Wow – this year’s Edinburgh Festival is turning out to be the biggest of all time. And with that the streets are VERY crowded. But after you’ve had time to check out some of your festival favourites (did you see our best of the free fringe?), here are some tips of where to go to get out of town and stretch your legs.

• Go for a hike in the Pentlands. If it’s a clear day you can see for miles and miles, and there are a number of tracks to suit all. The offical website has an excellent map. The fastest/easiest route is to take bus 4 to Hillend (the dry ski centre) and then walk up.
• Walk across the Forth Road Bridge. This is one of my favourite walks because you get uninterrupted views of the magestic Forth Rail Bridge. You can picnic over on the north side at North Queensferry before returning back to South Queensferry for some shopping and time in the pub. First Bus X43 from Waterloo Place runs express to South Quesnferry.
• Go to the Beach. Well – Crammond Beach isn’t for swimming, but it’s where the locals go for shoreside strolls. It’s not as crowded as in town, and its easy to get to from the city centre. Be sure to check the tide times – on low tide you can walk across to Crammond Island.
• Spend the day in Glasgow. I’ve already mentioned three good reasons why, so what are you waiting for?