Overview

Students from the Entry to Learning Level 2 course at Edinburgh College visited The Scottish Parliament as part of their Leonard Cheshire Can Do community review project. We had a Q&A session with Ben Macpherson MSP within the Scottish parliament and then had a tour around the building learning all about the architecture and artwork. We then got to observe a debate in the main hall. Overall we gave this visit 5 out of 5 stars and would highly recommend it!

Transport & Parking

For us this was very simple with good bus access to The Parliament from town. We only had to go on one bus from the Milton Road Campus and then a short walk down from Abbeyhill. No public parking facilities but there is a car park at Arthur's Seat that is close by.

Access

For us this “ticked all the boxes”. Everywhere was wheelchair accessible with lifts to all floors. The parliament is to be “open to all” and the building reflected this.

Toilets

No one used the facilities on this visit

Staff

Ben Macpherson MSP was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions fully. He spoke to everyone and was very nice. His staff were very patient and helpful. The tour guide was knowledgeable and had very good manners. Lots of staff were on view at all times and very helpful.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Security can be quite scary and made some of us nervous bet turned out to be smooth and better than the airport. The security staff were very patient and helpful. It’s also worth noting that armed police could be seen outside the parliament and while it’s a shame that they are needed they are a reassuring presence.

Photos