Winter is coming. Again. And in Scotland that can mean wet, windy days, and months where it feels like it never gets properly light. While that can mean that a visit to the likes of Edinburgh Castle, high and exposed on its volcanic outcrop, comes with a free dose of authentic (and atmospheric) Scotch mist, it makes trudging around the city in the rain feel more like a route march than a city break.
But never fear, the country's capital has a wide range of indoor attractions to delight and entertain you on those days when the weather isn't fit for outdoor sightseeing. Alongside the plethora of museums and galleries, here's a selection of some alternative all-weather attractions worth checking out this winter.
Got a head for heights?
Take to the sky with the Aerial Assault Course at Edinburgh International Climbing Arena - the world's largest indoor climbing facility - offering a high-wire act like no other. Strung up 100ft above the floor of the centre is a series of obstacles to test your agility and balance. No prior climbing experience is required, just nerves of steel and the ability to resist the urge to look down.
At five storeys high your adrenaline will be pumping and the sense of achievement on completion is immense. Of course you're roped on for safety, so even cowardly custards can make-believe they're daredevils, as long as no one sees you sweating and shaking as you totter across the logs, ladders and nets...
You need to get out more
There has been a rise in 'escape room' attractions in the last few years, and Can You Escape? is Edinburgh's award-winning mix of 'Crystal Maze'-style puzzle solving and 'Krypton Factor' brain teasing. Assemble a team of 'agents' to take on one of these imaginative and entertaining locked room mysteries.
Current missions include Operation Odyssey, where you have just an hour to get a space station back in action, while new mission Operation Deadlock will give you the chance to race against another team for the recovery of an ancient artifact! Brilliantly designed and with a variety of riddles wrapped in enigmas, sharpen your little grey cells and lateral think as if your life depended on it. Immerse yourself in this fun, challenging and utterly original way to spend an hour on a wet afternoon.
Going underground
A few miles to the south of the city centre is Gilmerton, a sleepy suburb with an intriguing mystery at its core. Gilmerton Cove is a series of subterranean tunnels and chambers which archaeologists and investigators have yet to fully understand.
Were these tunnels carved by smugglers as a hidden lair for stashing contraband goods, or perhaps used as a hideout for the city's persecuted covenanters? With intricate carvings, Masonic symbols and evidence of doors and drainage ditches, it is thought the network could be anywhere between 300 and 3,000 years old.
The tunnels also boast connections to the Knights Templar and the infamous 'Hellfire Club', an aristocratic secret society, creating an atmospheric and intriguing addition the area's local mythology. A friendly, informative and entertaining guided tour will help you make up your own mind about the caves' origins.
Scotland's political landscape
Whether or not you enjoy the stark, post-modern exterior of Enric Miralles' Scottish Parliament Building, the interior is an entirely different kettle of architectural fish. The outside is a intriguing combination of concrete, granite, wood and steel, whilst the interior is filled with light, clean lines and wooden beams.
You don't need a particular interest in politics to enjoy the free guided tour of the parliament, which includes access to the public gallery in the central debating chamber where the Parliament is convened. Like the Palace of Holyroodhouse, directly across the road, the parliament building is an iconic contribution to Edinburgh's architectural heritage and simply not to be missed.
A feast for the eyes
The city's oldest purpose-built visitor attraction is a certified draw all year round, but it's during the winter that the Camera Obscura really comes into its own.
While the Victorian-era camera obscura at the top of the building remains a highlight of the visit - allowing visitors a unique 360-degree birds-eye view over the city - the four floors leading up to the rooftop viewing gallery are jam-packed with optical illusions and hands-on games to entertain and delight. Get lost in the mirror maze (it's easier to lose track of yourself than you might think!), take a perilous stroll through the stomach-churning vortex, and enjoy the galleries of mind-bending visual trickery - tickets are valid all day, so you can come and go as the weather changes!
Catch some air
If caving, climbing and architecture don't float your boat, then check out the Ryze Edinburgh trampoline park. Located just a short drive from the city centre in Dalkeith, Ryze is one of the most recent additions to the city's compendium of activities for children and adults alike, with over 60 connected trampolines to allow you to burn up to 1,000 calories an hour (so you can kid yourself it's more than just a fun way to pass the time), and you can even get your bounce on with a game of trampoline basketball or dodgeball.
Bonus: multiple museums
The city's five National Galleries of art (ancient and modern), the National Museum of Scotland, and an array of smaller museums, such as the Museum of Edinburgh, People's Story and Writers' Museum, all offer free entry as standard throughout the year.
Even in the depths of winter, you needn't be short of things to see and do in Scotland's capital city.
See more things to do in Edinburgh from Time Out.