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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Penicuik
Skip as a base: use Penicuik as a half-day from Edinburgh for Rosslyn Chapel and a Pentlands walk, or one night if you want the hills at dawn.
Penicuik is a paper-mill town of about 16,000 people 10 miles south of Edinburgh, on the A701 road to Peebles and at the foot of the Pentland Hills. It is commuter country with a small museum, a ruined tower house and quick access to Glencorse and the Roslin sites. Most travellers see it as a half-day trip from Edinburgh, not a base.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (short, wet days); avoid live-firing dates on the Pentland ranges
- Stay
- 0–1 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £45–70 excl. bed · Mid £70–110 excl. bed · High £110+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 999 · Police non-urgent 101 · NHS non-urgent 111
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | £3–4.50 |
| Pub main course | £12–18 |
| Restaurant main (Royal Hotel) | £15–30 |
| Taxi Edinburgh Airport → Penicuik | £35–45 |
| Glencorse Golf Club visitor round | £30 |
| Penicuik Athletic match ticket | £8 adults, £5 concessions, free U16s |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £6–12 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- EDI · Edinburgh Airport
- About 10 miles north; taxi £35–45, or bus into Edinburgh then Lothian 37 or Borders X62
Typical fares
- Edinburgh city centre → Penicuik, Lothian 37
- about 1 h, day return around £7
- Edinburgh Airport → Penicuik, taxi
- £35–45
- Rosslyn Chapel adult
- £9.50
Get around
Lothian Bus 37 runs every 20 min from Edinburgh's west end via Loanhead, Roslin and Bush, about an hour; Nightbus N37 runs hourly from midnight to 4AM. Borders X62 runs every 30 min from Edinburgh via Glencorse Barracks, about 50 min, and continues to Peebles, Innerleithen and Galashiels. Stagecoach 101 runs hourly via Flotterstone to West Linton and Biggar, with a few daily buses on to Moffat and Dumfries. Inside town everything is walkable; you need a car or a taxi for the hills and the outlying ruins.
See and do
Known for
- Pentland Hills walking
- Papermaking heritage
- Rosslyn Chapel at nearby Roslin
- Glencorse and Castlelaw
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Rosslyn Chapel and Roslin | Lothian Bus 37 to Roslin village, then a short walk | About 1 h 15 min from Penicuik |
| Edinburgh | Lothian 37 or Borders X62 from the town centre | 45–60 min |
| Glencorse and Castlelaw | Stagecoach 101 to Flotterstone, then walk | About 30 min by bus, then on foot |
| Peebles | Borders X62 south | About 45 min |
| Biggar | Stagecoach 101 southwest | About 1 h |
Sleep
- Town centre (High St and Bog Rd)
- Small hotels and guesthouses, walkable to buses, shops and the museum.
- Roslin and Loanhead
- Closer to Rosslyn Chapel and the retail park; more beds, still on the Edinburgh bus corridor.
- Edinburgh
- Best base for most trips: 45–60 min by bus, far more choice and later food.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Single / return to Penicuik, please | Single / return to Penicuik, please |
| Does this bus stop at Roslin? | Does this bus stop at Roslin? |
| Where is the nearest bus stop? | Where is the nearest bus stop? |
| Is the hill path open today? | Is the hill path open today? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Parts of the Pentland Hills are military firing ranges: heed red flags and warning signs, and do not enter closed ground.
- Penicuik House is a stabilised shell closed to the public; do not plan a visit around it.
- Rosslyn Castle is self-catering accommodation: view the exterior only.
- Rural buses thin out in the evening; check the last return before you set out.
- Weather on the hills turns fast: carry a waterproof and a charged phone.
A quiet commuter town and one of the safer places in the Lothians. The real risks are hill weather, unmarked firing ranges and dark rural roads with no pavement.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Penicuik yet. Suggested stay: 0–1 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Pentland Hills walking
- Papermaking heritage
- Rosslyn Chapel at nearby Roslin
- Glencorse and Castlelaw
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- VisitScotland — Edinburgh and the Lothians: www.visitscotland.com/
- Lothian Buses: www.lothianbuses.com/
- Borders Buses: www.bordersbuses.co.uk/
- Rosslyn Chapel: www.rosslynchapel.com/
- Penicuik Papermaking Heritage Museum: penicuikcdt.co.uk/index.php/penicuik-papermaking-heritage-museum/
- Wikivoyage: Penicuik, revision 5332847 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5332847
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Penicuik
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Penicuik; the US consulate-general and most others are in Edinburgh.
Buses in this area are exact-change or contactless; check the operator before boarding.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/penicuik). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.