Edinburgh Castle & Royal Mile Shore Excursion from Glasgow

This full day shore excursion from Greenock, about 75 miles (121km) away, takes you to Edinburgh for a driving tour of the city and a visit to Edinburgh Castle.

After meeting your driver-guide at the pier, you drive to Edinburgh through the Georgian New Town, with a photo stop on Calton Hill for views over the city and its Old Town. In the Old Town, you visit Edinburgh Castle, built in stages over several centuries: St Margaret's Chapel, the oldest surviving building on the castle rock, dates to around 1130; the Great Hall was built for James IV in the early 1500s; the Half Moon Battery was added by the Regent Morton in the late 1500s; and the Scottish National War Memorial was completed after the First World War. Inside the castle you can see the Crown Jewels of Scotland (the Honours of Scotland), the Stone of Destiny, the 15th century siege gun Mons Meg, and the National War Museum of Scotland. Margaret of Scotland, later Saint Margaret, took refuge in Scotland after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and married King Malcolm III; she died at Edinburgh Castle in 1093.

Following the castle visit, you have free time for lunch in a local pub and to explore the Royal Mile on your own, including St Giles Cathedral, the High Kirk of Edinburgh, known for its crown shaped spire and the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle.

Later in the afternoon, you return to the pier in Greenock.