From 'beastie-hunting' in a secret garden and 'walking up the volcano', children in the capital have put together a list of their favourite fun things to see and do in Edinburgh to help visiting families have an action-packed break in the capital.
With thoughts turning to family-friendly destinations for the October half-term holidays, Edinburgh’s littlest locals, aged from three to 15, have helped compile a handy checklist of 50 must-do experiences in the city, which was recently crowned the World’s Best City by Time Out.
The kids’ choices, which span a range of categories, including ‘fresh air fun’, ‘sweet treats’ and ‘active adventures’, were collated through a partnership between Forever Edinburgh, the city’s official guide, and egg, Scotland’s largest online and offline platform for women.
The project was carried out as part of Forever Edinburgh’s The Story Never Ends campaign, which is designed to encourage visitors to come to the city all year round and to discover the city’s fascinating stories.
A walk up a volcano
Holly, age 9, recommended going for “a walk up the volcano”, a reference to Arthur’s Seat, the iconic hill in Holyrood Park formed from an extinct volcano.
The place with the spinny bridge and wobbly mirrors
Hannah, 4, voted for the ‘place with the spinny bridge and wobbly mirrors’, which is better known as Camera Obscura as her favourite place to go with her granny.
Hannah said : “I love the place with the spinny bridge and the wobbly mirrors. It’s my favourite place to go with my granny! We love taking pictures together in the room (Ames Room) that makes Granny look smaller than me. Next time I’m going to take my Aunty Nony and we will have so much fun. Another of my best places is Gravity - you can just bounce and bounce and have so much fun!"
Go to the Wild West Cowboy Street
After egg’s community of mums asked their kids to suggest their favourite things to do in Edinburgh, more than 100 recommendations were sent in with checking out the ‘Wild West Cowboy Street’ in Morningside, created by a 90s furniture store and featuring a saloon, jail and cantina one of the most popular.
Feeding goats at LOVE Gorgie City Farm
Another favourite for families in the city, is the excellent petting farm at LOVE Gorgie City Farm.
Tucking into ‘yummy pizza at much-loved NYC-meets-Italy pizza place
The Promenade at Portobello beach was also high up in the list, with kids loving the tasty pizza and fun on the beach.
In addition to internationally renowned visitor attractions like Edinburgh Castle and Edinburgh Zoo, the mini eggs plumped for a huge range of free or low-cost places to visit, including parks and greenspaces like the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Cramond Village and Beach.
More unusual suggestions from the local youngsters included the little-known Wild West Cowboy Street in Morningside, as well as some of the newer destinations in the city like The Chocolatarium off the Royal Mile and Scotland’s first dog café, The Chihuahua Café on Frederick Street.
The children’s recommendations were whittled down to create a checklist of 50 family-friendly places to check out across Edinburgh, which is available to download from the Forever Edinburgh website at www.edinburgh.org/childfriendly
Fiona Hunter of Forever Edinburgh said: “Edinburgh’s a brilliant city to spend time in for people of all ages but we wanted to showcase how fabulous it is for children and families in particular. With so much to see and do it can sometimes be tricky for visitors and even residents to decide what to do first – so who better to ask for recommendations than Edinburgh’s own kids?
“We decided to collaborate with egg and its vast network to find out from our young people themselves what they enjoy doing across Edinburgh. We’re delighted by the number and range of responses that children have given across a wide range of themes – there are clearly many imaginative and adventurous young people living in and enjoying our city.
“We hope this new checklist of places for families to visit will help residents and visitors to the city alike plan days out that will really appeal to their children, from babies and toddlers through to teenagers. With the cost of living increasing, the number of free places chosen will also help everyone working within a budget. And the suggestions show that Edinburgh has something to offer throughout the year, which is very much in line with the messages of our The Story Never Ends campaign.”
Head egg Kylie Reid said: “It has been really exciting to see the amazing places chosen by our ‘mini eggs’ as their favourite destinations for a family-day out. I found it inspirational, and I’ve placed many of the choices on my own must-visit list. The sheer diversity of places picked by the kids is a reminder of just how much Edinburgh has to offer families.”
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