If you’re staying at Craigwell Cottage, you’ll have access to free wi-fi and many of our guests find it helpful for keeping up to date with their emails or booking tickets for events while they’re here.

Apps for Edinburgh

If you’re an iPhone user, then there are some Edinburgh Apps which you might like to download ready for your visit.

Edinburgh Spotlight’s iEdinburgh app gives you an insider’s view on places to eat, current events and perennial favourites around Scotland’s capital city – you’ll even find a review of Craigwell Cottage in there.

The EdinBus app provides up to the minute information about bus timetables.

Getting last minute tickets at last year’s Edinburgh Festival and Fringe was made more exciting by the Theatre Ninjas app – great if you’re in town and want to take in a show.

And if you’re an Ian Rankin fan and would like to take narrated walks round the Edinburgh featured in his novels, then the Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh app is the one for you.

The Walking Through Time app developed as a joint project between Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, and the National Library of Scotland overlays historic maps on present day ones so that you can see historic changes as you walk round the centre of Edinburgh.

Do you have a favourite app for your mobile phone which you’ve used when visiting Edinburgh?  Leave me a comment and I’ll check it out.

I’m excited to see that the Granturismo Project being undertaken by Lara Dunston and Terry Carter will culminate in the two globe-trotting travel writers spending two weeks in Edinburgh in January 2011. They’ve chosen a great property in Edinburgh’s historic New Town to base their stay.

Over the course of the last year, it’s been entertaining to dip in and out of their posts to see what their latest adventure or discovery has been as they make their way slowly around the Globe, staying in vacation rental homes in each of their destinations. Self-catering holiday property stays are favoured by more and more travellers who like the options to eat out or eat in, get up late, or get up early – in short to enjoy freedom to relax and enjoy slowing down and remembering to savour cultural and local highlights wherever they choose to spend their precious days away from normal routine.

I look forward to seeing what culinary discoveries they make when exploring Edinburgh – they’ll be able to buy a great range of Scotland’s best produce at the weekly Edinburgh Farmers’ Market, and I’m sure they’ll be sampling haggis, whisky and shortbread. A personal favourite would also be a trip to Clark’s Fishmongers in Musselburgh. Where else in Edinburgh do you think we should recommend they visit to source local delicacies?

Clark's Musselburgh

Thanks to the folks at Informed Edinburgh, I’ve just been reading about of a walking route which follows the trail of ancient pilgrimages from Edinburgh to St Andrews. A book by Cameron Black called ‘The Saint Andrew’s Way – Restoration of a Medieval Pilgrimage’ is due to be released. You can obtain copies by emailing standrewsway@ymail.com

With excellent public transport routes from Edinburgh to Fife, Craigwell Cottage might just be a possible base for walkers who come to Edinburgh to start the walk and intend to walk it in sections. And even a stay at Sandcastle Cottage, our lovely seaside home in Fife, might be an alternative base for those wishing to walk sections of the Fife part of the walk.

I’ve entered the competition to win a guide, but it will be going on my Christmas wish list too! Would be great training for next year’s Edinburgh Moonwalk which I’ll be walking towards during 2011.

St Andrews Cathedral

Came across this little publication by Kerry Nelson

Kerry Nelson's Pocket Guide to Edinburgh Walks

This is it, girls [and boys in bras], the night we’ve been training for. Edinburgh hosts the 2010 MoonWalk event this evening, raising money for a very good cause.

Saw the tented village in Inverleith Park yesterday.  No doubt a hive of activity this afternoon.  Have the kit all laid out. Costumes will hopefully cover a multitude of sins – hopefully flying the flag is still ok even if it is supposed to be a Mardi Gras theme – Scotch Pancakes anyone?

Weather forecast looks good, and it looks like it will be a settled night, so I’m really looking forward to it, but just a teeny bit nervous, and not coping well with sitting about waiting!

One of the popular activities for guests who stay at Craigwell Cottage is to take a walk round Arthur’s Seat in Holyrood Park.

I’ve mapped out a route for you so that you can decide if you want to add it to your list of activities while you’re staying here. Or if you head for the Scottish Parliament at the end of the Royal Mile, then you can pick up the route from there no matter where you’re staying!

The route is just under 4 miles, and it is quite steep at the start, but you will want to take frequent stops to allow for taking photographs and maybe making little videos, so allow a couple of hours. There are no restrooms on the route, and no shops, so if it is a hot day it would be advisable to take a bottle of water with you and make sure you put on some sunscreen. A good stout pair of walking shoes or trainers (sneakers) should suffice, and after the first mile or so the route follows a tarmac pavement. The ‘off road’ part of the walk is along a rough track which is wide enough for 3 people to walk side by side, but do take care as the ground falls away very steeply beside the path, so don’t get too close to the edge.

To pick up the path in front of Salisbury Crags, keep the Scottish Parliament building to your right, but stay on that side of the road, crossing Queen’s Drive and turning left along the side of the cycle track on the south side of Queen’s Drive. You should see a short flight of steps leading up to the track – turn right there and start your climb. Follow the track until you descend to Queen’s Drive, then follow it round the south side of Arthur’s Seat, passing Duddingston Loch and Dunsapie Loch and then descending to pass St Margaret’s Loch and returning to your starting point near Holyrood Palace.

There are many opportunities for photography, and if you’ve timed your walk to finish in time for “elevenses” or afternoon tea, then we’d be happy to recommend a visit to Foodies at Holyrood, Clarinda’s Tearoom or the Queen’s Gallery Cafe.

While you’re staying at Craigwell Cottage, it’s only a short walk to
Holyrood Park. In a little over an hour this morning a friend and I
walked round Arthur’s Seat on footpaths, enjoying the early autumn
sunshine. There is a useful guide to walks in Holyrood Park available at:

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/holyrood-park-suggested-walks.pdf