It will definitely rain -- bring a waterproof jacket and either bring a good umbrella or buy one there. Arthur's Seat should only take a couple of hours (it's a steep hike up, not so bad on the way down). You could walk from the castle at the top of the hill all the way down to Holyrood House, then take a right, walk past the weird Scottish parliament building, then go up Arthur's Seat.
The National Gallery(ies?) of Scotland is a great place to duck into if you get stuck in the rain -- and it has one of my all-time favorite paintings, the Skating Minister! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skating_Minister
I also recommend Candlemakers' Row (right next to Greyfriars Bobby, which you'll probably see on one of the tours) -- my husband and I named it Geek Row because there's a science-fiction bookshop, a comic-book shop, and one of the best hat shops I've ever seen (at least, when we were there a few years ago).
When it rains would it be more likely be light drizzly rain or complete downpours? If it's drizzly I prob won't mind going out in like a sweatshirt or a hoodie but it's downpour I might look into more heavier waterproof jackets or ponchos or something.
When we were there, we had sudden (very sudden) downpours. I'd suggest taking a light rain jacket or buying one there (and a hoodie too -- it can get cold. I wound up buying one there because I was freezing, and it was August.)
How similar was the Mary King Close and vault tours? Was the Mary King Close cheesy due to the costumed actors leading the tours?
How big is the zoo - how many hours do you think I should spend there?
Also, yeah, I'll probably bring lots of mosquito spray. I went to Italy a couple of years back and I was completely attacked by the Italian mosquitoes (literally covered with bites! they were ferocious) so hopefully not repeating that incident!
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It will definitely rain -- bring a waterproof jacket and either bring a good umbrella or buy one there. Arthur's Seat should only take a couple of hours (it's a steep hike up, not so bad on the way down). You could walk from the castle at the top of the hill all the way down to Holyrood House, then take a right, walk past the weird Scottish parliament building, then go up Arthur's Seat.
The National Gallery(ies?) of Scotland is a great place to duck into if you get stuck in the rain -- and it has one of my all-time favorite paintings, the Skating Minister! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skating_Minister
I also recommend Candlemakers' Row (right next to Greyfriars Bobby, which you'll probably see on one of the tours) -- my husband and I named it Geek Row because there's a science-fiction bookshop, a comic-book shop, and one of the best hat shops I've ever seen (at least, when we were there a few years ago).
Have fun!
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How far is the hike to Arthurs seat?
Thanks!
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Hope this helps!
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How similar was the Mary King Close and vault tours? Was the Mary King Close cheesy due to the costumed actors leading the tours?
How big is the zoo - how many hours do you think I should spend there?
Also, yeah, I'll probably bring lots of mosquito spray. I went to Italy a couple of years back and I was completely attacked by the Italian mosquitoes (literally covered with bites! they were ferocious) so hopefully not repeating that incident!
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