It's just one of many interesting closes along the Royal Mile. This one is named after the Lord…read moreAdvocate's House. The house of Sir James Stewart used to be at the lower end the stairs near Cockburn St. It's literally steps away from the Supreme Courts building in Parliament Square. Well, about 70 steps up. Today, it's more of a shortcut between Market Street and the Royal Mile. The best feature of Advocate's Close is actually the perfectly framed view of the Scott Monument through the archway. You'll also see how high you are on the hill when walking up or down this steep & worn set of stairs. Hopefully they will add handrails to it one day like others that we've seen throughout the city. I mean, they don't call them "Death Stairs" for nothing. Oh, and theres's a very popular gastropub called the Devil's Advocate near the bottom of the steps. We didn't get to visit it, but it came highly recommended. It's just another reason to visit it.

Edinburgh is riddled with closes and Advocate's Close is a fine example of these narrow lanes that…read moreconnect streets throughout and behind the Royal Mile. The tall buildings that line the path give many closes a canyon-like feel with many of them sloping steeply down from the Royal Mile. It's like walking into the underground! Advocate's Close is particularly popular with tourists and I can see why. At the top, it offers a beautiful peek-a-boo view of the Sir Walter Scott Monument in the distance and some of Edinburgh's central buildings. Walk all the way down and it connects you to Cockburn Street below. Definitely try walking through a close or two as they are great shortcuts to get from one street to another along the Royal Mile.

Real Mary King's Close was one of the most eerie, immersive experiences I had in Edinburgh. It…read moreisn't about Scotland's royalty or power struggles. It's about survival and daily life through really dark times. I took a guided tour with Daisy, and she was absolutely incredible! So knowledgeable, genuinely funny, and her acting and storytelling took you back in time... literally. It never felt scripted or forced, just engaging and real. She was so warm and sweet, which made the experience even better. It's hard to believe she's only 25 given how much depth she brought to the tour.

Went to the Real May King's Close tour based on a recommendation and didn't really do any research…read more It turned out to be one of the best tours of our 7 day trip thru Dublin, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. In case you don't already know, the current Edinburgh city center is built on top of the old city that is several hundred years old. This tour takes you beneath the streets to the old city. You will see the original close with houses and workshops. You will learn how they lived, "meet" other prominent people of that time, and learn about the black plagues. Really cool tour, very informative, and sometimes funny. Please note this tour is NOT for people with mobility issues or concerns. Tours leave on time from the street front store. So, be on time. They can't easily add you to your group if they have already left and gone underground. Highly recommended that you buy your tickets in advance. P.S. Photos are prohibited, and they try to sell you a picture of yourself in the old close on the way out. Tacky, I know, but still worth it.

The oldest pub in Linlithgow, this tavern actually derives its name from the town coat of arms…read more The pub is a traditional, local pub, but very welcoming. They are proud of their namesake, which centres on the story of the black greyhound of Linlithgow, whose master was imprisoned on an island in the middle of the nearby Loch and sentenced to starve to death. Everyday the greyhound swam out to her master with food and ended up saving his life. The locals call themselves 'Black Bitches' after the dogs symbolic loyalty. A great local, if quiet, tavern serving a range of real ales. It also has a nice beer garden. Apparently there is a folk music night every third Sunday of the month too.

Despite an incredibly un-PC name, The Black Bitch in Linlithgow is quite surprisingly not filled…read morewith wall to wall Ku Klux Clan members and Daily Mail readers. Instead it's an old-fashioned, traditonal pub in an Edinburgh dormitory town filled to bursting with old fashioned, traditional pubs. Apart from the bizarre cross-burning moniker, there's not too much to get excited about. A few years back my cronies and I would come out in Linlithgow quite a bit as we begun to look for a more serene nightlife experience. The Bitch wasn't always on our radar, but on the occasions we did come in it was perfectly adequate.

From all the social media post I've seen, this was on my list for places to check out in Edinburgh…read more First visit, we actually went to the wrong location...lol.... Made up for the next time. It's a good 15 min or so in the car from downtown Edinburgh or you could walk. We ended walking as it gave us a chance to see things that we've missed from all the other time we've visited. It was probably a half hour walk just taking our time. Faster if we didn't stop to look at things and take pictures. Right when you get to the location, there's Dean Bridge that crosses over. If you reached it, the village is right below. There's a little cobble stone street that literally takes you to the Instagram spot where I've seen. It's another little bridge that looks down to the town. A river below which was somewhat frozen. Of course everyone is there for the same reason, to get the perfect shot. The cute painted homes and rustic architecture gives it a gothic vibe. Walking along the cobble stone streets and checking out the little village was pretty calm. There's even a path that runs along the river you can walk along. The village itself isn't that big. Even though it was winter, the place was still beautiful. Imagine the warmer season when everyone is walking around, it'll get crowded but beautiful. If you walk under Dean Bridge, there's a main path that will take you back to the city. It's wider and below the homes but a really nice walk. People out for their jog or casually strolling. This place was very cute. Nothing big but something worth checking out. The power of social media know what it's doing.

Agree with all the other reviews! Dean Village was such a charming walk during our time in…read moreEdinburgh. On a rainy day, it wasn't too crowded, and the views are beautiful, especially considering how close it is to the city center.

We came to Edinburgh for the Taylor swift concert and wanted to do some exploring. My 13 year old…read moredaughter and her friend made it clear they didn't want to do any sightseeing so we looked for fun activities that appealed to teens...and came across this. We found this to be a fun way to kill 90 minutes in this cool city. There's all sorts of rooms with optical illusions, but you also get to enjoy amazing views of Edinburgh on the rooftops. The girls seemed to enjoy, although the favorite part was probably the last room which included some a mirror maze and something that made me super dizzy. Recommended for kid/teen fun!

Pretty cool with or without kids, stunning views from atop. Multilevel, nice gift shop and opens up…read morenext to the Edinburgh Castle. Book ahead, we had to purchase tickets and wait another two hours to get in.

The Merchant City pretty much covers everything from George Square to High St, and is one of my…read morefavourite parts of Glasgow. Classed as a residential area, you'll also find all sorts of businesses: from the City Chambers, GOMA, bars, cafes and restaurants. Not to mention music venues like The Fruitmarket and City Halls. The buildings are beautiful - you'll find quite a few of them poem to the public during Doors Open Day each September - look out for St Andrews in the Square. One of the focal points is Merchant Square - a converted market with an awesome internal roofed courtyard, which is surrounded by bars, restaurant, and is home to a weekly craft and design fair. The Merchant city festival runs for around 10 days every July, and is well worth a wander round. All in all, one of the friendliest and most vibrant places to be.

My first ever visit to Merchant City was pretty underwhelming - I'm going to say that during the…read moreday in the middle of the week, this area can seem a bit dull. At night is when it really comes alive and there's lots going on! You have the obvious drawcard of Merchant Square but personally, I don't love the offerings. Other streets of Merchant City have great bars and restaurants, and a few favourites for me are Guy's Restaurant, Wilson Street Pantry for brunch, Spitfire Espresso for a great cake/meeting/working spot and Blackfriars for a pint. New additions like BrewDog and Hutchesons are just wonderful, and really add something special to this great part of Glasgow. Parking can be a pain so I recommend parking at King St car park which is a great excuse to pop into the 13th Note/Mono for a pre-post soft drink. There's also a fabulous walking tour/art trail you can do if you pick up a leaflet at GOMA which shows off some of the amazing art in this area.

This close was named after the Lady Stair's House which is now the Writers' Museum. The house dates…read moreback to 1622. It currently is a museum celebrating Scottish Poets. The large courtyard in Lady Stair's Close is called Makar's (or Poets) Court. It's very recognizable with the historical gas lamp in the middle of it. You'll also see that the stones in the court are inscribed with quotes from Scottish poets and writers. It can be a pleasant atmosphere in the day, or a creepy one at night. I believe the ghost tours do pass through here at night. I can see why a scene from Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" was filmed here (the execution scene). This area can easily be adapted into a 17th century setting. It's another hidden close that shouldn't be missed while heading up to the castle.

A great place of history with points of interest dotted around from the walls to the ground, its…read morelike going back in time and I love it.

The Black Rocks are a set of rocks which sit in the bay of Burntisland and are a popular…read moredestination for walkers. When the tide is out and the Firth of Forth is in full retreat it is possible to walk all the way from the mainland to these rocks! The rocks are a well known land mark as you look out from Burntisland and the local area. Indeed, these rocks are also a firm favourite with geologists, who are fascinated by the minerals on the Black Rocks. Defiantly worth a trip to, however before you go for your walk I would advise you to find out the times of when the tide goes out and then back in! You would not want to be stuck out on them when the tide comes in!

I thoroughly enjoyed my tour with The Cadies & Witchery Tours. I was looking for an intimate…read moreexperience where I felt comfortable asking questions and this was it!!! From the moment I walked into their storefront to inquire about the tour options... I met with Robin and felt right at home. She mentioned that this was a newer tour that Robert researched and put together in 2020. It was rich in history, unique stories, and we had the ability to ask questions along the way (while exploring Greyfriars Kirkyard). If you are looking for a tour that gives you a genuine feel for the souls that have been laid to rest in Greyfriars, this is it.

We had fun on this tour and for us that is what matters. The tour guides were fun, they dressed up…read moreas characters, got into it and were fun. One person did the tour as one character and the other came in as a character and surprised us coming in as different characters every so often. This was about the tour guides being fun and the story told around different streets. If you are wanting serious ghostly locations and happenings this maybe is not for you. It may also good for older children. We had good fun and for £10 per person was good value.

It's a tired cliche in Scotland to harp on about the stunning countryside "on our doorstep" that we…read morepay little attention to, but a trip on The West Highland Line proves that even if Scotland is a country filled with bitter, self pitying drunkards, it's an exceptionally good looking one. This rail line is considered amongst the most scenic in the world, and takes you through Loch Lomond, various mountain ranges, past Oban then onto Fort William. The scenery really is beyond belief at some points, with notable money shots being the Loch Lomond section which is viewed from halfway up a mountain (or a big hill, I'm not sure), and towards the end of the line when the train crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct, a magnet for tourists as it was used in the Harry Potter films. There is one slight downside. Despite the summer months being packed with bumbag wearing tourists, Scotrail use an older, slower, and sometimes quite uncomfortable train for this service. It's either down to bad business sense or deliberate usage of a slower train for lovers of the rugged terrain, but it grates that they don't even bother with the buffet car. It's not too huge a deal though, and shouldn't detract from what's always a jaw dropping journey.