Wedding Travel and Accommodation Info
Hello everyone! Here is some info on travel and accommodation we hope you find helpful for planning on attending the wedding. While the wedding is at Murthly Estate, a castle in the middle of the countryside, the nearest town is 4 miles away and is called Dunkeld and Birnam (it is two towns merged into each other along a river). There is lots of accommodation in D&B and we expect everyone and ourselves to stay there, and we will be looking to hire a coach to take everyone from D&B to the venue and back on the Friday for the ceremony, and on Sunday for the reception. There are local taxi companies you can use instead if you want, so you do not have to hire a car unless you want to. It is possible to get all the way from London to D&B by public transport.
We estimate that total cost of travel and accommodation can cost around £354 (£177 for travel by plane and train, and weirdly, £177 for accommodation in a B and B).
Example Journey
Here is an example of a journey on Friday 8th August 2025 and returning on Monday 11th August, total cost £177:
Ryanair plane: London Stansted departs 08.25am, arrives Edinburgh at 9.45am
£32.43 for basic ticket, + £32.74 for Plus ticket which gives you free check-in at airport and 20kg bag
Then you need to get a tram (or an Airlink 100 bus) from the airport to the train station. The trams and buses are every ten minutes, and take about 30 minutes; the trams go to St Andrew’s Square, which is 5 mins walk from Waverley, and cost £5.50 for a single. The buses stop on Waverley Bridge, just outside Waverley train station, and tickets cost £8. There are several train stations in Edinburgh. The one referred to as ‘Edinburgh train station’ is the main train station in Edinburgh, and usually the terminus for most journeys, is called Waverley. The other central one is Haymarket. You can get off at other train stations, but they will not always have connecting trains and you may have to go to Waverley or Haymarket anyway. There are taxis you can get as well.
Once you are in Waverley train station, you can get the train to Dunkeld and Birnam. Train tickets are released 3 months in advance, so the below is based on times on Fridays and Mondays now for travel between Edinburgh and D&B.
Return ticket from Edinburgh to D&B is £21.80
Waverley Edinburgh 11.35am arrives D&B 13.28pm, with one change at Perth.
Once you are in D&B, everything is within walking distance so you will have an hour to get to your accommodation, change and then be picked up about 2.30pm for the wedding at 3pm. There are other earlier planes and trains if you prefer.
Return journey:
D and B train station departs 08.34am, arrives Edinburgh Waverley at 10.14am, no changes, direct journey
Tram, 100 bus or taxi from Waverley to airport.
1.15pm plane from Ryanair from Edinburgh arrives London Stansted 2.40pm
£46.37 (+32.74 for Plus ticket allowing 20kg luggage)
Total cost of travel:
£144.28 for both plane tickets
£11 for both trams
£21.80 for both trains
= £177.08
There are similar planes and train times on Thursday 7th, which gives people a bit more time to arrive and settle in. Below is some more info on various options.
Planes
Ryanair flies direct from London Stansted to Edinburgh airport in 1 hour 20 mins 3 times a day, on Thursday 7th August 2025 and back again on Monday 11th. The flights vary from £30 to £60, but the cost doubles if you want to take a 20kg suitcase.
Easyjet flies direct from Gatwick, Stansted and Luton to Edinburgh in 1 hour 30 for about £50. Return journeys are from £35 and are still direct from Edinburgh to London airports in 1 hour 30.
https://www.easyjet.com/en/buy/flights?isOneWay=off&pid=www.easyjet.com
Train
London to Dunkeld and Birnam:
Shortest journey is 6 hours, National Rail return ticket for £177 from London Kings Cross to Dunkeld and Birnam train station
Other journeys can be 6.5 hours and around £200 depending what time of day you travel
Train journeys can be booked up to 3 months in advance.
Edinburgh to Dunkeld and Birnam:
If you take the coach or fly to Edinburgh but do not want to hire a car, you can still get the train from Edinburgh to Dunkeld and Birnam which takes 1 hour 40 mins and costs about £20 return.
Journeys throughout the day vary in length of time and cost so check which one is cheapest and quickest. Buying a return ticket can cost more, but means that if your train is delayed or cancelled or you just miss it by accident, you can still get another train without buying a new ticket. If you buy singles because they are cheaper and then miss your train, you will need to buy a new ticket.
Coach:
Megabus does an 8 hour journey from midnight to 8am for £16 from London Victoria to Edinburgh, daytime journeys are 9 or 10 hours; they only book journeys 3-4 months ahead
National Express: cheapest at £17.90, quickest journey 9 hours from London Golders Green to Edinburgh overnight on Thursday 7th August at 10.30pm
Return £17.90 at ten hours long, leaving Edinburgh at 10.35am and arriving at London Golders Green at 8.30pm
Murthly Castle Map