One of the main art galleries in Edinburgh it hosts a range of major exhibitions. It is a great space to view work, good light and atmosphere. There is a shop filled with great artists books, gifts and general stuff. There is also a cafe which is relaxing and chilled out. It serves both food and drink, although it's not the cheapest place in town!

It is located slightly out from the central shopping area but there are great opportunities in terms of walking in the area such as along the very picturesque water of Leith. If you have planty of time, this is a great day out.

Having spoken to Sandra (our B&B host) she suggested we head along the road and pick up The Water of Leith Walkway which takes you about a mile or so along the river to the back entrance of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. It was such a lovely walk through beautiful woodland scenery, you also come across a rather grand nymph-type Victorian mineral well, and through the quaint Dean Village. We where amazed at how tranquil it all was considering it was in the centre of a city! Definitely a break from the hustle and bustle.

The gallery itself is set in wonderful grounds; the huge modern pond at the front both contradicts the traditional grand build while leading you into the modern spaces of the gallery. We spent most of our time wandering around the Richard Long exhibition. It was well executed covering work from the 60s up to new works created especially for the exhibition, so much so a couple of them where painted directly onto the gallery walls!

We then jumped on the free shuttle bus which runs every hour between all the national galleries back into the heart of the city, intending to go to the Portrait Gallery. We headed in before deciding that nah…actually we’ve done the culture now it’s time to shop! Still the free shuttle bus came in handy!

Scotland's finest collection of modern and contemporary art. Collections ranging from paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings of the 1890's right up to contemporary video installations of the 1990s. Always interesting