scottish records office

[stephen7]

hi all,
 i am off to Edinburgh  visit the records office next week and was just wondering if anyone can provide any hints, tips or help to enable me to get round the records quickly and efficiently, have a few records i want to check up on and would like to get most of them done in this visit as goodness know the next time I'll be able to get up there.
thanks

[ScottishAncestry]

Do you plan to use the Historical Search Room (of what was formerly the National Archives of Scotland) or the Scotland's People Centre (or both)?

Here are some tips for the Historical Search Room:

If you don't already have one, you will need a reader's ticket. To be issued with one you will be asked for ID which must include at least one form of photographic ID. When you order the documents you can tell them what ID you plan to bring to make sure that it will be sufficient for their purposes. The reader's ticket is free if you bring passport photos with you (you will need two) but they can take the photo for you for just £2.

If you wish to see anything which is held outside the building I would recommend ordering them well in advance (about 4 days) and phoning the day before to make sure they have actually come in. The number of times I order say 10 items and only 9 arrive is ridiculous! I'm OK because I go most weeks but if not it's really annoying.

If you're not sure where the items are kept phone and ask. You cannot get items from another building on the day you order them.

Take a digital camera! You will be allowed to photograph most documents on request, and this really speeds up the volume of material you can cover in one day and keeps costs low. Ask the staff for permission before you use your camera though.

Take a pound coin for the locker. No bags can be taken into the historic search room. The same goes for food, drink and pens etc.

Many documents can now be viewed on search room PCs on what they call the 'Virtual Volumes' system. On these PCs too is access to the sasine records, wills and Valuation Rolls. These systems are not the most user-friendly in a number of respects. Don't worry, it's not you, just ask for help if you need it.

Emma

[stephen7]

thanks emma.
 i will be visiting the historical search room, am unsure as to all that is kept there and what is what is kept elsewhere. i need to check on various types of certs mostly, am hoping that these don't need to be ordered.
I have all the proof of ID that they need, thanks for that info, my cousin is going with me so i assume that she would need proof also. she is quite computer literate so i will leave that side of things to her. does it get busy there?
 thanks again for your help
steve

[stephen7]

also forgot to ask, is there any parking there, if not can you advise the best way of getting there, i will be driving up from the south.

[Forfarian]

i will be visiting the historical search room, am unsure as to all that is kept there and what is what is kept elsewhere. i need to check on various types of certs mostly, am hoping that these don't need to be ordered.

You won't get birth, marriage or death certificates, pre-1855 baptisms, banns or burials, or census returns in the Historical Search Room. You get those in the Scotland's People Centre. If you just have a couple of certs to get, and you also want to get stuff from the HSR, take a free taster session in the SPC. If you have more than a few certs and census to get, buy a day ticket for £15 and plan to spend the whole day in the SPC, saving the HSR for another day.

[Little Nell]

is there any parking there,

No - it's right in the middle of Edinburgh, just off Prince's Street..  I have to confess, I usually walk or go on the bus when I'm up there, especially after they started all the tram roadworks 

Perhaps Park & Ride?  Have a look here: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/parkandride  for some options.

Nell

[Elwyn Soutter]

also forgot to ask, is there any parking there, if not can you advise the best way of getting there, i will be driving up from the south.

I advise against bringing your car into town when visiting NRS. The ethos in Edinburgh now appears to be to discourage private vehicles, so unless you have a hotel with a free car park, you will end up paying a lot for parking and still have to walk miles to get to SRS, whereas it’s just a few steps from Waverley Rail Station. If I were you I’d park outside town and use the bus or train. (A tram would be a grand way to get into the town too, but that’s another story).

[Forfarian]

forgot to ask, is there any parking there

Don't even think about considering the possibility of driving in the city centre of Edinburgh. It's difficult to move, a maze of ill-thought-out one-way streets in the wrong direction, complicated by the tram works, and very expensive to stop - if you can even find a place to stop in at all. Leave your car on the outskirts at a park-and-ride or in a side street, and use the excellent bus service.

[stephen7]

thank you all, park  and ride it is then, SPC this time, and hrs for another day as you suggested.
thanks again