Best Day Trips from Edinburgh: St Andrews, Stirling, North Berwick and More

For an easy trip without a car, take the train to North Berwick or Stirling. For history, add St Andrews or Linlithgow. For the Highlands and Loch Ness, book a long day tour, because they’re too far for a train day. Those are the trips the guides agree on, and all but the Highlands are close enough to go and come back by train or bus.

Roam Edinburgh read 13 guides in English and left out tour sellers, which fill most search results for this topic. The picks below run from the most-named down. Every time and hour on this page comes from ScotRail, Historic Environment Scotland or the place’s own page. ScotRail’s journey-time pages refused automated reads, so the two averages here are as quoted by search results for those pages. Check the live timetable before you go, and check the last train back.

Then see what’s on at home before and after. The events page lists festivals and concerts from the organisers’ own pages, and the map shows the city’s places. For the city itself, read things to do in Edinburgh.

The short list

St Andrews

St Andrews is named by 12 of 13 guides read.

Golf draws many people, but the guides also point to the cathedral ruins, the castle and the coast. There’s no station in St Andrews itself. ScotRail’s page for Edinburgh Waverley to Leuchars gives an average of about 1 hour 6 minutes, and Leuchars is five miles from the town, which you cover by bus.

Allow most of a day, and leave time for the bus to Leuchars and the train home.

Stirling

Stirling is named by 12 of 13 guides read.

Stirling is the history day, with Stirling Castle, run by Historic Environment Scotland, and the Wallace Monument on the hill beyond. The castle’s page has the hours. The guides’ usual route is the train from Waverley.

Glasgow

Glasgow is named by 12 of 13 guides read.

Glasgow suits a day of art and museums, and it feels nothing like Edinburgh. The guides call it an easy train trip. ScotRail runs the line between Edinburgh and Glasgow, so check its journey planner for times and the last train back.

North Berwick

North Berwick is named by 10 of 13 guides read, and the Bass Rock by 10.

North Berwick is the easiest coast trip. ScotRail gives an average of 33 minutes from Edinburgh Waverley. It has beaches, a harbour and a view of the Bass Rock, the island of seabirds out to sea. Tantallon Castle is on the coast nearby, and Historic Environment Scotland runs it.

Rosslyn Chapel

Rosslyn Chapel is named by 10 of 13 guides read.

Rosslyn Chapel is seven miles south of the centre in the village of Roslin, postcode EH25 9PU. It opens Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm and Sunday from 12 noon to 5pm. The chapel splits each day into 90-minute timeslots and recommends booking ahead. It’s closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The chapel’s page says the Lothian 37 bus to Roslin takes about 45 to 60 minutes, from stops on Princes Street or North Bridge.

Linlithgow

Linlithgow is named by 9 of 13 guides read.

Linlithgow Palace is the ruined birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots, on a loch, and Historic Environment Scotland’s page notes the king’s bedchamber and the court kitchen are closed for conservation work. It’s a smaller trip than Stirling and fits well with another stop on the same line.

Loch Ness and the Highlands

Loch Ness and the Highlands are named by all 13 guides read.

Every guide mentions a Highlands trip, but it’s the one that needs a coach tour or a car and a very long day. Glencoe, Loch Ness and Loch Lomond are the names that come up. Treat it as a full day out and compare operators yourself. No train timetable is quoted here.

Which trip to pick

• Easiest by train: North Berwick.
• History: Stirling, with Linlithgow if you want a second palace.
• A different city: Glasgow.
• Golf, a university town and ruins: St Andrews.
• A famous chapel on a short bus ride: Rosslyn Chapel.
• Mountains: a Highlands tour.

If you’re going in August, see the festivals guide before you book anything.

Places in this guide

Photos show the actual places, licensed under Creative Commons and credited to their photographers.

St Andrews Castle St Andrews Photo: Eduard Marmet