There’s plenty of spectacle in Edinburgh all year round
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Monday 8.00pm BBC1
Ed Grenby - 25 August 2023
A medieval castle always looks its best with a thousand-odd soldiers marching round it banging their drums, firing a few cannons and giving it some welly with their massed pipe bands. Edinburgh’s is no exception, which is why the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo sold out for this year’s Festival as it has done pretty much every August since it started in 1950. And if you can’t be in Auld Reekie for its annual Armed Forces-led display of military bombast, precision drilling and slightly incongruous Highland dancing? No worries: not only is one of this year’s performances televised on BBC1 this week, but Edinburgh puts on a magnificent show all year round. Here’s where to find some of its most striking spectacles…
THE MUSEUM
National Museum of Scotland
Other museums in Edinburgh are flashier (The Camera Obscura and World of Illusions), grittier (The People’s Story Museum) or gorier (Surgeons’ Hall, with its Burke and Hare history and graverobbed cadavers). But the NMS is the most spectacular, with its glorious Grand Gallery (above). There’s a modern extension at the side that houses treasures from Scotland’s history, including the Lewis chessmen. On top of all that (literally) is the museum’s rooftop terrace, with unbeatable Castle views. (nms.ac.uk)
THE ART GALLERY
Collective
The National – flagship of the National Galleries of Scotland (nationalgalleries.org) – injects a bit of spectacle into its collection at the end of September when it opens its new Scottish galleries. But if you like your art framed by true grandeur, head to Collective, the contemporary art space on Calton Hill. The buildings here were part of the Old City Observatory, and the views are – unfortunately for the artists – scene-stealing. (collective-edinburgh.art)
THE FORTRESS
Edinburgh Castle
For the 11 months of the year when it’s not taken over by the Tattoo, this mighty citadel looms over the Scottish capital seemingly as ancient and impregnable as the volcanic crag it sits on. One of the oldest fortified places in Europe, it’s also home to Scotland’s crown jewels, which are Britain’s oldest, and remains the most besieged place in UK history. Utterly atmospheric. (edinburghcastle.scot)
THE WALK
Arthur’s Seat
On even the most meteorologically unpromising day, you’ll share the peak with a few cagouled tourists, but don’t let that – or the 45-minute hike – put you off. The views from this chunk of extinct volcano are as magisterial as the lionshaped mount itself, sweeping across the city and out to the Firth of Forth, and the footpaths are easy to follow (start at Holyrood House) and only get steep towards the very top.
THE PALACE
Holyroodhouse
Holyrood is the sovereign’s official residence north of the border, and there’s been a royal presence on the site since 1128, when King David I built Holyrood Abbey here (the Abbey’s gloriously gothic ruins are part of your visit). As you’d expect, the House (below) is pretty palatial, but if its impressive collection of treasures, tapestries, oil paintings and four-posters leave you lukewarm, the stories of intrigue will warm you, notably that of Mary, Queen of Scots’ courtier David Rizzio, stabbed 56 times by her jealous husband and his pals – you can even look for the bloodstains… (rct.uk)
THE DRINKS TOUR
Johnnie Walker Edinburgh Princes Street Experience
Who says learning about (or even simply drinking) Scotch has to be done in dark, dreary boozers or dank, draughty distilleries? When the then Prince Charles opened this eight-floor, £185-million edifice in the West End in 2021, he popped the cork on a Willy Wonka-like wonderland of tours, tasting rooms, robot mixologists, “smell guns” and an incredible wraparound roof-terrace bar. (johnniewalker.com/en/visit-usprinces-street)
THE RESTAURANT
Kyloe
It takes a lot to tear your eyes from the terrific Castle views and gentlemen’s-club-gone-trendy decor at Kyloe – but the beef will do it. The gourmet menu here takes most of its meat from Hardiesmill Ethical Scotch Beef, a Borders farm that supplies its pedigree Aberdeen Angus to only 12 clients in the world. And holy cow, you can taste the difference. (kyloerestaurant.com)
THE HOTEL
Market Street Hotel
Five seconds’ walk from Waverley Station, it’s convenient, well-sited, elegant (Scotland’s first member of the prestigious global Design Hotels group) and surprisingly affordable (doubles from £109). And at eight storeys tall with a fantastic bar, breakfast room and terrace at the top, the Market Street hotel also ensures your stay stays spectacular from morning to night. (marketstreethotel.co.uk).
THE ART GALLERY