A 4–Day Mother–Daughter Trip to Edinburgh

We began our day with a coffee and pastry from The Milkman, an iconic Edinburgh coffeeshop on Cockburn Street, after walking from Princes Street Gardens and the Scott Monument. Get there early to avoid the inevitable queue. From there, we walked to Islander UK, where we created bespoke, one-of-a-kind satchel bags, thanks to my daughter who found this experience.

After our bag-making, we went to the free National Museum of Scotland where we saw a collection of the Lewis chessmen as well as the cloned (and now stuffed) sheep, Dolly. We rounded off our day with a visit to the Greyfriars Kirkyard and a pint of Scottish beer at Greyfriars Bobby’s Bar. The story behind the canine monument is heartwarming, and the nearby cemetery is both eerie and beautiful.

Our day started with cheese toasties, a shared pasteis de nata, and, of course, coffee from Black Sheep Coffee (two locations on Princes Street). Thus fortified, we walked uphill to Edinburgh Castle, which is still a working military establishment. There is a daily gun salute at 11 a.m., and tours can be arranged on site. We then passed through the Grassmarket area to take in the vista from the Vernal viewpoint, which gives those Instagram-worthy pics of the castle.

From there, we re-traced our steps back towards the Royal Mile, where we shopped for all things wool and tartan, ending our afternoon at The Witchery—think dark academia vibes but with a proper high tea.

On our third day, we booked a tour that took us to Loch Ness with various detours to natural and historical stops along the way. While Loch Ness was the reason for our booking, our guide brought the Scottish Highlands to life with his passion for storytelling and his choice of accompanying music played on the coach. It was a long day, but so well worth it. I mean, where else can one see a hairy coo upfront in its natural habitat after failing to spot the ever-elusive Nessie?

Having caught up on some culture and history, we rewarded ourselves with a walk around New Town and splurged on some Scottish souvenirs. Sheila Fleet is a Scottish jewelry designer in whose boutique we spent an embarrassing amount of time deciding which pieces we wanted to take home as they are all unique and emblematic of particular areas of Scotland. We missed out on going to Waterstones, but it does have a lovely cafe with a fantastic view of the castle. Another British staple, Marks and Spencer, also maintains a large presence on Princes Street, and we browsed their market aisles with fervor for a good while, finally settling on bags of crisps and freshly baked cookies with mini Cadbury eggs. What a treat!

Properly outfitted and fed, we settled in for our last night of reading in Edinburgh and dreamed of our next trip back.