BOAT TOUR AND VISIT TO INCHCOLM ISLAND AND ITS ABBEY
Discover Inchcolm: an Island of ruins, seabirds and more peace than you deserve.
(A boat trip, an abbey, and several opportunities for the gulls to judge you.)
Leave Edinburgh behind and follow your guide — trained, patient, and fully aware that mortals and boats can be a chaotic combination.
Your day begins in front of the Statue of the Duke of Wellington, where you’ll walk together to Waverley Station and board the train to Dalmeny.
It’s a short ride, just long enough for you to realise how unprepared you are for sea breeze and seabird attitude.
From Dalmeny, enjoy a gentle walk to South Queensferry, where your boat awaits.
Once aboard, settle in: warm seating, bathrooms, bar service… and spectacular views of the three iconic Forth bridges towering above you like ancient, slightly dramatic guardians.
Your guide will point out wildlife along the way — seals, seabirds, and the occasional human screaming internally at the height of the railway bridge.
Soon you’ll reach Inchcolm Island, a tiny patch of land with a very impressive abbey and very unimpressed gulls.
You’ll explore Inchcolm Abbey and the Hermit’s Cell with your guide for about 45 minutes, uncovering medieval stories that somehow survived wind, wars and human idiocy.
After that, you’ll have around 45 minutes of free time to wander, breathe, picnic, or defend your food from opportunistic birds.
Once the island has judged you sufficiently, you’ll rejoin your guide and sail back to South Queensferry, taking in the views one last time. Then it’s a walk back to Dalmeny Station and a train returning you safely — hopefully — to Edinburgh.
A six-hour adventure filled with history, nature, sea air, ancient stones and surprisingly rude birds.
You’ll love it. The gulls… less so.
A FEW THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
SCHEDULE
The tour runs every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, all year long — yes, even when the sea, the sky and the seagulls are all in a foul mood.
We start at 10:30 am and return to Edinburgh around 4:30 pm.
That’s six hours of boats, bridges, islands, medieval ruins, sea breeze… and gulls with absolutely no respect for personal space.
Travel is by train and boat — reliable, scenic, and still less dramatic than me flying across the Forth on a broomstick.
MEETING POINT
Your Timeless Edinburgh guide will be waiting in front of the Statue of the Duke of Wellington
(9 Waterloo Pl, Edinburgh EH1 3BG).
Look for a purple umbrella and someone far too enthusiastic about Scotland’s landscapes.
If you can’t find them… well, that’s a worrying start for a tour based on directions.
PRICES
- Tiny humans (0-5): FREE, they contribute chaos, not income.
- Young mortals (ages 6-15): £17
- Fully grown mortals (16-99): £30
The price does not include the train ticket or the boat fare. But don’t panic — your guide will assist with both purchases. A 20% discount is applied to the boat ticket, because even the Forth has a generous streak now and then.
And if you decide to eat in the village afterwards, your tour includes a 10% discount at one of the local restaurants. A reward for surviving the island… and the gulls.
Some Photos from the Tour
