But, as the rest of Scotland, Edinburgh can be hard on the budget, so here is the perfect weekend in Edinburgh that won’t make your wallet cry :

DAY 1

The first thing to do is to walk the Royal Mile, Edinburgh’s life center. Start at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and make your way up until you arrive at the Castle. Along the Royal Mile, here are a few stops I would recommend (all of them are free) :

The museum of childhood (42 High Street), a strange little place devoid of tourists where you’ll find  three stories full of old toys. A little creepy at times (I’m not the only one to find old dolls creepy right?) but fun !

Saint Giles Cathedral. I’m not in the habit of visiting religious sites, but I stumbled in there to take shelter from the rain. I still don’t know why but this cathedral’s beauty and grandeur really moved me. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that it was made so long ago by people’s hands and sweat and I felt humbled.

The Writer’s house (access through Lady Stair’s House in Lawnmarket). Here you’ll find relics from three famous scottish writers (Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson). A quick visit for literature lovers.

The Royal Mile ends in front of the Castle. There’s a horde of tourists waiting in front for the opening of the doors and there’s a very high entry fee, so don’t go in. There’s a lot of better castles in Scotland where you won’t be run down by people with cameras anyway.

I expect you’ll start feeling hungry by this time, so make your way south. Just in front of the New University is a place called « Central Takeway » (15-16 Teviot Place) that makes really good lunch deals. Don’t expect a gourmet meal, they only serve really greasy and filling food. When I found this place I caught a lunch deal, for only 2£ I had one big slice of pizza and a good serving of chips. There’s not a lot of room but you can sit down at the counter.

Once your stomach feels satisfied, you’ll find you’re very near the National Museum of Scotland (Chambers Street, free entry). If you only do one museum in Edinburgh, it has to be the one. It’s huge and covers absolutely everything that ever happened in Scotland. Before you leave, make your way to the roof terrace. The view up there is unbelievable, you can see the whole of Edinburgh around you !

At 3pm or 4pm depending on the season, you can join the Potter Trail, a free walking tour centered around Harry Potter. Even if you’re not a huge nerd like me, you can still enjoy the visit of some corners of Edinburgh you would not find alone, along with the stories about the place delivered by their amazing guides. The walk starts in front of the Greyfriar’s Bobby Bar and lasts for about an hour and a half. The tour will take you through the Greyfriars’ Graveyard, where you can see several famous names on the gravestones. It’s supposed to be the most haunted place in Scotland … All information about the tour to be found here

At this point, you can return to your accommodation for a break and a meal. I encourage you of course to use Couchsurfing or Airbnb, as staying with locals is the best, cheapest and greenest way to enjoy a city. But if you didn’t find a local to host you, there’s a wealth of hostels in Edinburgh. I visited in late september and the first two hostels I went to were booked, so try to anticipate so you don’t find yourself having to take a room in an expensive hotel.

Eat with your host of make a grocery run to cook at your hostel. As I was a little bit out of options, I stayed at the High Street Hostel where you’ll find a good atmosphere and a lot of backpackers for 15£/night.

Right before sunset, go for a stroll (and a drink if you can afford it) through Grassmarket, the meeting point of Edinburgh’s night birds.

DAY 2

After taking a good breakfast with your host / bunkmates, head north for New Town.

On the way, stop at the National Gallery of Scotland (two buildings : one on Princes Street and the other at The Mound, free entry). If you’re not in the mood to spend three hours looking at paintings, go straight upstairs for the masterpieces : Delacroix, Monet, Gauguin, …

Take your time discovering New Town and swing by Henderson’s (94 Hanover Street). Henderson’s is a vegetarian restaurant where you can eat your fill for less than 10£. If the sun is out, go downstairs to their grocery shop instead to buy what you need for a picnic, it will be even less expensive !

Take your full belly or your picnic all the way to Inverleith Park (where you can enjoy the said picnic). The walk there will take you through Edinburgh’s suburb, where there are no more tourists and you can see how Edinburgh’s inhabitants actually live (which is not too badly).

Right next to Inverleith Park are the Royal Botanic Gardens (free entry). It was pouring rain when I went, so I don’t think I was able to really appreciate the place (and the squirrels were all hiding), but I could tell it had the potential for a peaceful and magnificent afternoon.

That’s it ! Although Edinburgh is best seen on foot, you can always take the bus, especially for Inverleith Park that can seem a bit far for those not accustomed to walking all day.

I hope this guide to the perfect budget weekend in Edinburgh was helpful !

You don’t need any prior experience to walk the West Highland Way, other than being in good health. I did it as a complete newbie and I managed. The trail is well-marked and there’s so many people doing this trek that, if you run into trouble while being alone, you would only have to wait for about 10 minutes before another hiker shows up. That’s how long I had to wait in September when I felt skittish about going alone through some Highland Cattle that blocked the trail.

If you go there in July-August, I heard there’s even more people on the trail. It would be a shame in my opinion, since some of my best memories there where when I was completely alone in the highlands, with no sign of human activity anywhere and just the endless trail in front of me. That’s an impressive sight.

How long does it take ? There’s several itinerary available. Usually, it takes between six to nine days to complete it. I chose the six days option. Most people I saw along the trail were doing it in six or seven days, but half of them decided to take a bit more time after the third day (the hardest one on the legs) !

Side note : every year in June is the West Highland Way Race, where people run the trail in less than 35 hours ! But these people are obviously crazy. Thinking back on some hard parts of the trail, it seems completely impossible to me to run instead of slowly dragging your feet while hyperventilating …

To end with the practical side of this post : there’s an amazing company called Travel lite that will take your backpack or suitcase and deposit it every night where you intend to sleep. No matter how many days it takes you to do the trail or how heavy your luggage is, it’s only 45£ by bag. Even for a budget traveller like me, it was well worth it rather than having to carry my tent and all of my stuff with me. You might not need it if you choose to stay in guesthouses and hotels rather than camp out, but I’m pretty sure it will cost you more in the end.

My one regret is that I had to miss out on the fourth day because of a knee injury (not related to the trail, I had a bad knee before). I walked through the pain the rest of the way, and I don’t regret it, but because of this I don’t think I’m done with the West Highland Way. I will come back one day and do it in full !

You only need one book to walk the West Highland Way, it’s the one by Charlie Loram. There’s hand drawn maps really easy to follow, indications of every accommodations and places to eat on the way and every thing else you might want to know about the trail.

As I kept discovering this history, I also had a strong impression of déjà-vu. But it wasn’t till I read the commemorative plaque in Glencoe that it all fell into place : I had already read this story ! This was Game of Thrones !

If you are not yet up to date on the books or series (book and season 5), I warn you NOW that big spoilers are coming up and, for your own sanity, I advise you to read about something else, like how to experience the perfect budget weekend in Edinburgh, or the time I hiked the West Highland Way. These are all Scotland-related but won’t make you cry for a week.

I already said to much. Last call, GO AWAY NOW.

Okay, I consider that sufficient warning, let’s move on.

GLENCOE MASSACRE

One of the deepest scar on Scotland’s history. When hospitality is equal to a sacred oath of trust, you expect to feel safe once you’ve shared salt. In 1662’s Scotland, the Macdonalds suffered the costs of that betrayal when they were massacred by those they had welcomed in their house.

Martin used this story to create the Red Wedding, one of the most traumatic scene in the book (or on TV), where the Starks felt safe with their host for the happy occasion of a wedding, when in fact they had been trapped, leading to an almost complete massacre of our favorite family.

HADRIAN’S WALL

Construction started on Hadrian’s Wall in 122 AD in order to separate the good citizens of britain from the « northern barbarians ». Running from coast to coast, it’s strongly reminiscent of the Wall guarded by the Night’s Watch in Game of thrones. In both contexts, the barbarians turned out to be not that barbarous, just humans after all.

LORD OF THE ISLES

It used to be that the isles west of Scotland (including the well known Skye) were governed by people independently from other countries, although they were technically scottish. They had their own traditions, lived in harmony with the sea and had enormous influence because they had the most ships. Kind of like the Greyjoy you say ? It doesn’t stop there. John MacDonald II, Lord of the Isles, wanted to expend and turned on Scotland, making a deal with its then enemy : England. The treason was revealed and John had to give his estates and titles over to Scotland, destroying his own dynasty for good.Why, Theon, why ?

BATTLE OF PRESTONPANS

Remember way back when we all just thought Rob would end up being king and all was going to end in a happily ever after musical number with birds singing and babies laughing ? Rob actually won his reputation as a good leader and strategist in the battle of the Whispering Wood.

Badly outnumbered, but having a better knowledge of the terrain, Rob split his army in two, sending one half on each flank of the confused Lannister army, winning the battle with glory. In Prestonpans, highlanders in the same situation tried the same tactic with the same results. Problem was that both Rob and the Highlanders had just won a battle but were about to lose the war …

Indeed, not very long after the Battle of Prestonpans happened Culloden, a bloody battle that turned out to be a massacre of poor, starving, badly armed, outnumbered highlanders.

That day signed the English victory over the jacobites and the end of an era. Scottish culture was banned. Whole clans had been wiped out on the field. Persecution and famine followed, putting the whole country in a state of acute misery.

So for you Game of thrones’ fans out there, let’s just collectively pray to the Many-Faced God that Culloden is not coming up…