Best caches in Edinburgh?

[+buttaskotch]

Hi, I am headed on a 1 week trip to Edinburgh on Friday. Just planned this late last week so am rushed to get everything together while working and prepping for my new job.

 

this will primarily be in Edinburgh but I may take a day to see Glasgow via public transport and thinking of seeing if there is a coach tour of the highlands---dying to go to the distilleries of the Scotches I so love.

 

Can anyone tell me of the "best" caches in terms of coolness, history, area, attraction? Any areas to avoid? And will there be a pub nearby? jk-well maybe not ;-)

[+Original A1]

Well you'll have a great time, whatever caching, drinking and everything else you get up to, but as far as caching is concerned, you'll be spoilt for choice.

 

If you want to get a feel for the history of the city, I'm told the multis around the Royal Mile area are great. I haven't done them yet myself, but other people speak well of them:

 

Up the Close and Down the Stair (GC6AA9)

Edinburgh's Royal Mile (GCKTYK)

Not Edinburgh's Royal Mile (GCKTYP)

 

Around the Castle:

Crag & Tail (GCHXMH)

GC10: Edinburgh Castle (GC25XQP) *BRAND NEW*

 

And the other end of the Royal Mile:

Holyrood Horror? (GCM021)

 

Down in Princes Street Gardens (on the way to the pub):

Monumental Writers (GC19CRM)

 

To clear the hangover, and because no visit to Edinburgh should overlook the best view in town:

Arthur's Seat Earthcache (GCNTAB)

There's also a mass of other caches in Holyrood Park

 

And if you feel like a more gentle walk of however long you want to make it, try the Water of Leith - it has lots of caches (refer to the blue ribbon on the map snaking its way through the city).

 

As to pubs - the place is full of them. I'm not a drinker, so will leave the recommendations to someone else.

 

Have fun!

 

[+Morton]

Like Original A1 said... Edinburgh's Royal Mile and Not Edinburgh's Royal Mile together make a fantastic tour down the old high street - better than you'll find in any guide book. Up The Close And Down The Stair is quite hard work, but takes you on a tour of the city centre while telling one of our most famous stories.

 

If you're here for a week you should definitely try to make it to the Water of Leith, which is a lovely old mill-stream which runs through the inner suburbs and is a veritable cache trail. Doing the full 12 miles is a bit of an undertaking, but one good way to do part of it is to take the free shuttle bus from the National Galleries Complex in the city centre to the Gallery Of Modern Art. You can get onto the Water of Leith from there - follow the signs or ask them inside - and walk generally north-eastwards towards the Royal Botanic Garden. You'll find several caches along the way and there are caches at the Gardens too.

 

You'll obviously go to Edinburgh Castle, but Craigmillar Castle, now in a suburb of Edinburgh, is also well worth a visit... if you don't mind venturing onto the buses. To the surprise of many visitors, our buses are safe and used by everyone, but can be bit perplexing! There are a couple of newish caches in the parkland around the castle which I haven't done yet, but it's a nice area.

 

And of course you can't help but experience our unique inner-city volcano, Arthur's Seat, which has many many caches all around it in the area of green space known as Holyrood Park.

 

this will primarily be in Edinburgh but I may take a day to see Glasgow via public transport and thinking of seeing if there is a coach tour of the highlands---dying to go to the distilleries of the Scotches I so love.

There certainly are coach tours of the Highlands - Rabbie's Trailblazers is probably the best-known company. I've never been on one of their tours but I've heard good things about them. Do bear in mind though that the picture-postcard bits of the Highlands are *hours* away from Edinburgh, so it's a lot of time in a minibus if you do it in a day.

 

If you are a lover of whisky then treat yourself to dinner at Amber restaurant at the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre in Edinburgh - the tourist attraction itself is irredeemably naff, but in the evenings they turn their cafe into a posh restaurant, where they match each course with a whisky.

 

Glasgow is very easy to get to by train, they go every 15 minutes at peak times and the journey takes well under an hour. But the one obvious option you don't mention is Stirling - that's also easy to get to by train and very tourist-friendly, with its own castle and an interesting old jail.

 

Any areas to avoid? And will there be a pub nearby? jk-well maybe not ;-)

Edinburgh is a very safe city and there are no true no-go areas. But I would stay away from Lothian Road and Tollcross (towards the west of the city centre) after about 10pm; people get very drunk and there are occasional incidents of random violence. Grassmarket and the Cowgate are rowdy, but not dangerous, on weekend nights or when there's a sporting event on. The same goes for Rose Street in the New Town. Calton Hill is known for (ahem) "activity in cars" after dark and is probably best avoided if you are on your own, which is a shame because the view at night is superb. All these places are perfectly fine during the day.

 

Craigmillar (as in the castle) has a reputation for being rough, but I reckon that's overstated, and in any case the castle itself isn't really in Craigmillar.

 

There are pubs, well, everywhere. Try the Guildford Arms (tucked round the back of the Burger King at the east end of Princes Street) for a nicely old-school British experience that's still welcoming for visitors. Or the Jolly Judge, down a side alley off the Royal Mile, for a more secret "find".

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

Cheers

Richard

[+The Slaughter Family]

we visited Edinburgh and loved The Royal Mile cache.....your own personal tour guide

[+Phil100]

Hi, I am headed on a 1 week trip to Edinburgh on Friday. Just planned this late last week so am rushed to get everything together while working and prepping for my new job.

 

this will primarily be in Edinburgh but I may take a day to see Glasgow via public transport and thinking of seeing if there is a coach tour of the highlands---dying to go to the distilleries of the Scotches I so love.

 

Can anyone tell me of the "best" caches in terms of coolness, history, area, attraction? Any areas to avoid? And will there be a pub nearby? jk-well maybe not ;-)

I think Edinburgh is not only a great city but also a great "caching city"!

 

One thing that I have noted is that a lot of the caches in the centre are multis. This can be a great way of seeing a place but, if you are only visiting for a short time or are "after the numbers", it can be a disadvantage!!

 

As far as multis are concerned a couple of my favourites are Stones of Scotland (GCYNT0) and The No.1 Ladies's Detecting Agency (GC1ZKPJ). Both of these can be researched on the Internet in advance of a visit and certainly the first revealed to me lots of information about Scotland that I didn't know. For the second cache, you don't need to have read the books but still enjoy the search on the Internet.

 

There aren't too many webcam caches around but there is Wolfing It (GCHWAP) and if you want a really difficult puzzle there is always Yobbies (GCWH8V). And, if you find it you could always send me a clue! I've tried about three times and still can't find it!!

 

There aren't many caches in central Edinburgh for TBs but if you want to drop one or collect one, or even if you don't, a must is Crag & Tail (GCHXMH). This is a great cache which is just off "the tourist trail" but will give you a very different view of the centre of Edinburgh!

 

And, of course, there is Holyrood Park! There are some great caches in this area with great views of the city and the surrounding area. The "must do" is Arthur's Seat Earthcache (GCNTAB) and if you do get to the top don't forget that you can also record the information to log it as a YOSM (GC45CC)!!

 

As far as good pubs are concerned - there are loads! Plenty on the Royal Mile. My own favourites are the ones that I visit whilst waiting for the train back to Newcastle - The Guildford Arms, The Cafe Royal and The Abbotsford. If you're an Ian Rankin fan The Oxford is "a must"!

 

Enjoy your stay; I'm sure you will.

[+Maple Leaf]

Have a look at Haggis Hunter's bookmark lists for ideas .... although he states that he doesn't update them anymore.

Edited October 22, 2010 by Maple Leaf

[+Haggis Hunter]

What they all said GC 10: Edinburgh Castle, previously mentioned, is also large enough for TB's and is a city centre cache.

My bookmark lists are still useful but I don't really keep them up to date any more. With that said if the cache is active on the list then it is still worth using the list. All of the lists are made with the tourist in mind, so you don't need your own transport.

[+buttaskotch]

You guys rock!!!! Thank you! I am leaving NYC this afternoon so totally stoked to cache and sightsee for 1 week. If anyone wants any TBs to head over to NYC let me know; you can PM me.

 

Someone mentioned a series "Lost Castle of the Fife" is this still around?

[+Original A1]

Not sure about Lost Castles of Fife, but an excellent series is Marmal's "Lost Castles of East Lothian" which I completed last weekend. You'll need to take plenty of time over them.

 

Wouldn't say "Yobbies?" is the best tourist cache; certainly not really a cache and dash.

 

But you have plenty to be keeping you out of trouble listed above.

 

[+MBFace]

I really enjoyed the Wherigo on Arthur's Seat The Lost World although it seems a bit pot luck as to whether or not your GPSr etc will run the cartridge.

[WarringtonBrowncoats]

Hi, I'm brand new to Geocaching and was about to post something very similar to Buttaskotch but it seems this thread has answered all my questions!

 

I'm off to Edinburgh in around 10 days. I've picked up a travel bug and a geocoin (completely by fluke - I've only done 3 caches so far!) and want to drop off both in Edinburgh.

 

The TB is a model Ferrari so I need a reasonable size cache - it looks like Crag and Tail is going to be my best bet from what people are saying.

 

I'm away with work so unlikely to be able to do lots of caching but will try to fit a few in if I get any spare time.

 

Hope you had a good time in Edinburgh, Buttaskotch.

 

WB

[+buttaskotch]

I think Crag & Tail had some issues, there were a few DNFs when I was there. Edinburgh Castle was a good sized cache for a TB.

 

Have fun! Edinburgh was a blast, oh and stop off at Oink for an insanely good pork sandwich on Victoria Street not too far from the cache

[+Haggis Hunter]

I think Crag & Tail had some issues, there were a few DNFs when I was there. Edinburgh Castle was a good sized cache for a TB.

The access gates to Crag & Tail get closed for periods of time throughout the year. There is no timetable for when this happens so the cache is left live all year round. The said DNF's were due to this. By all accounts access is now open again and you should be able to get access when you visit.

 

As for the Ferrari TB, if you can make it to Trotters Independent ‘Auto’ Traders (No. 44 bus will take you there) you will find a cache that is themed for cars. But please read the description before going.

[WarringtonBrowncoats]

Thanks for the tip Haggis Hunter. I wasn't able to make it to Trotter's Independent 'Auto' Traders due to time constraints but did make it to the Edinburgh Castle Cache and successfully dropped off my goodies.

 

No doubt I'll be back at some point to find some others.