New Year Edinburgh

it took us over seven hours to get there and approximately the same time to come back. It would have taken less, but it was snowing on both occasions, and one-lane portions of A1 were moving with the speed of most cautious driver (which is fair enough, I tend to choose life too).

It's a lively city to visit at this time of year, and a lot of stuff is going on. Some of it gets canceled due to severe weather, but there is always plenty left.

Some words of caution - "New Year street party" (the one on Princess street) is NOT suitable for kids, honestly. We got a contradictory advice from 1) Tourist information center ("it's a lovely atmosphere!") and 2) Tickets Scotland, or whatever it was called ("it's not recommended for under 16's, but if you are happy with it, they can come in"). In the second case the lady, while her info was correct one, was not emphatic enough, I feel, maybe because they sell the entrance tickets for tenner a pop. The position of the party did provide the best view of the firework display, so it wasn't entirely bad, but generally, if you need to watch over somebody, especially kids, do take into account the fact that it is a relatively dense crowd of very merry and mostly very young guys and gals, and it is not the best choice. You'd be much better off on the Royal mile close-ish to the castle, where the main firework display happens.