Day Trip: Linlithgow

Linlithgow has the most interesting church in terms of blending old and new. Within easy striking distance of Edinburgh, Linlithgow castle is a fun one to go to on a medieval tournament day! 

Fast facts:

• Distance from Edinburgh: 19 miles
• Using public transport: 20 minutes
• History: Mary Queen of Scots was born here
• What there is to do: visit the church and the castle

Pros:

• The castle is an easy walk from the train station
• The train is quite direct
• The castle is on the Historic Scotland pass
• It does not feel like an overwhelming amount to see and do - unlike Stirling Castle for example

Cons:

• The castle is so ruinous that it is hard to imagine it ever being a cozy home - it is freezing even in June!

Holyrood House

Holyrood House is the original Renaissance safe house with an insurance package - the attached abbey where royal exiles could flee for sanctuary. The palace is beautiful and still a residence of the queen so you may not be able to view it particularly in late June or any other time if the royal family is in occupation.

History

Dating to the 1100's for the abbey, there have been many building projects over the years. The current abbey was destroyed during the Reformation by a mob.

Planning your visit

You should allow at least an hour and a half for Holyrood House. We enjoyed the audio tour.

There is parking nearby and the 35 bus goes quite close.

If you get your ticket stamped at the end, it turns into a year pass.

Holyrood House usually has a free day near or on St. Andrew's Day - on that day you cannot turn your ticket into a year pass.

Taking Kids

What could be more fun than going to see the queen's house?

We actually enjoyed the front courtyard most. There were the guard posts.

and the lion sculptures on random walls

The palace has a children's room. There are coloring sheets available.

Also laid out are old fashioned toys and tools.

There are costumes.

What really disgusts me is that the Holyrood House website claims the gardens are wonderful and well worth a visit - but when we visited there were signs everywhere saying to keep off the grass and every path except the main thoroughfare was roped off!

It is a gross lie to say it's a great place for kids to explore when there's nothing to explore! We were done doing the garden path circuit in 5 minutes.