Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home

A visit to Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home near Musselburgh isn't your typical tourist tick-box. This is a working animal shelter that's genuinely worth stopping by if you're the sort of person who lights up around rescue animals. The home takes in abandoned and neglected dogs and cats, and you can wander through to meet the residents - some ready for adoption, others simply recovering and waiting for their next chance at a decent life.

It's less 'attraction' in the theme-park sense and more of a properly humbling experience. Kids tend to love it, though fair warning: they'll want to take half the animals home with them. For animal lovers and families with a conscience, you'll spend a good hour or so here, chatting to the staff about individual stories and seeing what proper rescue work looks like.

Free entry, but donations are absolutely the done thing - these places don't run on fresh air. There's no fixed visiting routine to speak of, so ring ahead before you go. If you're based at Drummohr Camping and Glamping Site just down the road, this makes for a genuinely worthwhile half-day activity that breaks up the usual holiday itinerary. You'll leave feeling like you've done something decent, which frankly beats another gift-shop trawl.