Exploring southern Scotland from Dalkeith

Scotland is made for Winter; with wild scenery, whisky and wool, it’s got you covered when the temperature drops.

Towns like Dalkeith are ideal for exploring the south of the country, lying, as it does, just eight miles south of Edinburgh and 50 east of Glasgow.

And with trains from London to Eskbank, Dalkeith, running every hour at peak times, why not leave your vehicle at home and use the Co Wheels Car Club instead?

Here’s where you could go…

Edinburgh

At this time of year, Edinburgh is full of the Christmas spirit, and it’s just a 30-minute drive from Dalkeith. Hiring a medium Co Wheels car for five hours would cost as little £27.50, and just £2.88 in petrol.

Its six-week festive extravaganza has everything you need to get into the spirit of the season, with an ice rink, Christmas tree maze, an elves workshop and, of course, more mulled wine and hot chocolate than you can shake a stick at.

You’ll be glad to have hired a Co Wheels car once you’ve hit the shops; Princes Street has all the high street favourites you can think of, while the streets behind it feature an enticing mix of mainstream and independent boutiques.

And none of this is forgetting another of Edinburgh’s landmarks – the castle. Towering over the city, it’s best viewed from the inside, where visitors are treated to panoramic sights across the city and to the coast beyond.

Portobello beach

Because what’s better on a cold and windy day than wrapping up warm and taking a bracing seaside walk?

Portobello beach, on the coast of the North Sea, is just 20 minutes’ drive from Dalkeith, in a micro car costing as little as £4.75 an hour. At this time of year, there’ll be no sunbathing, but it’ll certainly blow the cobwebs away.

And if the cold gets too much, the nearby town is full of enticing cafes and ice cream parlours to warm you up again.

Craigmillar Castle

Of course, Scotland is famed for its castles, and Craigmillar is just four miles up the road from Dalkeith – hiring a car to spend a couple of hours exploring would cost just £9.50.

Known as Edinburgh’s other castle due to its proximity to its more famous counterpart, it was used by Mary Queen of Scots as a safe haven in 1566.

It features one of Scotland’s oldest tower houses, an unusual P-shaped fishpond and a host of hiding places for the kids, as well as offering breathtaking views across to Edinburgh.

It’s also set in extensive grounds, reminiscent of its days as a rural retreat for city folk, while some of the plants growing by the castle are thought to have been part of the original garden.

Glasgow

A little further away, around an hour’s drive to the east of Dalkeith, lies Scotland’s second most well-known city – Glasgow. You’ll probably want to make a day of it – our vehicles can be hired from as little as £33.25 for a full 24 hours.

With a rich ship-building heritage, Glasgow became one of the first cities in Europe to reach one million residents in the late 19th and 20th century.

Nowadays, ship-building has declined but the city’s popularity hasn’t, and it was even named Condé Nast Traveller’s best city to visit in 2021.

With dozens of green spaces, museums and buildings to explore, it’s a must-see for anyone visiting this part of Scotland.

You could even take your Co Wheels car across Kingston Bridge, the busiest bridge in Europe; more than 150,000 vehicles drive across its ten lanes every day.

Using the Co Wheels car sharing club is a great way to explore a new area, without the arduous part of driving there and back.

We have hundreds of vehicles, in sizes to suit all families, across the country, meaning there’ll always be one there when you need it.

Using the club is as easy as one, two, three; sign up here, book your car and use your smartcard to access the vehicle. At the end of your rental, simply return the car to where you found it or to an approved parking zone.