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Population: 785,000
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Events

January
Nature of Britain Photography Competition

February
Snowdrop Festival

March
Ceilidh Culture Festival
Edinburgh International Harp Festival
Meadows Marathon
Snowdrop Festival

April
Beltane Fire Festival
Ceilidh Culture Festival
Dead by Dawn Horror Film Festival
Edinburgh International Harp Festival
Edinburgh International Science Festival
Slow Food Fair
Tackno
Triptych

May
Children's International Theatre Festival
East Lothian Food & Drink Trade Show

June
Creative Visions of Nature Exhibition
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Great Scottish Walk
Leith Festival
Royal Highland Show
RSPB Firth of Forth Seabird Cruises
Sea Watch Week
Wildlife Festival

July
30th British Transplant Games
Bouncy Castle Sessions
Edinburgh Art Festival
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival
Fun Ceramics For Kids
RSPB Firth of Forth Seabird Cruises
Scottish Seabird Centre
Zipline

August
Beneath the Waves
Edinburgh Art Festival
Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival
Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Festival Folk at the Oak
Festival of British Youth Orchestras
Festival of Politics
First ScotRail Press Photography Awards’
Fun Ceramics For Kids
Opticron Day
Puffin Club
Scottish Seabird Centre
Slow Food Festival
T on the Fringe
The Scottish Sale
Walking with Birds
Whisky Fringe
Wild About Art - Silk Seas

September
Beachwatch
Dig It Detectives
Diving Gannets
Edinburgh Art Festival
Edinburgh Mela
Gliding Gull Mobiles
Scottish Seabird Centre
Walking with Birds

October
Halloween Vampire Fest
Scottish Home Improvement & Self Build Show
Scottish International Storytelling Festival
Scottish Seabird Centre
Scottish Seabird Centre
Walking with Birds

November
Edinburgh Fireworks Display
Mini French Film Festival UK
Scots Fiddle Festival
Scottish Seabird Centre
Walking with Birds

December
Christmas by the Sea
Hogmanay Edinburgh
Walking with Birds
Winter Festival

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Edinburgh and the Lothians - 411 places to stay

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Edinburgh and the Lothians is a region studded with castles, brimming with a strong sense of history and contemporary culture. West Lothian, Midlothian, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh, complete the eastern portion of Scotland's central belt. With a population of about 780,000, the area is among the most densely populated in Scotland, but it isn’t difficult to find to find a little seclusion. At the heart of the region beats the City of Edinburgh, with its grand cityscape, crowned with a castle and equal to that of the world's most treasured cities.

During August, the Edinburgh Festival unites a myriad of festivals under one banner and garlands the city in a colourful cultural celebration. The festival doubles the city’s population; it’s advisable that you book your accommodation well in advance. Boasting the world’s largest performing arts festival, the Fringe Festival, there is plenty to see and do: there are the Jazz, Film and Book festivals; the International Festival, with theatre, dance and opera; the Edinburgh Mela , rejoicing in a cultural mélange of vibrant music and dance; and the Military Tattoo, which beats a spectacular martial rhythm. Edinburgh is the epicentre for Scotland’s New Year celebrations with Hogmanay street parties attracting nigh-on 100,000 revellers to an all ticket shindig that sees the New Year in with a bang.

Edinburgh is divided into two sections; Old Town and New Town, and both are recognised by UNESCO as World Heritage Listed Sites. Old Town’s medieval and Reformation-era buildings are brilliantly preserved on its long cambered and cobbled streets. Rich and poor were neighbours in the cramped confines of Old Town. But as the city’s population grew, and Edinburgh embraced a period of modernism invigorated by the Age Of Enlightenment, change was needed.

James Craig designed the early New Town in 1766. It grasped the nettle of progress and ushered in Edinburgh’s new era. The Georgian architecture of New Town was a radical antidote to the congestion endemic in Old Town. Seeded in George Street and Princes Street; contemporary Edinburgh took shape.

East Lothian immediately ingratiates with tourists by virtue of being the sunniest and driest area in Scotland, with 40 miles of coastline to soak up the sun’s rays. It has numerous golf courses, immaculate beaches and wonderful wildlife. With the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick, and the vast gannet colony of Bass Rock, ornithologists will be in clover.

Musselburgh is the largest town in East Lothian, and the wonderful Musselburgh Racecourse has delighted racing enthusiasts since 1816. For those looking to lay siege to some castles; East Lothian has plenty. The the stunning walls of Tantallon Castle, fashioned from red sandstone and ruined by Cromwell’s men in 1651 sits three miles south-east from North Berwick .

A similar fate befell Dirleton Castle, Dirleton. Today, its magnificent gardens, complete with the world’s longest herbaceous border, afford it a more peaceful existence than in the tumult of the 17th century. Close to East Linton, overlooking the River Tyne, Hailes Castle is a foreboding sight. When viewed from the north it looks capable of repelling the most stubborn of invaders.

Midlothian, south of Edinburgh, was known as the County Of Edinburgh until 1921. In many ways it is an extension of Edinburgh; it was separated from Edinburgh in 1974. But with the Heart Of Midlothian mosaic, outside Saint Giles Kirk, and the football club of the same name, Midlothian’s identity will be forever be intertwined with Edinburgh.

Unlike its East Lothian counterparts, Borthwick Castle’s structure, built in 1430, withstood Cromwell’s advances, and is now a stylish hotel in a romantic setting. Its most famous guest, Mary Queen Of Scots , arrived in 1567, as she fled Edinburgh. On account of reported apparitions of the tragic monarch, some may argue that she ever checked out.

West Lothian is easily accessible by day trip from Edinburgh and has a attractions that have over 4,000 years of history behind them. Cairnpapple, in the Bathgate Hills, is not only the highest point in the region, it is one of the most historically important sites in the county; with a Neolithic henge dating back to 3000BC, Bronze Age burial cairns and an Iron Age burial ground. The region is home to Linlithgow Palace , the birthplace of Mary Queen Of Scots and home to all of the Stewart kings. Visitors can now enjoy the expansive lawns and nosy around the palatial quarters without fear of treason. Edinburgh and the Lothians really has something for everyone and its frontiers are easily accessible by car. From the vibrant streets of Edinburgh, to the windswept ruins of Tantallon Castle; Edinburgh and the Lothians is a region of contrasts, where Scotland’s history was, and is, made.

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