Some of my favourite places to visit are right here in the UK and Edinburgh is very close to the top of that list. Being half Scottish I spent lots of summer holidays with my family visiting the castle, climbing Arthur's Seat and soaking up the atmosphere of the Fringe festival. When my best girlfriends suggested a weekend away to lift those January blues I jumped at the chance. We packed our bags, booked Easy Jet flights and checked into a back packer’s hostel for about £12 a night each. It was a cheap and cheerful weekend with some of my favourite people.

One of the main things I wanted to do was visit Edinburgh Castle as I hadn’t been for many years. The day we arrived was typically grey and wet but that didn’t dampen our spirits and we headed straight out to explore. It’s a quite reasonable, £16.50 for full access to the castle and I think it is definitely worth it, especially as it was bloody windy so being able to go indoors was a blessing! The views are beautiful even with all the clouds, it felt very noir.

After freezing our butts off exploring we headed back into town to find hot tea and food. Being the massive Harry Potter fans we are The Elephant House was an obvious choice. We filled our bellies with delicious fare and headed back out into the cold. Just across the road from the Elephant House is the NationalMuseum of Scotland. This is a great spot to spend a few hours and we got fully involved!

That evening we went to a restaurant that had been recommended by friends who live in Edinburgh, The Dogs. It did not disappoint, unfortunately I forgot to take any photos as I was too busy scoffing my face.

On our second day we awoke to glorious sunshine so we got our trainers on and began the walk up Arthurs Seat. I struggled being as unfit as I am, it was particularly embarrassing being overtaken by people RUNNING up there. Note to self, must get out running again this year!

The climb is definitely worth it as the views are truly spectacular. You get a 360 degree vista out across the Firth of Forth and down in Edinburgh. After soaking in as much sunshine and mountain air as possible we strolled back down to find more tea! We stumbled across the cutest tea room and loaded up on scones and carrot cake.

On our last evening we decided there was only one thing for it, we needed to find a dance floor and plenty of wine. One of my favourite places to go in Edinburgh is a bar called Fingers. It’s small, loud and SO much fun. A grand piano is situated at the back of the bar and everyone sings along at the top of their voices.

Our last morning was spent scoffing a Scottish breakfast and drinking a gallon of tea to ease our hangovers before flying home.

Edinburgh is such a fabulous city and a weekend there any time of year is so much fun. I’m heading back up in July for my best friend’s wedding and I can’t wait to show Mike around as he’s never been. If anyone has any more restaurant/bar recommendations the would be most welcome J