THE DOG ADVISOR KENT BLOGS

THE DOG ADVISOR KENT BLOGS

Dog-Friendly Edinburgh

Dog-friendly Edinburgh from Kent you ask, well here are our thoughts as we travel home after a short break in this beautiful city

Lots of dogs in Holyrood Park around Arthur's Seat enjoying the green space

Getting there and back

So public transport tends to be very dog-friendly and the Caledonian Sleeper is no exception. We got the train from Sittingbourne to St Pancras then walked to London Euston (good opportunity for doggy toilet break!). There are some green space squares in the area, have a look on Google Maps Tavistock Square or Gordon Square for example.

Up to 2 dogs can travel in a sleeper cabin with you for £30 per journey

Dogs are allowed in the Club Lounge and you'll have paid £30 fee to have up to 2 dogs in your cabin. Our tickets were £200 each for a Wednesday overnight single (this included a shower, a bit less with just a basin). The dog(s) must stay in your cabin with you and are not allowed on the bed and obviously there's nowhere to go to the toilet but essentially it's nighttime (we boarded at 10pm ish, train left at 1130pm arrived at 7.30am so only you know if this is a problem!). Dogs are not allowed in the seated coaches on the sleeper.

First time on the dog-friendly sleeper train London to Edinburgh, more of a rickety ride than a gentle lull but very clean comfortable cabins

On arrival at 8am it's worth considering whether you can check in to your accommodation that early. Lots of the mainstream accommodation providers allow you to filter on "Pets allowed" and Scotland Stories has some hotel options in their Dog-friendly Edinburgh blog.

The Scotlands Stories Dog-friendly Edinburgh Blog is packed with pawsome information link at the bottom of the page and you can follow Scotlands Stories on Facebook and Instagram

We are shortly going to point you to the comprehensive Dog-friendly Edinburgh blog by Scotland Stories but we will just leave you with a few of our own insights after our Edinburgh break.

We don't recommend this last section of the Arthur's Seat climb with your dog!

St Giles Cathedral is dog-friendly, although Edinburgh Castle you will have to enjoy from the outside. Lots of green space and the walk up to Arthur' Seat offers beautiful views. We wouldn't recommend going right to the summit with the dog though although Bailey the cockapoo and his owners made it to the top!

St Giles is dog-friendly because a dog saved John Knox's colleague's life John Craig so Knox vowed St Giles would be dog-friendly!

You can shop in St James Quarter with your dog, John Lewis is dog-friendly and we met the lovely Gustav in Zara who was pawsitively loving a bit of retail therapy. His owner had travelled to Edinburgh on the train from the Midlands and commented that it was tricky to find a restaurant to take a dog so definitely worth doing your research and making a booking in advance. Turns out Gustav not so keen on escalators either. We had an amazing tasting menu at Junk in the Newington district and Junk do welcome dogs with advance warning. Coffee'n'More welcome dogs on Cockburn Street and have a delicious selection of treats for humans.

The lovely Gustav in Zara St James Quarter Edinburgh

We are travelling home on a standard train to London and whilst this is cheaper definitely reserve a seat and consider legroom and the size of your dog as not lots of space around the seats and a 4-5 hour journey from Edinburgh to London.

Lots of green space in the city Mr Dog Advisor even did ParkRun Holyrood which you could do with your dog!

Now we've given you our Dog-friendly Edinburgh Paws for Thought, we'd like to point you to Scotland's Stories Dog-friendly Edinburgh Guide which is packed with pawsome information courtesy of Graeme and the lovely Molly the labrador.