8 best day trips from Edinburgh

Day trips compared

The day trips

60 km · About 50 minutes by train

1.Stirling

Stirling Castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was crowned and Renaissance kings held court, stands on a crag above the battlefields of Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn. The National Wallace Monument rises on a wooded hill a short bus ride from the town.

Getting there

ScotRail train from Waverley

Best for

Culture, First-timers, Families

75 km · About 50 minutes by train

2.Glasgow

Scotland's largest city has free museums such as Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and the Riverside Museum, grand Victorian architecture, a strong live-music scene and some of the country's best shopping along Buchanan Street.

Getting there

ScotRail train from Waverley to Queen Street

Best for

Culture, Food lovers, Nightlife

12 km · About 45 minutes by bus

3.Rosslyn Chapel

This 15th-century chapel in Roslin village is covered in extraordinarily dense stone carving, including the Apprentice Pillar and scores of 'green men', and drew worldwide attention after appearing in The Da Vinci Code.

Getting there

Lothian bus 37 from the city centre

Best for

Culture, Couples, Quiet stays

15 km · About 15 minutes by train

4.South Queensferry and the Forth Bridges

Three bridges from three centuries span the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry, including the red cantilever Forth Bridge of 1890, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Summer boat trips from Hawes Pier sail beneath the bridges to Inchcolm Island and its medieval abbey.

Getting there

Train from Waverley to Dalmeny, then a short walk

Best for

Families, Couples, First-timers

85 km · About 1.5 hours by train and bus

5.St Andrews

The home of golf has the Old Course, Scotland's oldest university, the ruins of a vast medieval cathedral and a clifftop castle, and the long West Sands beach used in Chariots of Fire.

Getting there

Train to Leuchars, then a local bus

Best for

Couples, Culture, Beach

40 km · About 35 minutes by train

6.North Berwick

A seaside town with sandy beaches either side of its harbour, a short climb up North Berwick Law for views, and boat trips from the Scottish Seabird Centre around the Bass Rock, home to a huge gannet colony.

Getting there

ScotRail train from Waverley

Best for

Families, Couples, Beach

250 km · About 3.5–4 hours each way by coach tour

7.Loch Ness and the Highlands

Day tours from Edinburgh cross the Highlands via Glencoe or Pitlochry to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. It is a very long day with most of it on the road; an overnight stay in Inverness or Fort William is more relaxed.

Getting there

Full-day coach tour or hire car

Best for

First-timers, Culture

40 km · About 45 minutes by car

8.The Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel

The Kelpies are two 30-metre steel horse heads beside the Forth and Clyde Canal, and the Falkirk Wheel, a few kilometres away, is a rotating boat lift that raises boats between two canals.

Getting there

Hire car or tour; train to Falkirk, then bus or taxi

Best for

Families, First-timers

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• Tap a contactless card on the reader when boarding; drivers do not give change for cash fares.
• Waverley station, between the Old and New Towns, has trains to Glasgow, Stirling, North Berwick and the Highlands; Haymarket is the second city-centre station.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask