Military Tattoo in Edinburgh On Our Own

[spr5988]

Thanks for all the tips! This has been really really helpful!

[tartanexile81]

People do start lining up for the Tattoo quite a bit before it actually starts. The road gets closed and the line is monitored stretching down the Royal Mile for some way. Personally I would never try to jump the queue and upset people who'd been waiting for some time but that's the Scot / Brit in me!!

 

It would be very easy to pre-book private hire to and from the tattoo. I've just posted this on another board and often help cruisers in Edinburgh arrange their transport into the city whether by bus, train or private car!! Edinburgh is blessed with amazing range of cars and vans for hire and its public transport system is second to none.

 

Try these for starters

 

There are a couple of reliable big mini-cab companies in Edinburgh which offer cars and vans of various sizes and I think that would be your best option.

 

There's Capital Cars - 0131-777-7777. You can pre-book via the website -

 

http://www.capitalcarsscotland.co.uk

 

Or Edinburgh Private Hire -0131-555-5555

 

http://www.ecph.cab

Sure either of these will be able to suggest suitable pick up and drop off points for you.

Edited November 30, 2016 by tartanexile81

[spr5988]

So I really appreciate all the helpful tips you have given me and I think I've come up with a game plan and am curious if you think it sounds good and makes sense!

 

Our boat docks and I think we will do the 8:30am tour to Stonehedge/Windsor castle. They take your luggage so no baggage issues. The tour should drop us off at our hotel in London (which I'm thinking I'll book near picalldy) around 6pm. Then we'll go to a pub to hopefully have some fish and chips. Then take the tube to see Big Ben and the other sites right in the immediate vicinity before calling it a night. Granted we'll see them when it's dark but I think that could be nice with the lights? There is an open top bus tour that runs late that we could do to drive and pass the sites if we choose to do that instead. Then the next morning (which is a Saturday) we'll leave around 8am and take the tube from picalldy to heathrow. Our flight is not until 1:10pm so I think this should give us plenty of time and is cheaper then the heathrow express and since we'll be near picalldy easier. I'm assuming luggage on the tube is fine for a Saturday morning? Also, I hope picalldy does go straight heathrow. So this is my plan! Does it sound like it could be a problem for people familiar with the area? Thanks!!

[Host Bonjour]

So I really appreciate all the helpful tips you have given me and I think I've come up with a game plan and am curious if you think it sounds good and makes sense!

 

Our boat docks and I think we will do the 8:30am tour to Stonehedge/Windsor castle. They take your luggage so no baggage issues. The tour should drop us off at our hotel in London (which I'm thinking I'll book near picalldy) around 6pm. Then we'll go to a pub to hopefully have some fish and chips. Then take the tube to see Big Ben and the other sites right in the immediate vicinity before calling it a night. Granted we'll see them when it's dark but I think that could be nice with the lights? There is an open top bus tour that runs late that we could do to drive and pass the sites if we choose to do that instead. Then the next morning (which is a Saturday) we'll leave around 8am and take the tube from picalldy to heathrow. Our flight is not until 1:10pm so I think this should give us plenty of time and is cheaper then the heathrow express and since we'll be near picalldy easier. I'm assuming luggage on the tube is fine for a Saturday morning? Also, I hope picalldy does go straight heathrow. So this is my plan! Does it sound like it could be a problem for people familiar with the area? Thanks!!

 

Sounds like a terrific plan. Also, I think that you could probably get to Westminster/Big Ben (that's the bell inside Elizabeth Tower!) from the open top aka Hop On/Hop Off bus if you wish and avoid the tube unless you want to take the tube after your fish and chips - maybe walk around the South Bank near the river a bit (or not) then get back on the HoHo and see the rest of London - there are two routes to choose from on either HoHo line - blue or red on the one I took, the Big Bus. I took the long ride - about 3 hours, I think the shorter one was about 90min or 2 hours. The HoHo/open top takes you by everything you'd want to see in London and things you might not think of (Old Bailey, New Scotland Yard) plus, your ticket is good for 24 hours - they start about 8:30 in the morning so you if you've had breakfast, are packed and want to pass an hour before heading to the airport, maybe study the route and see what makes sense keeping in mind you need to get to Heathrow. Or the next morning you could go two tube stops on the Piccadilly line east to Covent Garden and stroll around awhile, see the shops, have breakfast before heading out to Heathrow - the train gets you there quickly.

 

Piccadilly is a nice place to locate for a night in London and it's right on the Elephant & Castle (brown) line which yes will get you from Piccadilly to Paddington Saturday morning with luggage & few hassles - it won't be too crowded but as I imagine is the case with the A train in my city which goes to JFK so there are people with luggage - it's probably something riders are also very accustomed to seeing on this line ;) Don't worry.

 

Hope you'll get input from some of our in-country board insiders as well. I've visited lots and LOVE it but I know local input helps very much too! I hope you have a great first look at London and imagine you'll be planning an extended pre/post cruise or land only visit to London/UK soon after :) Enjoy

[Cotswold Eagle]

I agree the OP (of the London thread that for some reason has been merged with an Edinburgh Tattoo thread :confused:) has the makings of a good plan. Staying at the airport is hardly ever a good idea, in my opinion.

 

This para in your response is a bit confused:

 

....Piccadilly is a nice place to locate for a night in London and it's right on the Elephant & Castle (brown) line which yes will get you from Piccadilly to Paddington Saturday morning with luggage & few hassles -....

 

The OP was suggesting taking the Piccadilly line to Heathrow, not going to Paddington to take the HEX. In any case, you are referring to the Bakerloo line - Elephant & Castle is its current southern terminus, not the name of the line :)

 

OP - when you say a hotel in Piccadilly, do you mean near Piccadilly Circus or on the street called Piccadilly, which could be up to a mile from the Piccadilly Circus tube station, or in the general area referred to as Piccadilly? It's a typical London quirk that can be really important to be clear about :) Green Park or Hyde Park Corner may be closer to your hotel if you mean on Piccadilly (the street), both also on the Piccadilly line for Heathrow. You are planning to leave WAY too early for your flight on the Saturday, by the way - I'd be comfortable not leaving central London until about 10 am.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Cotswold Eagle

[spr5988]

Cotswold - I'm not sure how the threads got merged! I'm new to cruise critic. I figured the Piccadilly area because I need to get to Heathrow but is it better to be in a certain part of Piccadilly? It sounds like picidally circus and green park are both near where I want to be and can go to heathrow directly? Or am I misunderstanding? Basically where should I stay to get to heathrow in the morning easily and see the sights like I mentioned?

 

The tube takes an hour from picidally circus to heathrow, no?

[Cotswold Eagle]

The merging of the threads will have been done by a site administrator and I can only imagine it was a mistake!

 

Yes, if you are taking the tube out to Heathrow, it makes sense to stay near a Piccadilly line station (to avoid changing trains), but there are other strategies, e.g. changes that only require a cross-platform change, not up and down stairs. A common one would be to stay in the Victoria area, take the District line from Victoria station to Barons Court and transfer to the Piccadilly line there, a distance of about 20 feet across the platform..

 

In any case, "near a Piccadilly line station" is not the same as in or on Piccadilly, which is prime central London real estate - for example, you could stay near Kings Cross and get the tube from there. In the centre of London, underground stations are rarely more than a couple of minutes apart by train, so some extra stops won't add much time. I remember we had this discussion on a recent-ish thread about London hotels - it's confusing for first tine visitors!

 

Yes, you'll be out at Heathrow in an hour or so, which is why I wouldn't even be out of bed at 8 am for a 1 pm flight :)

Edited November 30, 2016 by Cotswold Eagle

[spr5988]

That makes sense. Is there a map that you recommend to show the stops so I can book a hotel room accordingly? I'm not sure if it's called a certain line or something. Or if not a map hotels you would recommend to stay at that are near tube locations that would get to me to heathrow directly? Thanks!

[Globaliser]

TIs there a map that you recommend to show the stops so I can book a hotel room accordingly?

Using Google Maps does a reasonable job. Try this map - the Piccadilly Line is the blue line that connects Green Park, Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square stations, and you can see where it goes either side of those stations. (Piccadilly Circus is where the main pointer is located, as the searched-for location suggests.)