Edinburgh & the Lothians

Edinburgh is Scotland's inspiring capital city which is both very historic and extremely cosmopolitan. The city is perched on a series of extinct volcanoes and rocky crags rising above the rather flat landscape of the Lothians and has a sheltered northern shoreline along the Firth of Forth. The castle dominates the city centre and from its ramparts you can look down on narrow medieval streets, sweeping Georgian terraces and award winning modern architecture. Spend some time in Edinburgh's museums and galleries to learn of the cities fascinating past, or walk down Princes Street for the ultimate shopping experience. The city has no shortage of excellent restaurants, modern contemporary bars and traditional Old Town pubs.

Rural Mid-Lothian is one of the hilliest parts of the region with the Pentland chain to the west and the Moorfoots to the east. Places of interest here include Dalkeith Country Park and Montagu Bridge over the River North Esk, with natural woodland that is home to foxes, deer and a variety of other animals and birds.

East Lothian has forty miles of coastline and picturesque towns and villages that range from traditional seaside towns such as Dunbar and North Berwick to country towns like Haddington, with quaint streets, speciality shops and a good selection of cafés and restaurants. This stretch of coastline from Mussleburgh to Dunbar has plenty of long golden sandy beaches and some very testing top-class links golf courses including Gullane and North Berwick.

Also well worth a visit on this coast is the award-winning Scottish Seabird Centre at North Berwick. Here visitors can watch gannets, puffins, seals and dolphins from interactive cameras and take boat trips to along the coast.