All about Edinburgh’s premier railway station. Arriving at Waverley Station is the best way to kick off your excellent Edinburgh experience! For here is the very heart of Edinburgh.

You can’t get a better introduction to one of the world’s most stunning city centres than that which awaits you at Waverley Station. Those first steps onto the Waverley Bridge pavement bring treats of breathtaking views of the Old Town to your left, the Princes Street Gardens straight ahead and the busy shoppers paradise of Princes Street to your right. Wow!

Arriving at Waverley Station is the best way to go! Here you are at the very heart of Edinburgh, the world is your oyster!

Set within a deep valley at the foot of the Old Town, it is hard to believe that once Waverley Station was full of water going by the name of the Nor Loch. Nor Loch stretched across the Princes Street Gardens too and was drained in the nineteenth century at the time of the New Town developments. The draining of what had become a disgusting open sewer was a process that was not achieved overnight taking over seventy years to complete. The city’s aroma must have improved considerably when in 1820, the loch had eventually been completely disposed of.

Named after the Waverley stories by Sir Walter Scott, this Victorian railway station is one of the biggest there is in the whole of the UK. Originally starting out as three stations, collectively known as Waverley Station, they were demolished and replaced in 1868. What you see before you today is pretty much the original look complete with its characteristic Victorian railway hotel, the Balmoral. A lift taking you directly up to the hotel from the station is still in use. The Balmoral Hotel is today one of the most prestigious hotels that you will find anywhere in the whole of the UK.

Views into Waverley Station from above can be achieved from the two bridges that span its recess, the North Bridge and the Waverley Bridge. The station offers many opportunities for refreshment as well as being a few steps away from

Princes Street. Before you get there you may feel the urge for some immediate good old retail therapy which can be easily achieved at the Waverley Station’s Princes Mall. Close to the exit of the Princes Mall is the Tourist Information point for maps and almost everything else the new visitor feels a need for.