the buses can’t take you and the guide books don’t show you – this is where the real stories can be found as you walk down the closes, wynds, courtyards and homes of Old Edinburgh. The guide paints a vivid picture of the colourful past and people and shares many secrets and tales about the culture, crime and politics of Scotland’s capital. Our guide was very knowledgeable, witty and quite funny, and the one thing I definitely noticed is that the Scots are incredibly proud of their history, heritage and traditions!

Once we finished our tour through Edinburgh Castle we had a bit of time to spare before our next activity, and what better way to spend our time (and money) then with a little bit of shopping! Not that we could shop too much, taking into consideration the rate of exchange… R18 for £1! Things can start adding up quicker than you thought! Nevertheless we all had a few bags to carry and off we went, walked and walked until we couldn’t walk anymore and finally decided that we needed to get a taxi to our next stop, which thankfully was a much more relaxing experience – High-tea at The Dome, located in Edinburgh’s New Town, this magnificent building with its Greek-Roman façade opened its doors in 1996 and has been an Edinburgh institution since. Tea is served in the Georgian Tea Room, and it truly is an exquisite experience, exactly what you would except from the white table cloths, 3-tiered stand filled with cucumber sandwiches, scones, tarts and desserts and a wide selection of tea to choose from, they even had Rooibos tea, all served in the finest silverware and china, this was a real treat and something not to be missed, however you must pre-book as otherwise you will not get a reservation.

The final visit on our itinerary was the Christmas Market on East Princes Street Gardens, this is such a wonderful and unique experience and really puts you in the festive spirit! With rows of stalls and crafters selling anything you can think of, from souvenirs to gadgets, home decor items, jewellery, a selection of food and drinks available, as well as rides, you are sure to have a great time and the best part is that despite the cold weather, everyone is out an about walking in the streets and have the best time! The Christmas Market is open for about 6 weeks during the festive season from 10am to 10pm daily.

Sadly today is our last day in Edinburgh and as we have the morning leisure, we all went off to do our last bit of shopping before meeting back at the hotel to get our transfer to the airport, surprisingly enough, we had the same transfer lady and she was so happy and excited to hear what an incredible time we have had the last 3 days! Once at the airport, we tagged and dropped off our luggage (as we had all checked-in online beforehand) and soon thereafter we were all browsing around the duty free shops doing some last minute shopping or enjoying a drink and snack the Business Class Lounge.

Not long after that we were all cozied up in our Business Class seats, enjoying the last experience of our incredible trip.

This was definitely one of the most memorable trips I have been on, we got to experience so many exciting and fascinating things and nothing could have made this trip more incredible then to have bumped in Sam Heughen himself… maybe next time… for as they say in Scotland “Haste ye back”

Written by Eva Manouris