Edinburgh and the Lothians Accommodation:
Aberlady
Bathgate
Bo'ness
Dalkeith
Dirleton
Dunbar
East Calder
East Linton
Edinburgh
Gifford
Gorebridge
Gullane
Haddington
Humbie
Inverkeithing
Kirknewton
Lasswade
Leith
Linlithgow
Livingston
Longniddry
Murrayfield
Musselburgh
Newington
North Berwick
Penicuik
Prestonpans
Queensferry
Roslin
South Queensferry
Uphall
West Calder
West Linton
Whitburn

Edinburgh and the Lothians

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County Town: Edinburgh
Population: 785,000
Edinburgh and the Lothians Jobs
County Reviews
Rather interesting Edinburgh and the Lothians facts
Edinburgh and the Lothians weather
Visitor reports
Your opinion of Edinburgh and the Lothians
Famous Dates
Famous People
Food Legends:Irn Bru
Musselburgh Pie
Tweed Kettle
Folk Customs:
Hogmanay
The Braehead Basin
The Burry Man
Haunted Britain:
Bloody MacKenzies Violent Ghost
Cultural Britain:
Burns Country
Irvine Welshs Edinburgh
Robert Louis Stevenson & Edinburgh
The Edinburgh Festival
Lore & legend:
The Wizard of Yester and the Colstoun Pear
Natural Britain:
Arthurs Seat
Firth of Forth
Pentland Hills
River Almond

Events

January
Nature Photography Awards Exhibition

February
RSNO Gala Ball

March
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
TradFest
Triptych

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

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
Stramash
Wildlife Festival

July
Bouncy Castle Sessions
Cycle Edinburgh to Dublin for Marie Curie
Edinburgh Art Festival
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival
Fun Ceramics For Kids
Holiday Activities
RSPB Firth of Forth Seabird Cruises
Stramash
Taste of Edinburgh
Zipline

August
Edinburgh Art Festival
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Edinburgh International 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’
Fringe By The Sea
Fun Ceramics For Kids
North Berwick Highland Games
Opticron Day
Puffin Club
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
Edinburgh Art Festival
Edinburgh Mela
Gliding Gull Mobiles
Scottish Half Marathron
Scottish Seabird Centre

October
Halloween Vampire Fest
Scottish Home Improvement & Self Build Show
Scottish International Storytelling Festival

November
Edinburgh Fireworks Display
French Film Festival UK
Nature Photography Awards Exhibition
Scots Fiddle Festival
Walking with Birds

December
Christmas by the Sea
Hogmanay Edinburgh
Nature Photography Awards Exhibition
Real Scottish Christmas Fair
The Ethical Christmas Fair
Torchlight Procession

Edinburgh and the Lothians - 420 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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Tolpuddle Martyrs Sentenced - 1834, Argentine Forces land on South Georgia - 1982
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