Not M.E Friendly! (Edinburgh in General)

Member Name: mdp97jes

Product:	Edinburgh in General
Date:	07/01/02 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: plenty to do

Disadvantages: very tiring

Trip to Edinburgh

Through a special promotion Rob got two free first class rail tickets for GNER trains, so we decided to have a weekend in Edinburgh. I was worried that I may find the trip difficult, as like any big city Edinburgh is not very M.E friendly!

We travelled up on Friday morning and had lunch on the train before arriving in Edinburgh. One of the perks of first class on GNER is that you get free tea and coffee and biscuits throughout the journey, the stewardess regularly refills your cup. As you get closer to Edinburgh the scenery from the train is lovely as the train goes up the coast, we also saw Durham Cathedral and the new Millennium Bridge in Newcastle.

My first challenge was trying to get out of the station, as there was a massive flight of steps to get up to street level! For wheelchairs users there is a lift, but you have to ask station staff for assistance. We went into the tourist information to get information about buses to our hotel, luckily all the buses stop on the main street so we found them easily. The buses are quite frequent and the day tickets are reasonably priced. Our hotel was a couple of miles out of the centre; hotels in the centre of Edinburgh were too expensive!

After a rest in the hotel we ventured back into Edinburgh to have a look at some of the shops on Princess Street, we did not stay out long as it was very tiring and we went back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. The price of the hotel included breakfast but not dinner, but they did serve evening meals so we decided to stay in the hotel rather than venture outside again. I was very tired after this and wanted to go to sleep, but our room was just above the bar and it was very noisy!

On the Saturday we went into Edinburgh to visit the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre, again the buses were frequent and good value. We had to walk from the bus to the heritage centre and ended up walking twice as far as we should have done as
we went the wrong way!! Luckily the heritage centre was very M.E friendly. When you arrive and have paid your admission you are given a free shot of the Whisky of the Day. Sadly due to my alcohol intolerance I was unable to drink mine so Rob ended up with a double whisky at 10am! I did not hear him complaining. The first part of the tour you sit and watch a film. For the next part you sit and listen to one of the guides, then you move on to see another film. Finally you go in a motorised barrel that takes you back in time to see the history of Scotland and whisky making, so it is all quite relaxing. Then you exit through the shop where there are hundreds of different types of whisky! As this had been quite relaxing we decided to walk down the street and go in a few of the shops, but I soon tired and we had to find somewhere to eat. After refuelling I managed to go in a few more shops before having to return to the hotel.

This particular day was the final day of the Edinburgh Festival and there was to be a firework display and classical music in the Princess Street Gardens. To actually get into the gardens you needed a ticket costing £25 and they were sold out months before! They were closing Princess Street to traffic and many people were expected to line the street, (about 1/2 a million did). Rob really wanted to go to the display and so did I, but I was worried that I would not be able to stand and there would be nowhere to sit. Also we were staying about 2 miles away and the display was due to finish after the last bus had gone and everyone would be trying to get taxis. While we had been in the city centre we had seen posters saying that the display could also be seen from Inverleith Park and the music was to be relayed there, so I decided to check out where the park was. Amazingly it was right behind our hotel so we decided to go there instead. We had a meal in an Italian restaurant opposite the hotel and then went back to rest before going to the fir
ework display. In the park we sat on a grassy bank with thousands of other people, the view of the display was excellent, with Edinburgh Castle as a backdrop. Unfortunately we were to far from the speakers to be able to hear the music. We returned to the hotel and I collapsed into bed!

On the Sunday I wanted to go to Edinburgh zoo, but we had to drop our luggage at the railway station first and there are not many buses around on a Sunday so we decided to go to a factory outlet shop a few miles out of the town. I was very tired and struggled to walk round, but luckily there was a café so I was able to sit down. After this we went on to see the Royal Yacht Britannia, which is moored at Leith. There are tours around the yacht, but as I was very tired and it cost £7-50 each we decided not to go aboard.

Then it was time for us to make our way back to the station to collect our luggage and get the train. The journey home took almost an hour longer than it should have done, but we did not mind as we were enjoying the free tea and biscuits!!

We had a lovely weekend, but as usual I pushed myself far too much and paid the price in the weeks after.

Edinburgh is a great place with lots to see and do, but is not for those who have trouble walking around.

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