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Taking the train from south queensferry to edinburgh


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As the first ship was in on Wednesday at South Queensferry, I thought I'd post a reminder of how to get to the station if you want to go Edinburgh by train. There is a regular service and you can look at timetables on this website http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/. The station is called Dalmeny and you will be going to Edinburgh Waverley

 

 

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Your ship will be at anchor under the Forth Rail Bridge and you will be taken by tender to Hawes Pier. If you look, you might be able to see MSC Magnifica in the distance but it was a misty morning!

 

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As you walk up the pier, you will see the Hawes Inn right in front of you. You will also see the shuttle bus operator. The buses are on the left in the photo.

 

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if you are travelling by train, you turn left in front of the inn and go a short distance up the hill till you come to a sign on the right for the Hawes Inn . You will then see the stairs which have gained mythical status! They are also on the right.

 

TO BE CONTINUED......

Edited by tartanexile81
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When you get to the top of the stairs, you will see a sign pointing right to Dalmeny station. In this photo, you will also see a chain-link fence at the top and basically you follow that most of the way to the station. there are also some signs to help.

 

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Continue along the path, keeping the fence on your left. The path divides here but take the upper path, still keeping the fence on your left. It can be a bit muddy. There is then an uphill section.

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Keep going till you come to the road and you will see the sign in front of you for the station. You cross the road, and at the back of the station building you go up the slope.

 

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FINAL PART TO COME......

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At the top of the slope you will find a ticket machine. Providing it is after 9:30, you can buy an off-peak day return. The ticket takes chip and pin cards but you can also pay on the train if you want to pay by GBP.

 

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You will need to cross the bridge to the platform on the other side of the line. Make sure you stay on the train to Edinburgh Waverley which is in the city centre. Good luck!

 

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Edited by tartanexile81
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:DWow:D -- I LOVE detailed directions. And you just won the gold medal in that department! Thank you so much! We'll be visiting in August (also MSC Magnifica) and are now sleeping a bit easier because of such great directions to the train station!

 

:)Thank you, thank you, thank you:)!!!!

 

Stef

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Thanks for the great directions! My only question is that I didn't see an Edinburgh Waverly....only an Edinburgh (EDB) and Edinburgh Park (EDP)...am I doing something wrong?

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Hi Suzski

Edinburgh has two main rail stations, Edinburgh Haymarket and Edinburgh Waverly, make sure you get off at Edinburgh Waverly as it is situated in the centre of Edinburgh handy for all the tourist area. There will be large signs on the platform showing the station name and there will also be electronic signs hanging down from the roof of the carriage (passenger car) notifying you of the station the train is approaching there will also be a verbal announcement over the public address system, if in doubt just ask a fellow passenger to keep you right we Scots are normally rather friendly to tourists. Have a great vacation.

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Thanks for this posting.

How long is the trip?

What is the cost?

Our ship doe not leave until1am the next day so our plan is to stay as late as possible. We are there in mid August on the Ruby

Thanks

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Hi Ferndale Girl

Sorry I am not from the Edinburgh area but I would imagine the shuttle bus will take you to a drop off in the city centre handy for the tourist areas, with regard to the time of the train journey I have not done that journey but would think no more than 30mins, Tartanexile may well come back on with more accurate info.Hope you enjoy your cruise and in particular your visit to Scotland.I stay near to Greenock if you are calling at that Port and require any info just post and ask.

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Hi all, and I will try to answer your questions.

 

1. Bus - There is a shuttle bus waiting at the end of the pier. It is operated privately and is considerably cheaper at £10 / $15 per person return than the shuttle offered by the cruise lines. It runs continuously into Edinburgh from when the first tender docks and the last bus leaves Edinburgh at 4:30 p.m. The shuttle takes you to Charlotte Square at the West End of Princes Street. This is part of Edinburgh New Town with its beautiful Georgian buildings. The city is easily accessible from there on foot if you want but remember the castle was built on an extinct volcano so it is uphill from any where in town!

From Charlotte Square, you can also jump onto one of the hop-on, hop-0ff buses, the Green line if you don't want to walk. It will take you up to the Castle, Holyrood Palace etc, It will take about 25 mins from the pier depending on traffic.

You can also take a public bus from the Police station in South Queensferry. The buses have changed recently so if you have read previously about taking the #43 - FORGET IT!! You need to take the #40A into Edinburgh returning on the #40. They follow slightly different routes so that little A is important. It costs £3.50 per person for a day return and here is the timetable

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUploads/Timetable_49338_40%2040A%20Queensferry.pdf.

To get to the bus stop in South Queensferry, you walk up to the top of the pier with the Hawes Inn ahead of you as per my photos. You then turn right and keep the sea on your right. You walk past the shops and cafes (some really nice tourist shops) for about 10 minutes, Once you get to a junction, the main road will bend up to your left but you will see a shop ahead of you on your right called Allium. Round the corner just past this shop you will see the police station on the other side of the road and this is where your bus leaves from. It will take about 35 minutes.

You can either get off in Queensferry Street or the main bus station in St Andrews Square. If you are taking the bus back to the ship I'd strongly advise picking it up in the bus station to guarantee getting on. St Andrews Square is at the East end of Princes Street - the main thoroughfare.

2. Train Station. There are now 5 stations in Edinburgh but if it says just Edinburgh on the timetable, that will be the main station, Edinburgh Waverley and the one I advise you to use. When you walk up the stairs / ramp at this station, you will see it is surrounded by all the main tourist sites.

The journey takes around 15 minutes and a cheap day return costs £4.70. It can only be used after 9:30 and not between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. on the return. they are very strict about this. A full return cost about £6.

You are right to stay as late as possible if you are going to be there in August. The festival will be running then and there is so much to see and do including hundreds (literally!) of late-night events. The last train from Edinburgh Waverley to Dalmeny is usually 23.37 but there may be later trains during August. Although the programme for 2014 hasn't been published yet it will be available at the beginning of June so keep an eye on this site.

https://www.edfringe.com/

 

Hope that answers the questions but let me know if I can help with anything else.

Edited by tartanexile81
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Our ship doe not leave until1am the next day so our plan is to stay as late as possible. We are there in mid August on the Ruby

Thanks

 

 

According to Princess you leave at 7pm

 

The 1am is for Greenock/Glasgow probably waiting for those that take the Tattoo tour.

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According to Princess you leave at 7pm

 

The 1am is for Greenock/Glasgow probably waiting for those that take the Tattoo tour.

 

For the life of me I cannot understand why they do the tattoo trip from Greenock about 1.5 hours from Edinburgh when the ship is also calling at Edinburgh :confused:

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For the life of me I cannot understand why they do the tattoo trip from Greenock about 1.5 hours from Edinburgh when the ship is also calling at Edinburgh :confused:

 

With the show starting at 9:00 the issue will likely be tendering at night(9:00pm sunset, tender at 11:30pm+) , getting everyone back on the ship from a load of buses would not be quick operation and probably in the dark.

 

 

Anyone looking at Fringe Events should get tickets in advance for the popular shows they sell out, also look carefully at venues because you need to be careful if shows are close together in time but in different venues. some of the bigger venues have multiple shows and there is loads going on in the streets.

Edited by insidecabin
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Hi Ferndale Girl

Sorry I am not from the Edinburgh area but I would imagine the shuttle bus will take you to a drop off in the city centre handy for the tourist areas, with regard to the time of the train journey I have not done that journey but would think no more than 30mins, Tartanexile may well come back on with more accurate info.Hope you enjoy your cruise and in particular your visit to Scotland.I stay near to Greenock if you are calling at that Port and require any info just post and ask.

 

Thank you. We aren't going until next April but figure it isn't too early to start thinking of things to do. And yes....we will be stopping at Greenock too.

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Hi all, and I will try to answer your questions.

 

1. Bus - There is a shuttle bus waiting at the end of the pier. It is operated privately and is considerably cheaper at £10 / $15 per person return than the shuttle offered by the cruise lines. It runs continuously into Edinburgh from when the first tender docks and the last bus leaves Edinburgh at 4:30 p.m. The shuttle takes you to Charlotte Square at the West End of Princes Street. This is part of Edinburgh New Town with its beautiful Georgian buildings. The city is easily accessible from there on foot if you want but remember the castle was built on an extinct volcano so it is uphill from any where in town!

From Charlotte Square, you can also jump onto one of the hop-on, hop-0ff buses, the Green line if you don't want to walk. It will take you up to the Castle, Holyrood Palace etc, It will take about 25 mins from the pier depending on traffic.

You can also take a public bus from the Police station in South Queensferry. The buses have changed recently so if you have read previously about taking the #43 - FORGET IT!! You need to take the #40A into Edinburgh returning on the #40. They follow slightly different routes so that little A is important. It costs £3.50 per person for a day return and here is the timetable

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUploads/Timetable_49338_40%2040A%20Queensferry.pdf.

To get to the bus stop in South Queensferry, you walk up to the top of the pier with the Hawes Inn ahead of you as per my photos. You then turn right and keep the sea on your right. You walk past the shops and cafes (some really nice tourist shops) for about 10 minutes, Once you get to a junction, the main road will bend up to your left but you will see a shop ahead of you on your right called Allium. Round the corner just past this shop you will see the police station on the other side of the road and this is where your bus leaves from. It will take about 35 minutes.

You can either get off in Queensferry Street or the main bus station in St Andrews Square. If you are taking the bus back to the ship I'd strongly advise picking it up in the bus station to guarantee getting on. St Andrews Square is at the East end of Princes Street - the main thoroughfare.

2. Train Station. There are now 5 stations in Edinburgh but if it says just Edinburgh on the timetable, that will be the main station, Edinburgh Waverley and the one I advise you to use. When you walk up the stairs / ramp at this station, you will see it is surrounded by all the main tourist sites.

The journey takes around 15 minutes and a cheap day return costs £4.70. It can only be used after 9:30 and not between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. on the return. they are very strict about this. A full return cost about £6.

You are right to stay as late as possible if you are going to be there in August. The festival will be running then and there is so much to see and do including hundreds (literally!) of late-night events. The last train from Edinburgh Waverley to Dalmeny is usually 23.37 but there may be later trains during August. Although the programme for 2014 hasn't been published yet it will be available at the beginning of June so keep an eye on this site.

https://www.edfringe.com/

 

Hope that answers the questions but let me know if I can help with anything else.

 

Thank you....this was very helpful!

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We will be in Queensferry in late July and are too old to do all that walking uphill. Are taxies readily available to take to Edinburgh or should we arrange a taxi in advance, and, if so, can you please give me a name to contact? Thank you, Mary

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Marebear

 

We were down at South Queensferry last week when an MSC ship was in and there was a constant stream of taxis all day. There might have been a few minutes occasionally when the rank was empty but then a few more would arrive. I wouldn't bother booking in advance. If you look at my Post#1, you will see a white building in the 3rd photo and the taxis line up there. It costs around £25 to get into Central Edinburgh (depending on traffic and drop-off location) and I would advise you ask to be dropped off at the castle as it would be a difficult walk uphill for you. There is also the shuttle bus option, a photo of which is also shown in Post #1 in the fourth photo. The buses are also waiting at the end of the pier and take you into the city centre, but if you were unable to walk uphill you would still need to get a taxi or a hop-on, hop off bus from there.

Here is a photo of the castle above the town. Everything is downhill from there!!

 

14127709051_0878fc5d72.jpg

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Marebear

 

We were down at South Queensferry last week when an MSC ship was in and there was a constant stream of taxis all day. There might have been a few minutes occasionally when the rank was empty but then a few more would arrive. I wouldn't bother booking in advance. If you look at my Post#1, you will see a white building in the 3rd photo and the taxis line up there. It costs around £25 to get into Central Edinburgh (depending on traffic and drop-off location) and I would advise you ask to be dropped off at the castle as it would be a difficult walk uphill for you. There is also the shuttle bus option, a photo of which is also shown in Post #1 in the fourth photo. The buses are also waiting at the end of the pier and take you into the city centre, but if you were unable to walk uphill you would still need to get a taxi or a hop-on, hop off bus from there.

Here is a photo of the castle above the town. Everything is downhill from there!!

 

14127709051_0878fc5d72.jpg

 

 

Thank you so much !!!!!!! Mary

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We were planning on using your excellent directions for the train when we visit Edinburgh on July 31 on the Ruby Princess; however, I see that the Tattoo begins the next day, so I'm thinking the 31st may be very crowded. Do you think we'll have any problem getting on a train back to the ship? (The ship leaves at 7 PM, so we would want to be back to it no later than 6 PM--ordinarily, we'd plan on leaving Edinburgh at 4:30 or 5, but I'm a little worried about rush hour, plus lots of visitors.) Thanks for any advice you might have!

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In post 12 you mention that there is "a" shuttle bus waiting. Does that mean there is only 1 shuttle bus or are there more private busses running. Just want to make sure I read and understand this right.

 

Theo

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We were planning on using your excellent directions for the train when we visit Edinburgh on July 31 on the Ruby Princess; however, I see that the Tattoo begins the next day, so I'm thinking the 31st may be very crowded. Do you think we'll have any problem getting on a train back to the ship? (The ship leaves at 7 PM, so we would want to be back to it no later than 6 PM--ordinarily, we'd plan on leaving Edinburgh at 4:30 or 5, but I'm a little worried about rush hour, plus lots of visitors.) Thanks for any advice you might have!

 

There are always extra trains between 4:30 and 6:00 and if you arrived a decent length of time before the train you'd like to catch, you won't have any trouble getting on, even though it may be standing room only. Nearly all the trains actually start at Edinburgh Waverley and the journey takes around 15 minutes so you should be fine. I would just say make sure you're at the station at least ten minutes before the train leaves. If you go to www.nationalrail.co.uk you will be able to check the times of trains that afternoon and then if you click on 'details' you will even be able to find out what platform the train will leave from.

 

The off-peak day return will not be valid at that time of day so make sure you buy a full price return. It costs about £6.

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In post 12 you mention that there is "a" shuttle bus waiting. Does that mean there is only 1 shuttle bus or are there more private busses running. Just want to make sure I read and understand this right.

 

Theo

 

 

Hi Theo,

I was at South Queensferry on Wednesday and there were three shuttle buses running on a constant loop all day till late afternoon. They leave from pretty much the top of the pier and you will see the operator standing there with his board. You pay at the bus and it leaves as soon as it fills up, taking you to Charlotte Square. It comes back from there as well and as you can see from the photo it is £10 or $15 return, which will certainly be less than it is on Ruby.

 

From Charlotte Square you could get on the green hop-on, hop-off bus, or walk a few minutes down to Princes Street which is the main thoroughfare. If you're walking to the castle, you would need to head along Princes Street then turn right at this junction at the art gallery and go up the Mound to the Royal Mile.

 

Rhona

 

 

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