Interesting places in the area of Edinburgh

Interesting places in the area of Edinburgh

If you ever happen to be in Edinburgh for longer, here are interesting places to go on a one-day trip. All checked and / or recommended by the Scots themselves!!
PENTLAND HILLS

I have already admired the Pentlands on the blog, but it's worth doing again. It is a large mountain massif and a park that can be reached by public bus from Edinburgh. In fact, it is the nearest "mountain" area near the city - others are located in the northwest and the trip can be very long if you do not have a car.
Pentland Hills, on the other hand, offer nice views of the city, long walking paths and famous (for Big Travels) hairy cows. In the south of the Pentland there is also the so-called Little Sparta - a poetic garden inspired by ancient Rome.

Access: bus number 4 from Princes Street towards Magdalene; best get off at the Snowsports Center.

ST ANDREWS

University and golf town. You must know that golf comes from Scotland and the Scots are extremely proud of it. In St Andrews, golf competitions are organized in which celebrities and the best golfers participate. The price of renting the Old Course is about 200 pounds in the season.
The most important, however, is the University of St Andrews (where I had the pleasure to work) - it is the oldest in Scotland and occupies the greater part of the city.
However, if you are not interested in visiting one or the other, it is worth going to St Andrews. The center consists of charming narrow streets, a ruined cathedral (once the largest in Scotland), a ruined castle, and a long pier. The whole looks like a medieval rich town with charming ruins - definitely worth a look.

Access: by Scotrail from Edinburgh. The price of a train ticket depends on how early you book it. When shopping online, you can pick up tickets at an electronic "kiosk" at any station or can send them for free to anywhere in the UK.

The center of St Andrews is quite far from the train station, but there are often buses running from there - the journey is around 2.5 pounds one way.

FORTH BRIDGE

2.5 km railway bridge over the Firth of Forth. It has a characteristic construction with rhombuses and a strongly red color. It connects Edinburgh with north-east Scotland and you can see it from a distance - even from the island of Cramond. Up close you can see the Forth Bridge from one of the restaurants in South Queensferry.

Access: by train from Edinburgh Waverly or Haymarket to Queensferry station.

GLASGOW

Glasgow does not enjoy a good reputation and is considered an ugly and boring place - quite unfairly, it's enough to know where to go. I was amazed by the beautiful building of the University (at Tumbler they think it looks like Hogwarts) and wide streets reminiscent of cities in the United States. The Botanical Garden looks very promising. In addition, despite the fact that Edinburgh is supposedly considered a city of culture, all the interesting concerts are held in Glasgow.
I was very pleased with my unplanned visit to this city. It's also nice that it takes less than an hour to get from Edinburgh.

Access: by Scotrail train from Edinburgh (Waverly or Haymarket station) to Glasgow Queen Street station. You can take any train through Glasgow, a hurried 50-minute ride, and a passenger wheel for 1.5 hours.

NATIONAL PARK LOCH LOMOND AND THE TROSSACHS

A great national park near Glasgow, in which there are m.in. numerous lakes, hills and the Alps Cowal and Arrochar (the highest peak is 1011 meters). You can swim by ferry, walk in the mountains, ride a bike - the views are beautiful and very Scottish. Have fun!

Directions: from Edinburgh you need to get Scotrail to Glasgow Queen Street, then change to the train going to Balloch. Driving time is a total of about 2 hours, so it's best to stay there overnight.

Additional places that are worth visiting "by the way":
Horses in Falkirk which I used to write about and the Falkirk Wheel lock
Tay Bridge in Dundee - a long bridge north of Dundee, on the way from Edinburgh to Aberdeen
Rosslyn Chapel - a fifteenth-century chapel in the village of Roslin near Edinburgh. Numerous legends are associated with it, it is said to hide one or all of these things: the Templar treasure, the treasure of the freemasons, the Holy Grail, the head of Jesus, the original Scottish coronation insignia.