Welcome Week 2022 (and the weeks leading up to it) truly showed me a side of Edinburgh I’d never seen before. Blaming my lack of exploration and general 2021 laziness on Covid (because why not), I decided to do all those touristy things that I was embarrassed to not have done so far. Whether you’re new to the city or are in a similarly awkward boat (or are a wee tourist to Edinburgh), here’s a list of 10 undeniably Scottish things for you to do in Edinburgh.
1. Try Deep-Fried Mars Bars
Found in restaurants, pubs and taverns across the city, this sweet delicacy is an ingenious work of fat. Whoever had the absurdly brilliant idea of deep frying a plain old Mars bar has my utmost respect (and quite a bit of my money). Fair warning – I can’t promise you’ll love it, but I can assure you that you won’t hate it. My personal recommendation is the one from The Royal Mile Tavern (they serve it with some delish ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream), but they’ll be pretty good irrespective of where you eat them from.
2. Climb Arthur’s Seat
Twice as important if you’re a fresher! Ideally, you need to climb the hill at least once during welcome week. Even besides, if you pardon the freezing and brutishly strong winds at the summit, the view is worth it. The climb isn’t too long or strenuous (but you can expect to be out of breath), and if you pick a quieter time, the calm at the top is beautiful. I’ve been up at sunrise a couple of times and I highly recommend it, although I should warn you that you can’t really see the sunrise when it’s cloudy (which, obviously, is often). If you’re a tad bit more adventurous, go ahead and try the 7 Hills of Edinburgh challenge (and let me know how it goes, too, please).
3. Attend a ceilidh
I accidentally stumbled on my first ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) some time ago and I was instantly addicted. For all the newbies here, it’s a Scottish dance with a live band that instructs you on the moves, so even if you can’t dance to save your life, you’ll be just fine at a ceilidh! It’s not too difficult to grasp and making mistakes the first few times is what makes it even more fun, really. Ceilidhs are usually about 45 minutes long and in my head equate a full-blown cardio session. I wish I could describe them any better, but the vibe can hardly be captured in a paragraph (or twenty). If you’re looking to try it out, there are ceilidhs every Wednesday at Stramash around 9 pm, free entry!
4. Give Iron Bru a taste
You may think of Scotch whisky (not whiskey) as the most Scottish drink possible, but I can swear it’s Iron Bru. That is primarily because I’ve not met one non-Scottish person who likes it. Unlike with Deep-Fried Mars Bars, Iron Bru will likely lie on either end of the spectrum. You’ll likely be a member of the “I-hate-Iron-Bru” club, or a defensive member of the meagre minority of Iron Bru fans. One way or another, it’s a must-try, even if it’s just a sip.
5. Take the Dean Village photo
I’ve been to Dean Village twice and it’s hands-down the most touristy thing on this list. It’s so far from the city centre and there’s absolutely nothing else to do here except take the standard Dean Village picture (see right) that proclaims to the world that you are indeed in Edinburgh.
6. Have some haggis
Haggis is a fancy Scottish meat that even grosses out most meat-eaters. If you’re vegetarian, you can just be less embarrassed to order veggie haggis which tastes unexpectedly good! Full disclosure, the only time I had veggie haggis was in Portree and not Edinburgh but given how fancy the dish is, you can’t possibly go wrong with your restaurant choice.
7. Go to a Fringe show
Probably the one time-restricted activity on this list, you can only do this in August. 2022 Fringe was the post-Covid comeback of the world’s largest arts festival, and while I can proudly join Edinburgh residents in saying we hate Fringe-Edinburgh, you get to see a whole different city than the rest of the year. There are tourists, hordes and hordes of them, and makeshift structures like you wouldn’t believe – the city doesn’t come alive, it transforms in a way I couldn’t possibly fathom. Gotta see it to believe it. Even if you attend a free show at the Fringe (and there’s plenty), be sure to add it on your list and experience a whole different way of living in Edinburgh.
8. Listen to some bagpipes
Not like you can avoid it anyway. There are bagpipers all through the city at essentially all times of day, but they do have some prime locations on the Royal Mile and Princes Street. I’ve been living here a year and especially during the warmer months, I barely go a day without hearing some bagpipes. They’re loud and refreshing and if you don’t love them already, learn it and learn it quick.
9. Touch Greyfriars Bobby’s nose
To this day, I’m guilty of not having done this. Greyfriars Bobby is a little statue of a dog right between George IV Bridge and Candlemaker’s Row (outside Greyfriars Kirkyard) but its iconicity is inversely proportional to its size. Regularly surrounded by crowds of people (because it’s a convenient landmark), you may need to wait a minute or ten to be able to get close to it. Touching Greyfriars Bobby’s nose is supposed to bring good luck but I’ve been having good luck anyway so I just walk past it and give it a smirky side-glance (at least that’s what I like to tell myself).
10. (Do not) visit Edinburgh Castle
The one ironic thing on this list if you’re a uni student at Edinburgh. You’re not supposed to enter Edinburgh Castle until you graduate but you can walk past it (or as close as you dare). If you’re not a student here, please do explore the castle! Without a doubt the best castle in Scotland, it can even start to get exhausting after a bit. If you’re visit the city in August, the Castle also hosts the Royal Military Tattoo which is a spectacle worth watching. If you’re a student, wait until you graduate (our lucky predecessors of 2020 had their graduation ceremony in the Castle and that will be an eternal source of envy).
If you make it to the end of this list, yay! You’ve probably spent a fair bit of your time, money and sanity, which is why you will also do well-earned optional activities 11 and 12, i.e, have some craft beer and scotch whisky. If not, you will have joined me in the wait for graduation when I can finally enter the Castle and complete the list (maybe I’ll even finally touch the Bobby’s nose then).
More blogs incoming with uni advice, Scottish stories and travel adventures – thanks for reading and sticking around with Deep-Fried Mars Bars. No, I mean Deep-Fried Bagpipes (mostly).