Want to Spend a Quiet Day in Edinburgh? Here are some ideas to get away from the crowds

Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, is famous for its medieval history and its majestic castle that towers above the city. Recently, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has given tourists even more reason to travel to Edinburgh. Victoria Street looks strikingly similar to Diagon Alley, with its curved stone streets and medieval shops. Harry Potter fans also enjoy visiting Greyfriars Kirkyard, where it is theorized that J.K. Rowling got the names for some of her most popular characters, though that has never been confirmed by her.

Any kind of history, whether it revolves around culture, politics, lifestyle, media, or even food, fascinates me. I tend, however, to enjoy sites that are a little less crowded and not so campy.

If you’re looking for things to do or see in Edinburgh that are a little more low key, here are some of my top recommendations:

Take a slow walk and nap in the Royal Botanical Garden

Edinburgh is a beautiful city. So ancient and so grand. But the top thing that made my time there so special was that I was able to see one of my best friends while I was there. It was her first international trip, and I was beyond ecstatic to spend a couple of days romping around the city with her and her partner.

One of the places we visited that stands out the most in my memory is the Royal Botanical Garden. When she first brought it up, I assumed it would be very near to the Castle. Many castles I’ve visited in Ireland and Scotland have their gardens right next to or behind them. However, the Royal Botanical Garden in Scotland is not really that close to Edinburgh Castle. It’s actually about a mile walk from the city center.

You could easily spend an entire day at the gardens - it is one of the largest plant collections in the world and is spread out over 70 acres. 

When we entered the gardens we immediately plopped down onto a patch of soft grass and took a short nap. It was a cool day, but sunny, one of those ideal spring days. All you need is a light jacket…. sorry.

There are so many collections to explore. We took our time strolling through the rock garden, the fields of rhododendrons, the woodland gardens, arboretum, and my personal favorite, the Chinese hillside. I had way too much fun searching for the miniature toy pandas hidden along the path.

I’ll let the photos of the gardens speak for themselves, but really there is so much to see. It's the perfect excursion for a leisure outing.

Take a walk through a storybook village

This remarkable village is only a ten-minute walk from the city center, but you’ll feel like you’re in an entirely different world as you make your way into the heart of it. It looks like something out of a fairytale. 

Dean Village is not an unknown spot. Given its aesthetic charm, influencers can be seen snapping their soon-to-be filtered travel photos wearing their flowy dresses and oversized hats. It’s still worth a visit, in my opinion, because it truly is unique, and it's not overrun by tourists... yet.

Perhaps even more enjoyable than exploring the beauty of the Georgian homes and idyllic streets was meandering along the Water of Leith Walkway. Had I had my bicycle with me that day, I would have cycled the 7.5 miles to Balerno. There’s plenty of shade along the path so it would be a lovely way to spend a summer day.

Venture outside the city and let loose your inner explorer when you visit these castle ruins

About 5km from the city center is Craigmiller Castle, an ancient ruin site that was once favored by Mary Queen of Scots. While Edinburgh Castle is pretty magnificent, the Craigmiller ruins allows you to explore at will and tap into your inner Indiana Jones.

I took my bicycle, Dusty Carnation, for a ride to enter the ruins from a forested path that opened up to a grassy clearing on the hill. There are bike racks for parking your ride, and a tiny gift shop where you can pick up brochures covering other sites for visiting castle ruins, and pay for your entrance ticket. I don’t remember how much it was but if I recall accurately, it was a nominal fee. 

The compound is small, but steeped in history. At certain times of day they have educational talks in the gardens, and interpretive panels can be found throughout the site. There are many doorways, winding stone stairwells, and hidden passageways to keep your adventurous spirit entertained.

You can take a narrow stone stairway that twists itself up a tower onto the top of the castle ruins. In one tower I found some tiny rubber duckies. On a clear day you’ll be granted views of Edinburgh.

Take a short hike up to Arthur’s Seat

One of the many things I love about my friends is that, like me, their idea of travel involves outdoor activities. Rather than pay a hefty fee to tour Edinburgh Castle, we took a hike up to Arthur’s Seat to view the castle from the hilltop.

It’s not a difficult hike by any means, it’s under 5km both aways (or 3 miles) - it’s a good rest day activity to keep your joints moving. You’ll hike up stone steps and through grassy passes, catching sight of bright-colored flora and maybe even some wildlife. Once at the top, you’ll be gifted with expansive views of the entire city.

Arthur’s seat is the primary peak among a group of rolling hills that were formed by an ancient volcano over 350 million years ago. There are several legends surrounding the significance of this peak, including that it is named after King Arthur, though there’s no evidence to prove that theory. Make sense though.

My friends and I were quite amazed at the amount of smoothly manicured green space in the city. We took advantage of several parks throughout the city, including Holyrood, to laze about and even nap. One of my favorite things is seeing the runners in the parks.

End the evening with gelato and a slow walk through an old graveyard

Harry Potter fans may visit Greyfriars Kirkyard in search of tombstones engraved with the names of some of Rowling’s famous characters, but there’s much more to enjoy about this small cemetery tucked within the city.

My friends and I had visited the cemetery earlier in the day, and after spending a full day in the sun we decided to see it at night, mainly because their hostel was nearby but we weren’t ready to say goodbye. The kirkyard is open 24 hours a day so it’s a good choice for a nighttime venture.

We grabbed a sweet treat at Artisan gelato, a shop that dates back to the 1850’s, and took a stroll through the cemetery to experience the spooky, evening ambience. Truly, it gives off a mystical vibe at night that you don’t get from it during the day. The most stunning feature, in my opinion, is where the cobblestones slope gently down towards the west entrance/exit. Just from the top of the slope you can see the dark spire of a tower looming above the rooftops. There’s almost a purple color drawing a silhouette in the sky. It’s fantastic.

There are two entrances to the kirkyard; the main gate takes you straight to the headstone of Greyfriars Bobby, the famous Sky Terrier who guarded his owner’s grave for 14 years. When little Bobby died he was buried just outside the kirkyard on Candlemaker Row, where a bronze statue was erected in his honor. As you can see, people still visit his marker and lay sticks for him.

The cemetery is small so it doesn’t take long to walk through it entirely, but my friends and I took our time, enjoyed our sweets, and laughed until our abs hurt. I always feel sad leaving my friends, but it didn’t take away from the gratitude I felt about spending this time with them, and in such a magical place.

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