August 24 th Trip
We will be traveling on this trip originating in Edinburgh. We are going a day early to be able to attend the Tatoo.
Anyone else out there going on this trip? Would love to chat with you!
Anyone else out there going on this trip? Would love to chat with you!
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It is if you tour, like us, during the Tattoo season. The Tattoo finishes on the 23rd August. We're on the tour starting on the 10th August and really looking forward to this great show.
Enjoy the Tattoo and the tour! You will have a great time!
Here is the view from our window at the Sheraton (we paid a bit extra for a "castle view.") We watched the jumbotron and reaction of the large crowd gathered in the plaza in front of the hotel as Andy Murray, a Scot and obviously the local hometown favorite (and hero), won Wimbledon last summer. On top of the high hill behind the round Usher Hall and Traverse theaters, is Edinburgh Castle. The Tatoo is performed at the opposite end of the castle in an area called the Esplanade. If you go around the right side, there are stairs leading up to it. Check it out on Google maps/earth. Give yourself 30 - 45 min to walk there or if you are lazy like me take a local (Lothian) bus to get closer- bus service in Edinburgh is great and there are a number of route/stops within a half block of the hotel- schedules are online.
We traveled everywhere in and near town using the bus the day and a half before our tour started- the Royal Yacht Britannia, Craigmillar Castle (well preserved, lightly visited ruin seen on Amazing Race), and Rosslyn Chapel (renewed interest due to Dan Brown's book the Davinci Code).
There are some other threads in the ESW forum by me and others with more info on things to do in Edinburgh before the welcome dinner. Edinburgh and surrounding area are fantastic.
Craigmillar Castle:
Rosslyn Chapel:
I hope your Tauck guide is "connected" as well as ours was:
Hi, Bert and ABC,
I'll expand upon my previous post.
If you check out the locations of the Sheraton Grand and the Castle on google maps, you will see that it is not a long walk - maybe 20 minutes. We took the tour last August and the Tattoo was included in our package. Tauck tried to provide transportation, but was only able to get us a couple of blocks closer to the castle from the hotel. The road to the castle is blocked off from the intersection of Spittal Street / Castle Terrace with Johnston Terrace. We then had to walk up Johnston Terrace and get in line to enter the Castle esplanade. Since there are thousands of people waiting to enter, the line of people extends from Castlehill down Johnston Terrace. Tauck had us arrive early and the line was already long enough that we joined it on Johnston Terrace.
So a taxi might be able to get you a few short blocks closer, but due to road closures for the Tattoo, you will need to walk most of the way. The walk is not long and it is well worth the effort to see the wonderful Tattoo! Have a great time!