Edinburgh's Royal Mile may be packed with happy tourists already, but that doesn't stop the attractions throwing open their doors for group bookings
It’s early in September, and Edinburgh is thronging with tourists. Every hotel bed in the city is booked; queues line up outside of attractions; and locals tell you: “It’s always like this.”
As such, you’d be forgiven that Edinburgh is one of those places that doesn’t ‘need’ groups, and therefore doesn’t bother with them – but the opposite is true. Groups are welcomed very warmly indeed in Scotland’s capital city, despite the crowds, and the crowds should not mar any group member’s enjoyment of a place that teems with tourism.
The tourism heart of the city is the Royal Mile, the road that joins the Castle high up on the hill to glorious Palace of Holyroodhouse. We meandered down from the castle, taking in some of its fabulous attractions.
Edinburgh Castle
To this day, any hostile parties wishing to attack Edinburgh’s imposing fortress would have their work cut out. It was built on its great hill 1,000 years ago with the aim that invaders would be able to approach only from one side, and that still holds true now. From this dominant position, the views from the castle are incredible.
The castle is one of the UK’s most complete, and worth a full-day visit. It packs in centuries of history, from Stuart royalty to prisoners of war, with many different buildings to discover.
A highlight is the Royal Palace. This is where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI of Scotland (James I of England), the first king to reign over both domains. It has wonderful state rooms, including the stunning Great Hall, to explore, and also houses the Scottish Crown Jewels (telling the thrilling story of their Victorian rediscovery by a team that included Waverley author Sir Walter Scott), and the Stone of Scone, or Stone of Destiny, on which British monarchs are crowned.
The Stone was – er – appropriated by Edward I in the 13th century, and held for centuries at Westminster Abbey, before being returned to Scotland in the 1990s. (The English are only allowed to borrow it now, for coronations.)
Other highlights are:
- St Margaret’s Chapel: A tiny, ancient private chapel built by David I to honour his mother
- The National War Museum: Housed in a former storehouse, this building later became a military hospital and now houses a collection of artefacts from Highlander battles to chemical warfare
- The Scottish National War Memorial: Imposing and beautiful building, with many works of art to commemorate the thousands of Scots who have died in the two World Wars and in battles since
- The Prisons of War exhibition: A chance to see the kind of conditions prisoners of war lived in when they were brought here
- Mons Meg: The famous gigantic canon capable of firing a 150kg gunstone over two miles
- The One O’Clock Gun: Every day except Sundays, this gun is fired at 1300hrs watched by excited crowds.
Visit goo.gl/1b64D6
Camera Obscura
Just a few feet from the entrance to Edinburgh Castle lies the Camera Obscura, built in Victorian times as an early tourist attraction.
It’s a quirky and really quite wonderful place, a museum of optical illusions, holograms and visual effects. At the top of the building, visitors can see the camera obscura itself in action during a 15-minute guided show. Live 360Ëš images of the city are projected onto a table in the darkened tower, with landmarks pointed out and their history given. It’s delivered in a child-friendly way, but that doesn’t stop adults having fun by pretending to ‘lift’ people and cars off the ground far below using pieces of card. Outside the tower, there are fantastic rooftop views across the city.
The building has no lift, but the stairs are fairly gentle and with excellent exhibitions on every floor, there are plenty of opportunities to rest on the way up. The exhibitions include the Magic Gallery, full of optical illusions; the Light Fantastic gallery of holograms; and Edinburgh Vision, exploring the city then and now, plus much more.
Group bookings must be made in advance. Visit camera-obscura.co.uk
Scotch Whisky Experience
Also at this end of the Royal Mile is the Scotch Whisky Experience, a high-quality whisky attraction like no other. It’s no distillery tour, but was founded as the joint effort of 19 different whisky companies to showcase Scotch whisky to the world.
The first part of a tour is a fun 4D ride in a ‘barrel’ that takes you step-by-step through the process of whisky-making. After the ride, a guide takes over and, with the use of a huge screen and ‘scratch-and-sniff’ cards, tells you about the five Scottish regions of whisky production and what whiskies from each are most likely to smell like. This is as good a way as any to explore all of Scotland without leaving the capital.
The guide then sits us down with a glass each (ours to keep at the end of the tour) and talks about the difference between blended whiskies and single-malts, before inviting us to choose what variety we’d like. We’re each poured a dram, and taken through to the next room, the pride of the attraction – the glittering vault that contains all 3,384 bottles of the priceless Claive Vidiz collection of Scotch.
Here, the guide tells us about the five ‘rules’ of optimised whisky drinking, and after having enjoying this lovely pre-lunch dram, the group has the opportunity to admire the many bottles (the oldest of which are from 1897).
We experienced the Silver Tour; there are others available that include more in-depth tastings and evening tours, and the attraction prides itself on its accessibility, which includes tours in 18 different languages – plus both British and American sign language tours coming soon. Visit goo.gl/iufT88
Real Mary King’s Close
Real Mary King’s Close is unique: An ancient narrow street, characteristic of the alleys that run off the hill from the Royal Mile, that was covered over in the 18th century to form the foundations of the splendid Royal Exchange (now the City Chambers) above.
Today visitors can still visit the street and the buildings around it. They are not technically underground, and their residents never lived underground, but the height of the buildings and the eerie gloom makes the horror of plague, the human mess and the close proximity of animals all the more prescient.
Our tour is guided by an excellent, lively costumed actor who shows us a series of buildings – from the very smallest and poorest, which would have housed numerous families, to where more wealthy citizens would have lived. She shares real-life stories of plagues, the real Mary King herself, and spooky tales around the ‘haunted’ close. Among the most interesting is a contemporary ghost story; a visiting clairvoyant claimed she detected the presence of a sad little girl, went out and bought her a Barbie doll, and the ghost fell silent, presumably happy. Since then, pile of hundreds of toys (including the odd One Direction DVD) has turned up from other visitors sympathetic to the little girl’s boredom.
Real Mary King’s Close warmly welcomes groups, and is launching several new tours next year that should appeal to this market: Watch this space for a special Edinburgh Fringe Festival tour. It also partners with other attractions, including the Camera Obscura, the Castle, and Holyrood, for groups’ convenience, and has a dedicated groups officer to meet groups at the drop-off point and walk them to the attraction. Lisa Fox Bennett, PR Executive, says: “We love our groups, and we appreciate our groups, so we do everything we can for them.” Visit goo.gl/RSWHGG
Palace of Holyroodhouse
The official residence of the Queen in Scotland is a chance to see how royalty lives, with a full audio tour through the State Apartments. The neoclassical palace was designed to progressively wow visitors more and more as they walked through these apartments, and the effect is astounding: by the time you reach the King's Bedchamber, where the progressive grandness culminates, the plasterwork ceilings and lavish furniture have reached an apex of art and design.
Particularly worth seeing are the Great Gallery, where portraits hang of all the Scottish monarchs, and the Throne Room. The audio guide tells you about the apartments' long royal history as well as their modern-day use, such as lunches for the Knights and Ladies of the Order of the Thistle nowadays hosted in the Throne Room.
The highlight of a visit, though, is the apartments of Mary Queen of Scots, which include the tiny cosy room where she and her friends were interrupted one night by her husband, Lord Darnley, whose guards dragged Mary's friend David Rizzio out into her outer chamber and murdered him.
As well as items pertaining to Mary's short but turbulent reign, these chambers also act as a museum full of royal curiosities, with charming handwritten information signs.
Other highlights include the beautiful ruined Holyrood Abbey, and the adjoining Queen's Gallery, which has a rolling programme of excellent exhibitions.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse offers special visits and private tours for groups. Visit goo.gl/eDGBhN
Dynamic Earth
Two minutes from Holyrood, this excellent, interactive attraction offers groups vast scientific insight into the planet we live on, focusing on how it is ever-changing.
Friendly guides lead the group through the imaginative experience. The first stop is a time machine that takes you back to the time of big bang, then you journey forwards through volcanoes and ice ages, to the first life on earth, through survivals and losses – all brought to life by a series of action-packed on-screen shows. Everything is very well done, with 4D used to good effect.
It's perhaps best suited to school groups, but nevertheless an exciting attraction for adults who want to learn more about the planet. We certainly learned a few things. Did you know, for example, that fir trees are conical in shape so that snow will easily slide off them?
The tour culminates in the exciting Show Dome, with a 20-minute film on a vast convex screen about potential alien life, narrated by actor Rupert Grint.
Group of 12+ get discounted entry and discounted meals, plus free fam visits for organisers, and coaches can drop off just outside. Visit dynamicearth.co.uk/visit/group-visits
Taste of Scotland Show
Particularly beloved of Edinburgh's many international groups, the Taste of Scotland Show at Prestonfield House packs everything that's wonderful about the country – its traditions, its music, its sense of humour, and of course its food – into one memorable night out.
Including a fantastic dinner, the 40-plus-year-old show kicks off the evening's entertainment with the 'ceremony of the haggis', when the hilarious host recites Robert Burns' famous poem over a great lump of the stuff (“great chieftain o' the puddin'-race!”). At this point, all the guests are served their own portion of haggis, and delicious it is too.
From then on, it's a relentless series of entertaining dancing, singing and music-making. Highland dancers perform their best in traditional dress (including the adorable Wee Highlanders), while bagpipes, the fiddle and the accordion are played, before folk singers give wonderful performances on songs both famous and unknown outside of Scotland. There are also chances for members of the audience to get on their feet and dance with the professionals, and the show's finale is a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne, which everyone joins in with.
The show takes place on certain dates through most of the year, and group rates are available. Visit scottishshow.co.uk
