The walk: ridge first, Arthur's Seat as backup
The Pentlands ridge is the plan. If the weather's foul or the car falls through, flip to Arthur's Seat — no driving needed, the agenda updates to match.
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05:15
Bag drop isn't needed — hand luggage only (one night, and it keeps the other end fast). Security at T5 moves quickly at this hour but give it the full 1h50.
Wear your walking shoes on the plane. They're the bulkiest thing you'd otherwise pack.
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07:05
- Flight
- British Airways, LHR → EDI, direct
- Fare
- £179 pp / £1,074 total for six (fare seen 31 Aug — move fast, it will drift up)
- Book
- ba.com
This flight emits 11% less CO2e than typical on the route, if anyone asks why you're so smug.
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08:45
Six adults need a genuine 7-seat people carrier (VW Sharan / Seat Alhambra / Ford Galaxy class) — an estate won't do it. On-airport desks: Enterprise, Avis, Europcar, Hertz, Sixt, Budget.
No half-day rates exist — you pay one 24-hour day, and the 08:45–14:30 window fits inside it. Roughly £80–150 all-in booked online (walk-up rates are much worse). Add a named second driver; under-25s pay a surcharge. Book a free-cancellation rate so switching to the Arthur's Seat backup costs nothing.
Nominate the designated driver now; they drink free tonight as compensation.
If quotes come back over ~£160, skip the car: a pre-booked 6-seat taxi doing all the legs runs ~£90–110 total, a driven minibus half-day ~£150–250 — or just flip the toggle to Arthur's Seat and spend nothing.
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09:30
Photo: Novotel Edinburgh Park via Google - Check-in
- 15:00 (checkout 12:00) — reception holds bags free before check-in
- Rooms
- Book 3 twins, flag it as a group, ask for rooms together — est £95–140/room
- Breakfast
- ~£16 pp — add it at booking, it's dearer on the day
- Phone
- +44 131 446 5600
Full? Hampton by Hilton Edinburgh West End or Moxy Fountainbridge, both near the tram line.
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10:15
Glencorse Reservoir, below your ridge. Photo: Calum McRoberts, CC BY-SA 2.0 Free car park at the Flotterstone visitor gateway (EH26 0PP, off the A702 at Milton Bridge). It fills on nice Saturdays — if it's rammed there's a lay-by on the A702.
- Website
- pentlandhills.org (regional park info, routes & parking)
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10:30
The ridge from Turnhouse Hill towards Carnethy. Photo: Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0 The route: follow the burn from the car park, then a steep grassy pull onto Turnhouse Hill (506 m) — about an hour to the top. Along the open ridge and over the dip to Carnethy Hill (573 m), ~40 min more. Turn around there and return the same way.
The payoff: Glencorse Reservoir below you one side; Edinburgh, the Forth bridges and Fife the other. The group photo is from Turnhouse's summit looking along the ridge.
If everyone's flying: Scald Law (579 m, the highest in the Pentlands) is one more pull beyond Carnethy — but it stretches the walk to ~10–11 km and tonight matters more.
- Website
- pentlandhills.org
The ridge is exposed — can be 10°C colder and properly windy up top, and boggy after rain. Waterproof in every bag, water bottle each, no shelter or loos en route.
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13:30
The Flotterstone Inn. Photo: Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0 - Food
- Hearty pub mains ~£14–20 — the Flotterstone Burger has a reputation; haggis balls to share
- Drink
- Pentland Ales on tap; beer garden by the burn if it's fine
- Listing
- Google Maps — menu & hours
- Phone
- +44 1968 620559
Weekend lunchtimes are busy with walkers and service can lag — book, and order the moment you sit down. The café express next door does quick sandwiches if you're pushed.
The Steading at Lothianburn (by the ski centre) is on the drive back if Flotterstone can't fit six.
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14:20
Fill the tank before the drop-off (rental refuelling charges are robbery). Car back by 14:30 and it's done — nobody drives again this weekend, so everybody drinks. Airport → Edinburgh Park on the tram is ~10 minutes.
- Website
- edinburghtrams.com — tickets in the Transport for Edinburgh app
The airport is its own (pricier) fare zone — a day ticket (~£5.20) covers the city, with the airport hop (~£7.50 single) on top.
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08:50
Straight off the plane onto the tram — Novotel Edinburgh Park is beside Edinburgh Park Central. Drop bags at reception (check-in 15:00, they hold luggage free), then tram on towards town.
- Phone
- +44 131 446 5600
This backup saves the car money entirely — buy tram day tickets in the Transport for Edinburgh app instead.
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10:00
Off at Princes Street, walk down through the Old Town or along the foot of the Royal Mile to Holyrood Park — the start of the climb is by the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
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10:45
The summit of Arthur's Seat. Photo: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 Edinburgh's extinct volcano, straight up from Holyrood. Take the path past St Anthony's Chapel ruins or the gentler route via Dunsapie Loch; the last pull to the summit is rocky but short. 360° views over the city, the Forth and the Bass Rock.
Steep and slippery in the wet in places — the same footwear rules apply as the ridge.
- Listing
- Google Maps — Arthur's Seat
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13:00
Come off Arthur's Seat the far side into Duddingston village (15 min downhill) and you land at a pub that's been serving since 1360 — with its own Victorian skittle alley you can hire. Pub classics and roasts, ~£15–22 a main.
- Website
- thesheepheidedinburgh.co.uk
Book the skittle alley when you reserve the table — six blokes, an hour of skittles, loser buys the round. Then bus or cab back into town (~10 min).
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15:00
Whoever booked collects keys; everyone in the lobby, presentable, at 16:10. Latecomer buys the first round.
Tonight's venues are smart-casual — shirts, no fancy dress, no matching stag T-shirts. Edinburgh doors can and do turn away rowdy-looking all-male groups; a booked, well-dressed six walks in everywhere.
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17:00
The roof terrace, castle behind. Photo: Cold Town House via Google - Getting there
- Tram to Princes Street (~25 min) then 10 min walk to Grassmarket
- Booking
- Group rooftop tables can carry a minimum spend — ask when booking
- Website
- coldtownhouse.co.uk
- Phone
- +44 131 357 2865
- Drink
- Cold Town lager brewed on site; wood-fired pizzas if the walk hunger returns
The roof terrace has the best casual castle view in the city — this is the weekend's photo spot. Order via the QR menu; blankets available if the September air bites. Open till 1am Saturday.
Roof fully booked or the minimum spend rankles? The Bow Bar (West Bow, 2 min away) is one of Scotland's great ale-and-whisky pubs — no bookings, all character — or BrewDog on the Cowgate takes groups at big tables.
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19:30
Photo: baldhiker.com - Order
- Surf & turf, king scallops, a kilo pot of mussels for the table
- Budget
- Mains ~£18–32; ~£45–55 a head with drinks
- Website
- musselandsteakbar.com
- Phone
- +44 131 225 5028
Some restaurants ask groups of 6+ for a pre-order or set menu — check when booking so nobody's choosing off a laminated card at 19:25.
Booked out? The Grain Store on Victoria Street does refined Scottish with group menus, Kyloe is the pure-steak splurge, and Oink (hog roast rolls) is the gloriously cheap fallback.
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21:30
Photo: Frankenstein via Google - The show
- The animatronic monster descends over the bar with lights and smoke — weekend showings run late evening (around 10:30pm, 11pm and midnight)
- Stag status
- Genuinely stag-friendly — your safest late-night anchor
- Website
- frankensteinedinburgh.co.uk
- Phone
- +44 131 622 1818
Group bookings take a deposit and charge for no-shows — cancel by 24h if plans change.
Change of scene after the show? Whistlebinkies or Bannermans for live music till late, The Three Sisters (a stag staple, huge beer garden), The Devil's Advocate for a whisky nightcap, or check The Stand comedy club's Saturday listings.
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Late
The airport-line tram stops running mid-to-late evening and night buses barely cover Edinburgh Park — don't plan around catching one. The move: two taxis or Ubers from the Old Town, ~£20–28 each, 15–20 min. Split it, don't debate it at 1am.
Address for the driver: Novotel Edinburgh Park, 15 Lochside Ave, EH12 9DJ.
Pre-save the hotel in Uber and screenshot this card now. Sober you is doing drunk you a favour.
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09:00
Breakfast is ~£16 if you didn't add it at booking — you'll want it. Check out but leave bags at reception (free) — you'll swing back before the airport.
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10:00
Photo: Geri Michalari via Google - Tickets
- ~£21.50–23 adult, timed slots — book the 10:00–10:30 window, weeks ahead if you can
- Priorities
- Crown Jewels & the Stone of Destiny, St Margaret's Chapel (Edinburgh's oldest building), the Great Hall, Mons Meg, the Scottish National War Memorial, the rampart views
- Website
- edinburghcastle.scot
- Phone
- +44 131 225 9846
The One O'Clock Gun does not fire on Sundays — don't build the morning around it.
Skip the audio guides — grab a paper map and lead yourselves. Lots of uphill cobbles inside; last night's legs will complain.
If 10:00 is sold out, take the earliest slot going. Sold out entirely? The (free) National Museum of Scotland is a genuinely great swap.
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12:15
Photo: Globe_trotter_ish via Google The curved, colourful street widely claimed as inspiration for Harry Potter's Diagon Alley — 2 minutes downhill from the castle esplanade. The shot is from the raised Upper Bow terrace, looking down the curve. Wings is right around the corner, so this flows straight into lunch.
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13:00
Photo: Diego Luna via Google - The deal
- Wings ordered by the portion, dozens of themed sauces and rubs, cheap, quirky — built for a hungover group
- Find it
- Tucked down Old Fishmarket Close, off the Royal Mile — easy to walk past
- Website
- wingsedinburgh.co.uk
- Phone
- +44 131 281 1245
There's a hot-wing spice challenge. This is the ready-made stag forfeit — Jamie does it, milk on standby, phones out.
If it can't fit six: Oink for hog-roast rolls, Civerinos for pizza slices, or The Piemaker — all cheap, quick and on/near the Mile.
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15:00
Photo: Nitesh Govind via Google Walk the Royal Mile downhill then up Calton Hill — castle, Arthur's Seat and the Forth in one 360° panorama. The National Monument (the unfinished "Parthenon") is the photo op; the Nelson Monument tower can be climbed for ~£6 if legs allow.
- Listing
- Google Maps — Calton Hill
Rather do something else with the slot? Johnnie Walker Princes Street (~1.5 hr tour + rooftop bar, ~£29–35), the Scotch Whisky Experience by the castle (~1 hr, ~£23–37), or the free National Museum of Scotland — the wet-weather winner. (If you used the Arthur's Seat backup on Saturday, one of these replaces the view you've already had.)
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16:15
Buffer hour. Rose Street (parallel to Princes Street, on the way to the tram) is wall-to-wall pubs for a farewell pint. If anyone wants whisky to take home, the Royal Mile shops do miniatures.
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17:30
Collect bags from Novotel reception. There's a bar in the lobby if you're ahead of schedule — you probably won't be.
- Website
- edinburghtrams.com — live times & tickets
Murrayfield is on this tram line — if there's a rugby fixture or concert on the 20th, trams will be heaving. Check the fixture list in advance and jump in a cab instead if there is one.
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19:00
Hand luggage only means straight to security — aim to be airside by 19:45 for the 21:15 departure. Time for food if Wings has somehow worn off.
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21:15
Lands LHR 22:35. Sort onward travel home before the weekend — last trains out of London get thin by the time you're through the terminal.
- Manage
- ba.com
Getting past every door
Edinburgh venues can refuse big all-male groups at the door's discretion. Six blokes with bookings and shirts have no problem; a rabble does. The rules:
- Book everything in advance under one name (Josh's), and mention it's a group of 6 — a booking is your pass.
- Smart-casual after 5pm. No fancy dress, no matching stag T-shirts, no L-plates on Jamie until you're inside Frankenstein.
- Stay six. Don't absorb strays — group size is the first thing a doorman counts.
- Be low-key at the door, loud inside. Frankenstein and the Three Sisters are the stag-friendly anchors; the smarter spots just need the booking and the shirts.
Bookings — do these now
In priority order. Tap to tick off. (Ticks reset if you close the page — the group chat is the source of truth.)
What it costs a head
Working estimates so nobody's surprised. Collect the fixed costs up front; food and drinks settle as you go.
| Item | Per person |
|---|---|
| Return flight (BA, hand luggage) | £179 |
| Hotel (twin share, 1 night, incl. breakfast) | ~£55–75 |
| Hire car share + fuel (£0 if Arthur's Seat backup) | ~£15–25 |
| Trams + Saturday-night taxis | ~£22 |
| Castle ticket | ~£22 |
| Food & drink (both days, being honest) | ~£130 |
| Roughly | ~£425–455 |
All figures except the flight are recent estimates, not confirmed 2026 prices — verify each when booking. Decide as a group whether the groom pays his share.
Mid-September in Edinburgh
- 15–16°Cdaytime highs
- 9–10°Covernight lows
- Showers likelywaterproofs, not brollies
- ~19:15sunset on the 19th
- ~12.5 hrsof daylight
- Colder up topthe ridge bites harder
Packing — hand luggage only
- Walking shoesworn on the plane, not packed
- Waterproof jacketthe ridge is exposed — non-negotiable
- Warm layerup top it's 10°C colder than the city
- Smart-casual shirtyour door pass for both nights
- Water bottleempty through security, fill airside
- Portable chargernavigation + photos + taxi apps
- Photo IDfor the flight and the bouncers
- ParacetamolSunday-you says thanks
Key numbers, links & addresses
- Novotel Edinburgh Park — 15 Lochside Ave, EH12 9DJSite+44 131 446 5600
- Cold Town House — 4 GrassmarketSite+44 131 357 2865
- Mussel & Steak Bar — 110 West BowSite+44 131 225 5028
- Frankenstein — 26 George IV BridgeSite+44 131 622 1818
- Wings — 21 Old Fishmarket CloseSite+44 131 281 1245
- Flotterstone Inn — A702, by the walk car parkMap+44 1968 620559
- Sheep Heid Inn — Duddingston (backup-day lunch)Site
- Edinburgh CastleSite+44 131 225 9846
- Edinburgh TramsSite
- Pentland Hills Regional ParkSite
- EDI Airport car hireSite