edinburgh apartments | stag and hen apartments | apartments in edinburgh | festival apartments

I am off on holiday from Edinburgh Festival Apartments for a couple of weeks so I thought I would post a little information on whats all going  on in Edinburgh over the next couple of weeks.

We have visitors coming from every part of the globe for all sorts of reasons!

Kicking off this weekend we have a group of lads staying with us that are going to Glasgow to watch the big cup final between the two Edinburgh premier football clubs Hearts and Hibs. The guys actually live in Portugal now but are traveling back to watch their team, I hope they don’t get caught up in the airport strikes! Instead of going out in Edinburgh, which will be jam packed the guys are opting to have a bit of a party in our townhouse at 31g. Hearts are the favourite to win – I really am not a footie fan but given that Edinburgh Festival Apartments is based in the West side of Edinburgh I expect we will have to go with them.

For those of you out and about on Saturday you may want to try something a bit different and away from the train stations when all those footie fans come back.

In the afternoon there is great band on in The Jazz Bar in Chamber Street and its FREE – The Mellotones Trio at 3pm, go check them out and get yourself in the mood for a good Saturday night.

This will be an ideal starting point for our group of girls staying at our George IV Residence to celebrate Laura Hen party.

Afterwards I would suggest they all head down to Whistle Binkies who do a great live rock and jazz session between 6pm and 9pm before it goes all hard rock.

For all the tourists staying in our Royal Mile apartments that would be good place to start and then around 9pm head over to the Mitre on the Royal Mile and listen to the sexy Raff who plays a good selection of Kings of Leon and the likes. After The Mitre you might want to head on for some more live music to dance to and for the over 25’s I would suggest The Jam House in Queen Street, the resident band play a fabulous range of up to date music and again have a super sexy lead singer.

If you are looking for a more relaxed intimate weekend like the guests we have staying this weekend in our smaller Royal Mile Apartment then I would recommend that you head down to Monteiths one of Edinburgh’s No1 restaurants for a truly scrumptious meal. The pork belly is delicious and you cant visit there without ordering a pot of Hendricks blossom Tea – simply the best cocktail in Edinburgh!!

Another truly great restaurant that is a favourite of ours here at Edinbugh Festival Apartments is Locanda de Gusti - it is an independent authentic Italian restaurant run by owner chef Rosario who makes the most delicious Italian food, the staff are also amazing, they really look after you from the minute you walk through the door, downstairs they have unique, quirky little bar with a huge wine cellar.

Because of all the amazing eating places we have in Edinburgh its a good idea on a Sunday to go for a good long walk up Arthurs Seat,

it is the main peak that form a group of hills which form the most of Holy-rood Park, the park has been written about by Robert Louis Stevenson about the magnitude and bold design. It is situated in the city centre and when you walk up to the top you can see all round the city and over to Fife.

Its easiest ascent is from the east where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch where you will find a large family of elegant swans.

Our limo company often take our tourists up to the top of Arthur’s Seat before going round the rest of the city.

This first bank holiday weekend has been very busy for us at Edinburgh Apartments - everyone of our apartments was booked out at the weekend from our smallest two bedroom on the Royal Mile just down from the castle to our luxury Edinburgh apartment townhouse with 22 beds. We had a mix of all types of holiday makers the girls in the townhouse arrived to celebrate a hen party and came wearing the custom hen party uniform of shocking pink feather boas – much of which was left on the carpets and drove our cleaners nuts trying to remove the tiny pieces of hot pink feathers from the carpet. The girls also went to see the Dream Boys on Saturday night and they apparently had a great time – reporting back that they were gorgeous and very very raunchy!!!

Over in our other Edinburgh apartment townhouse we had a bunch of lads on stag party who went paint balling in the afternoon and then in the evening opted for a pub crawl using our fantastic value for money VIP club pass which gets you into all the lively bars and clubs suitable for stag and hen parties looking to have fun.

In our 18G Edinburgh Apartment the ladies had actually booked all week and were working at conference in the EICC which is just round the corner, they had decided to stay the weekend and finish of with some R&R in Edinburgh before heading back down the road to Birmingham.

Funnily enough the same thing has happened this week, we are lucky enough to have five Edinburgh Apartments that are all only a 5 minute walk from the conference centre and they all have WIFI so its great for people on a working week.

With bank holiday Mondays practically all through the month of May this is looking to be a very busy month for us here at Edinburgh Festival Apartments. Our standard check out is 10am and check in is 2pm so our cleaners have busy days ahead with quick turnarounds – luckily we out source our linen to a cleaning company – can you imagine having to wash and iron all that bedding? Its always been a dream of mine that if I was to win the lottery I would only ever have brand new bedding – you know how David Beckham only wears his pants and socks once – I would like to be like that for bedding, there is nothing nicer than brand new bedding. I do love the fact that all our Edinburgh Festival apartments are fresh white linen.

The next Monday holiday we have is the 21st of May, then the 28th of May our Edinburgh Apartments are almost full !  and then the biggie for everyone is the Queens Jubilee – there are virtually no apartments left in Edinburgh – this is looking to be one of the busiest weekends of the  year. So if you are coming to stay with us at Edinburgh Apartments on any of those weekends I highly recommend you book one of our great value meal options – 3 courses for £20 or 3 courses for £25 along with our VIP club pass. We have a choice of 5 different restaurants “bistro” style, classic Italian, Indian, cocktail restaurants and Chinese. These are all great places in the city centre and used to lively groups – all our VIP clubs and bars are within walking distance too! However if you are looking for something a little bit more unusual or specific for your group we would be happy to make a reservation on your behalf.

Today we are taking the time to catch up on information on our Hen Edinburgh, Stag Edinburgh and Festival Apartments websites so that we can be ready to reply to all the inquiries we receive about the Festival and of course the biggie in Edinburgh Hogmanay - we are already receiving bookings!!

Edinburgh is the number one hot spot to celebrate New Year and our apartments get booked up so quickly, interestingly we are also receiving lots of inquiries about Christmas – I think that would be a great idea for families to get together and celebrate Christmas all in the same place – it would save having to eat all those Christmas dinners at his family, your family, your friends house, his friends house, you own house and any where else that invites you. Neither wonder we all put on a winter layer – still trying to shift mine !!!

The Easter holidays have flown past here at Edinburgh Festival Apartments we were so busy with all different kinds of guests coming from all over the world. We had a lovely couple from Venezuela staying in our apartment in the Royal Mile for a few days whilst they explored the city including taking in one or Hidden and Haunted Ghost Tours beneath the city vaults and sampling some unique Scotch Whisky at the The Scotch Malt Whisky Society followed by a superb lunch.

In our luxury penthouse we had a lovely family from Italy who chose this apartment in the Haymarket area so that they had easy access to the city but also could hire a car (car parking is provided) and explore the Highlands and North on day trips. They also took in a visit to Edinburgh Zoo to see the Pandas, but remember if you are doing so its a good idea to book your tickets in advance as they are still a very popular day out and spaces are limited whilst the Pandas settle in to their new home in Edinburgh.

We had many visitors from China over the holidays who stayed in several of our apartments and also our townhouse which during the week we can provide en-suite rooms at a fantastic room rate of only £25 per person a night. Unfortunately we have no rooms available at the weekends  because the townhouse is so popular with our stag and hen parties we are fully booked most of the year.  So if you are looking to organise a hen or stag party for next year make sure you book as soon as you can – a deposit of 15% which usually is about £20 each will secure the date and means you at least have a base before you start sorting out what you all want to do.

Every weekend we have all different groups of excited girls, predominately dressed in hot pink with fluffy antennas ! The girls most popular choice of weekend usually consists of a girls night in on the Friday – where our hot sexy butler in the buff comes along for an hour to pour drinks for the ladies and more often than not they ask for “Condor” to be dressed in a kilt – no top of course!

Then on the Saturday many opt for our Pamper Day at a great salon where they have the choice of treatments which include a back, neck and shoulder massage  or a fantastic facial both of which will leave you feeling relaxed and fresh ready for some fun. Or you can glam yourself up for the big night out by having your eye lashes done or a file and polish on your hands or feet.  The girls in the salon are all professionally trained and are used to hen parties, they really go out their way to make sure you have fun and provide nibbles and bubbly too!

After they are all ready to go the big night out things usually start with our fabulous cocktail class where you will be taught by our expert mixologist on a range of cocktails whilst sampling 3 each and the bride to be will be given the chance to make her own unique cocktail.

You can follow this with dinner in a choice of different venues – all of which we have sample menus. The restaurants we book are all friendly towards large groups and don’t mind fancy dress.

At this point we know you ladies will be looking to have a dance and we can gauarntee you all entry to a whole range of bars and clubs with our VIP club pass at just £5.00 each for the two nights and if you like we can even reserve you an area for your group and if we ask nicely they will very often through in some free bubbly for your celebration.

The really great thing about a weekend like this is that you are all in one place, you can relax and enjoy each others company, bring your own booze which cuts down on spending when you are out and about – a package tailor made to suit your group but similar to the one we have described includes 2 nights accomodation, butler in the buff, pamper treatments, cocktail class, dinner and nightclub entry will come in at an inclusive price of just £170.00 each – so with just a little bit extra for drinks when you are out you can have a fantastic fun filled weekend for under £200.

We can also organise the same kind of weekend but during the week – our midweek breaks are slighted cheaper and you can do the same kind of things for about £50 less each which is great for all you groups that are on a budget or maybe not looking for such a wild time.

We are always available Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm to help sort out your unique holiday so give us a call if you are unsure what you want to do.

Here at Edinburgh Festival Apartments we have another bow to our arrow by the way of Hen Edinburgh and Stag Edinburgh, we specialize in large group bookings and can organize a whole host of activities for your hen and stag parties.

After receiving loads of positive feedback about the different things we organize I thought it may be a good idea to write about a featured Hen or Stag package to give you an idea of what book or how to do it when you are here.

Standard Hen or Stag Package – just £85 each for the weekend.

Two nights in a four star Edinburgh city centre apartment with a 15 venue VIP club pass which allows you to “Q”jump and ensures that your large group will not be refused entry. The club pass is valid for the Friday and Saturday night which means you can go to different areas on both nights.

The main areas for a night in Edinburgh are the Grass-market, George Street, The Royal Mile and The Omni Center.

So for the Friday night a good plan for ladies staying in our 18g apartment head round the corner to Hyde-out for some snazzy cocktails, next down to the Grass-market to the infamous Three Sisters, you can of course spend all night in here in the three different bars with a mix of all ages or you can head up to George IV Bridge to Frankenstein themed bar – have a quick shot in here and then pop over the road to Revolution, make sure you go downstairs where there is a bigger, livelier bar – if you feel like a snack they do some yummy food in here. By this time you are going to be wanting to have a dance I expect so it may be a good time to head back across the road to Espionage which has five floors with all different types of music. I’m pretty sure after all of this you will be wanting to have the traditional late night Edinburgh snack and  head to the kebab shop on route to bed

Saturday - you will be wanting to head out a little bit earlier I expect, things start to get lively in the afternoon from around 4pm. But presuming you may want to have a  little bit more of an upmarket night I suggest you ladies walk down Lothian Road and head towards George Street. You may want to stop off for a little aperitif on route and I would suggest either All Bar One or The Red Squirrel both on Lothian Road, the later does an amazing range of unusual Belgian beers and you can have a taster glass for just £1 – they also do amazing gourmet burgers.  As you walk along George you will have a vast array of bars and clubs to choose from Tiger Lily is very popular but beware was they don’t allow Hen or Stag Parties we suggest you head along to Hanover Street North and pop into Grand Cru, its a lively bar and they often have happy hour offers around 5ish. If you feel like an early dance head over to Hanover Street South and pop into El Barrio – Edinburgh’s Latino salsa bar, its great fun and they love Hen Parties! Next you might want to go to Le Monde – a swanky cocktail bar with Shanghai Nightclub for another little dance. I expect its now around 10pm so its a good idea to choose a club to spend the rest of the night in – get yourselves down to Mood nightclub at the Omni center, you can walk down its about 10mins or 20 in high heels or jump in a Rickshaw for something different! Its a great lively club and they often have Ibiza themed club nights, the final bonus is there is a taxi rank outside for getting home

After dancing all weekend I am sure the next morning no one can be bothered cooking breakfast before you head home so all you ladies staying in 18g are so lucky because at the top of the street you have a great coffee shop that does yummy breakfasts Loudons including huge muffins, pancakes and if you are feeling like you want to start getting healthy again they do amazing home made muesli and fresh fruit salads. However if you prefer a big full on cooked breakfast head over to Cargo where they do a full Scottish with our national dish Haggis! I recommend having a Bloody Mary to wash it down with its the best thing to keep that hangover at bay for the train, plane or car journey home.

This weekend sees the second six nations home game for Scotland and Festival Apartmnets welcomes our many French visitors. It was at school when I last had to have a conversation in French which proved helpful at check in time! Although really I don’t think we really go past first names “Mon nom est…..”and here are your apartment keys “voici les clés de votre appartement”.

In amongst our French visitors we had a range of rugby supporters from England, Ireland and Wales all opting to watch the various games in Edinburghwhilst wearing their own team colours.

This weekends visitors were mainly dominated by Stag Parties who amongst watching the rugby had booked a range of activities like mini highland games, paint-balling and carting. We also had an unusual mid week stag party – what a great idea for those on a budget as our apartments are a  more favourable rate and apparently they all had just as good a time as all the bars and clubs were packed every night with student promotions and prices!

Surprisingly all our male visitors arrived early on Friday morning having booked some cheap flight deals, so once the morning rush was over and everyone was booked in we had a light lunch break before our hen parties arrived in a sea of hot pink feathers, tulle and helium balloon!

They were all so excited the noise was unbelievable! When the guys check in the only two questions are where is the off licence and where is the pub. The hen parties however are a different story, are there hairdryers, where can I plug my straighteners in, where can the Ipod docking station go, are there cocktail glasses, are there cocktail shaker maker things, how many showers are there, which room is mine, who’s sleeping in my room, the list of questions is endless and they all ask at once and no one waits for an answer!

Truthfully though its great fun and really nice to meet the people who we have been speaking to on the phone when booking the right apartment for them and selecting the best activities to suit there party. So many people are already booking the larger apartments for next year and we even have some great deals to offer when you are booking so far in advance so give us a call.

August is filling up fast for the Edinburgh Festival with many of our large apartments already full for the whole month with theatre groups and some well known acts. Its so bizarre when people phone up and say they are looking for something for the whole month what choice and they are shocked when I have to say there is little choice left at this late stage! I love the festival the city has such a mix of people and that kind of lively “London” buzz about it.

Before we reach August though we have the wedding season which sees us with hen parties, stag parties and wedding parties – many people opting to stay together in an apartment rather than a hotel so that they can all have a little pre -wedding party, get ready together with extra bathrooms and then have a little after wedding celebration.

Here in Edinburghour school holidays also start a little earlier and are in fact upon us at the end of June! We have been so busy at Festival Apartmentssince the turn of the year that I haven’t even given it a thought to what we will do as a family this year for our Summer holidays. Last year we went camping which in the Scottish weather really isn’t appealing two years in a row! My daughter would love to go on a cruise – which I would also love however we will have to see how the pennies go from now till then. Not forgetting the diet as well !! Thankfully the lighter mornings and evenings are in sight which means I will be able to cycle to Festival Apartments Headquarters along the canal each morning and evening and hopefully start to shift this winter layer or layers! to be more precise! Its so hard too lose even a couple of pounds but so easy to put on a couple of stone without even noticing! Worst thing as well is the fact we have Greggs across the road from HQ which really is such a struggle to stay away from the sausage rolls and the fairy cakes – I wish |Gregss would start selling fruit platters!

So how are we all feeling after Valentines Day?

We have a mixed bag of singles and couples here are Edinburgh Festival Apartments so its been a funny mix conversations.

What should I buy her? Why do men not get it? We all want flowers or something personal that we know he knows we want! Or a dinner cooked by him, a table set by him, candles bought and lit by him, a bubble bath run by him, a massage by him, but most importantly a really nice card, maybe made by him expressing that you are the most important person in his life and he would do anything to make you happy and feel cherished.

So how come when they don’t do that they come back into work the next day surprised that the female colleagues are shaking their heads saying “but I told you” !!!

Romance is certainly not gone, we know that because every weekend our large group apartments are filled with excited hen and stag parties celebrating the imminent wedding.

So we meet someone new and exciting, this could be the one we think, the first year is always tricky – you don’t want to buy too much in-case he doesn’t and vice versa, Christmas should it be with his family or yours – when you really just want to be together. Birthdays are even more tricky especially if his is first!

But then as time progresses you kind of know what to expect and what each other will like and be impressed by. So WHY do men still get it wrong? You very rarely hear a guy saying “I was really disappointed that she didn’t make more of an effort” But we girls we always say that! 

We really notice the difference in hear as well when organising “hen parties” and “stag parties“.

The girls well they kind of know the numbers, kind of know the budget and know the  date for sure. But they are really not sure what they want to  do, where they want to go. They really know for sure that its important to know how many bathrooms there are, who will be sharing a room with who, will there be hairdryers, will there be straighteners, are there a good selection of wine glass and cocktail glasses, how far is it to walk in high heels, are there cleaning products and loo roll in the apartment the list of questions is endless.

The guys however well they are a whole different kettle of fish!

We usually get maybe one email or phone call asking if we have an apartment that will fit 2o guys on whichever date they want. Is it all single beds – yes (we know bunk beds are no good when you are drunk!) Is it near the bars and clubs - yes. How much is the deposit ? OK how do I book ?

So easy – and I have news for you our cleaners much prefer when there is a bunch of lads than girls, they leave the apartments in perfect condition, they are very respectful and there is no fake tan on the linen, or make up spillages on the carpets!  So ladies please remember someone has to clean the apartment after you to make sure its in the same condition when you stayed.

And ladies please remember to book as soon as you can, its so disappointing when ladies phone back after sorting out all the questions only to find that some else has booked the date!

The other large groups we often have staying in our apartments are theatre groups and schools. Now these are obviously all another set of questions. Is everything within walking distance – yes. Are there plenty of plates, cutlery, utensils ? Yes. Can the rooms be made up to suit all boys or all girls – yes.

So as you can see we get all different kinds of large groups staying in our apartments and we like to cater for them all. Where we can we will move beds around or add, we will make sure your shopping is delivered. That you have all the things you need, microwaves, multiple toasters, kettles, mugs, plates etc – enough for everyone. Loo rolls, towels, bin bags. We leave everything your large group is going to need.

What do we ask in return?

Please be respectful to the apartment and remember its someones job to clean up after you.

Please be respectful to our neighbours when entering and leaving the apartments.

But most of all tell all your friends what a great time you had in Edinburgh and come back again ! We love having guests back again and already have people booking for next years hen parties which makes us believe that really romance isn’t dead after all.

January is over already !!!

We have had an amazing month at Edinburgh Festival Apartments, hence the reason there has been very little time to write anything on the blog.

We have launched some amazing new apartments including our luxury penthouse so for all you ladies looking for the footballer WAG lifestyle then this could be then venue for your girlie hen party night in, why not arrange for our “pamper ladies” to come along and give you have massage or perhaps have your nails painted for the special day.

Another new addition to portfolio is our Scottish themed apartment on the Royal Mile which sleeps 20 people, its a terrific apartment in the heart of the city and you can even arrange to have a bulter dressed in a kilt to meet you with a welcome drink?

We are so delighted to have these two new properties as our beautiful Townhouse has hardly any dates free until the end of July and we already have people booking for next year !! We do have mid week breaks available at great prices which would be ideal for corporate guests staying in the city for work Monday to Friday.

We are really busy in February with rugby fans coming to stay for the six nations and loads of guys opting to try out our mini “Highland Games” which is appartantly great fun, lots of girls are going for this as well – a wee change from the pole dancing classes? Good way to meet lots of guys looking for a partner to a wedding.

Its great to see that people are still wanting to come to Edinburgh all year not only for the amazing Edinburgh Festival – although dates are starting to fill up already. So if you are thinking about coming to Edinburgh for a wee break this year give us a call and we can let you know which dates are filling up.

What an amazing start the New Year we have had at Festival Apartments, the phone has been ringing off the hook with people looking to book apartments for all sorts of reasons……

Bookings for people from Edinburgh who are having a wedding and think it would be easier to have everyone under the one roof to get together for a meal, getting hair done, make up etc. We can even organise your pamper ladies to come to the apartment so you dont even have to leave.

The Townhouse has been getting booked for practically the whole Summer, there are very few dates left now!

What a great idea I think it is to all stay in the one place it means you can chill out and help each other with nails, hair etc. Also it has 7 bathrooms so no need for rushing or shouting at each other to get out the loo!

We have a group of 21 Swedish guys – ladies take note end of March who are coming to enjoy a weekend packed with Highland Games, Whisky tasting and Fly fishing not to mention a few wee drinkies in town.

Everyone is going crazy for our “still life” drawing class which features a hunky male model in a very discrete pose.

What has amazed me is how organised people are – we have had loads of bookings for next New Year 2013 – I think that’s such a great idea, so many of us leave it till the last minute and then we end up having to pay a fortune or not really doing what we want because its not available. Our large apartments are a great idea for Christmas and New Year because everyone is under the one roof and its only about £50 each a night. The other great thing is all our apartments are very central so no need for taxis which is such a bonus as they are so expensive at that time of year.

Our phones went mad last week when all the Six Nations, Scotland / England tickets were delivered and we had a huge number of people looking for apartments, many landlords don’t like large groups of guys but here at Festival we are happy to have them. In truth our cleaners prefer to clean the apartments after a bunch of guys than girls – ladies !!! Or maybe its just because the guys spend all weekend out at the pub ?

Later in the month we have a family of Chinese coming to spend the week together to celebrate their New Year on the 23rd of January – the year of the black water dragon.

Chinese New Year Day is on January 23, 2012. The first day of 2012 Chinese Astrology Year is on February 4, 2012.) Many people must be eager to know if they will have better luck in the coming year than previous years.

According to Chinese Five Element Astrology Calendar, 2012 is the Year of Water Dragon. The color of Water in Five Elements system is related to Black. Therefore we can say 2012 is a Black Dragon, Water Dragon or Black Water Dragon year.

Chinese Astrology is a Balance Theory of Five Elements. Each animal can be converted into Five Elements. Dragon contains Earth, Water and Wood. It’s a source of Water and It is also called the Water Dam in Chinese astrology. Since Water  of 2012 comes with Dragon. it implied Water from the sky makes a dam overflow. Therefore 2012 is a strong Water year. I wonder if this is why we have had so much rain? Although this is Edinburgh and it does rain a lot !!

Dragon is a legendary animal and it is symbol of emperor in China. Since the Dragon is coated with mysterious color, Chinese consider that the dragon is unpredictable, untouchable and people cannot see its head and tail at the same time. Therefore, we can expect to  see something unexpected happening in 2012. Also a person with too many dragons in the Chinese astrology birth chart will become smarter, sly and unpredictable in the coming year.

We have also had new landlords adding new properties to our portfolio which gives your guests an even better choice, we realise that our guests are looking for something a little bit unique and good quality with a great location.

One such apartment which as just been renovated and added to our portfolio is this amazing 4 bedroom apartment in the Royal Mile with feature walls and touches of tartan to add to the Scottish theme in the area. It sleeps up to 20 people and everything is within walking distance.

Another extremely unique apartment is “The Castle Snug” – this is one of our oldest properties right by the castle it dates back to 1700 and James Boswall was a past resident.  795

James Boswall was a Scottish lawyer  known for his two-volume biography THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D (1791), published seven years after the death of its subject. Boswell met Samuel Johnson in May 1763 in Davies’s London bookshop and the two became fast friends. He recorded in detail Johnson’s words and activities in a relatively short period. Later the historian Thomas Macaulay (1800-1859) called Boswell’s worship of Dr. Johnson “Lues Boswelliana, or disease of admiration.”

James Boswell was born in Edinburgh, the son of Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck, who was a judge in the supreme courts of Scotland. Boswell’s mother, Euphemia Erskine, was descended from a minor branch of Scottish royalty. His family had had for two-and-a-half centuries as its seat the estate of Auchinleck in Ayrshire. Near the new mansion were the ruins of the Old Castle, which he eagerly showed to Johnson and other friends.

Boswell really wanted to become known as a great lover. He told about his adventures to his friends, William Temple and John Johnston, and once claimed that he had made love five times in a single evening. He was well-known among prostitutes in London’s St. James Park – his sexuality was compulsive and he copulated after watching public hangings, perhaps in the nearby West Port or Grassmarket area. Over a period of 30 years he contracted gonorrhea 17 times!

In 1769 Boswell married Margaret Montgomerie, his cousin; they had two boys and three girls. From early on, he worried of her health and that he would be left alone. Though his visits to London were restricted to the vacations of the Court of Session, Boswell kept up his contacts with Johnson, and was elected to the Literary Club in 1773. The members included some of the most famous men of the time, such as the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, the actor David Garrick, the historian Edward Gibbon, and the political economist Adam Smith. With Johnson, who described Boswell as “the best travelling companion in the world”, the friends made their celebrated tour of Scotland and the Hebrides. “A page of my Journal is like a cake of portable soup. A little may be diffused into a considerable portion.” (from Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides) The route followed that of the unfortunate rebel, Prince Charles Edward. One of Johnson’s motives to undertake the journey was to investigate the authenticity of Macpherson’s Ossian poems; he was sure that they were fakes.

Boswell’s later moved to London and his remaining years were mainly unhappy, and he no longer had a clear course for his life. Some of his frieds avoided him, afraid that he would record their conversation – or perhaps that he would not do it. Boswell’s pursuit of a political career turned out to be unsuccessful. His wife, who coughed and spitted blood while in London, moved back to Scotland and after her death in 1789, he had difficulties with his “Edinburgh-mannered” daughters, who did much as they pleased. Boswell died in London, on May 19, 1795.

We are back to the office and happy to help with all your holiday plans for Edinburgh City, just give us a call or send us an email

Scottish Gaelic – Bliadhna Mhath Ur

Spanish – Feliz Año Nuevo

French – Joyeux Nouvel An

Swedish – Gott Nytt År

Polish – Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku

German – Glückliches neues Jahr

Japanese – 明けましておめでとうございます

Dutch – Gelukkig Nieuwjaar

Irish – Athbhliain Shona

Welsh – Blwyddyn Newydd Dda

Fillipino – Manigong Bagong Taon

Hindi – नया साल मुबारक हो

Greek – Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Έτος

Chinese – 新年快乐

Arabic – سنة جديدة سعيدة