Highlights of Edinburgh

We're really excited to be adding Edinburgh to our ever-expanding list of exciting cities you can now visit on a Carter Company cycling holiday. Whilst the capital of Scotland was an 'optional added extra' on our 'In the footsteps of famous writers' walking tour, we now offer a fantastic cycling holiday which finishes in the city: 'Lochs and glens to Edinburgh'. You can choose between a fast paced 6 night version and a more leisurely 8 night version, depending on your need for/enjoyment of speed!

In celebration of this news and to whet the appetite, we're sharing our highlights of Edinburgh with you: our favourite places and things to do in the city.

1. Visit the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Our favourite way to get there is to walk along the canal from the lovely Stockbridge area to the gallery. Join the canal next to Pizza Express and start the walk from there. If you have the good fortune of doing so on a Sunday, we recommend pottering around Stockbridge market too!

2. Have afternoon tea at Henderson's, a famous old-school vegetarian restaurant in New Town and a real favourite with the locals. Try their (vegan!) chocolate and beetroot cake with peanut butter ganache - delicious.

3. Walk around the Craggs (no trip to Edinburgh is complete unless you do!), and if you’re feeling energetic, all the way up Arthur’s Seat. It’s a really beautiful and unusual bit of a landscape and you can look down across the whole of the city from the peak. On the way back, stop by at the Palace of Holyrood House.

4. Wander around the Old Town. The old cobbled streets of this area are gorgeous. Try Victoria Street, Grassmarket and Cockburn Street, and then treat yourself to dinner at The Witchery – a lavish, Gothic-style dining room in a quirky boutique hotel.

5. Go to Leith (Edinburgh’s waterside/Forth estuary) and see the former Royal Yacht moored there, potter around the waterside, explore the charming tiny streets and finish off with a walk east along the coast for a short distance to Portobello beach, where you can enjoy a paddle in the sea - if you can brave the cold!