It was my second time north of the border. I have to admit I was a little nervous… it felt like I was about to star in an episode of Game of Thrones and go to the real north and beyond the wall! I needn’t have been worried though. I would soon find out what a lovely place it was. We were off to Edinburgh, Scotland’s compact and hilly capital and one of the most beautiful cities in all of the UK. Whilst I was a little anxious, Dad was paranoid. Scotland’s restrictions were a little different to England’s and it appeared you had to pre-book into pubs. It turned out to be not quite as strict as that, but Dad couldn’t risk not being able to have a few pints, so he meticulously researched Edinburgh’s watering holes and booked us in to half the city’s public houses! We would drink! And that we did, pretty much straight off the train! We were ready for it to be fair, nearly four hours on the train before we arrived Edinburgh’s Waverley station.
First stop then… the familiar surroundings of BrewDog. Mum laughs at Dad because no matter where we are, he’ll drag us to a BrewDog, even in Germany! Surely this was different though, we were in Scotland! It would be rude not to, it is a Scottish brewery after all. There are two BrewDog’s in Edinburgh and we had booked in at BrewDog Cowgate, situated in the lower level of Edinburgh’s Old Town. We knew it was our kind of place when our first drinks came over. Mum had ordered a Wheat beer (or “Weißbier”) and the bartender announced it in a German accent, claiming “the beer gets angry if I don’t say it like that” 😂
I also made a new friend at BrewDog called Bule 🖤 He is a rescued Catalan dog and we loved feeding him treats… probably a few too many so don’t tell his Dad. He also has his own Instagram so please check it out by following the link. Quite a few pints later it was time to walk over to the hotel and check in. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention the food. If you’re after a tasty sourdough pizza, you won’t be disappointed with the menu here. We had the King of Pigs, which was topped with Gyula sausage, leeks, watercress, smashed napoli tomatoes and Scottish mozzarella. We loved every bite! As we staggered out of BrewDog, the sun was out and we briefly stood wondering why our best laid plans were always forgotten about in favour of just drinking. Every time, a quick pint turns into four and the day has run away from us. But that’s my humans for you and I kind of like it!
The hotel was on Princes Street, not far from the station so we walked back down from the Old Town. Mum wanted to take a quick diversion through Princes Street Garden to see the Wojtek the Soldier Bear Memorial. It’s a statue in the heart of Edinburgh that honours a bear that served in the Polish military during World War II. After the war Wojtek – which means “joyful warrior” – was moved to Edinburgh Zoo for the remainder of his life. Unveiled on November 7, 2015, the bronze statue commemorates not only the much-beloved bear, but also the Polish soldiers who bravely shared the same harrowing journey and ultimately found refuge in Scotland.
We had booked to stay at easyHotel Edinburgh. The hotel is in a great location, the staff polite, room clean and reasonable value for money. If you’re not intending being in the room for much time other than to sleep, this is fine. That said, it was the smallest and most basic of any easyHotel we’d stayed in. But it is what it is and you know the old adage, you get what you pay for… well you do here. It was a stretch to say it had a bathroom as it was more of a wet room with a shower, sink and toilet squeezed into the same space. Dad is quite a big chap, so it was pretty funny watching him manoeuvre himself in and out!
Having dumped our stuff in the room, it was straight back out. Dad had booked into another couple of pubs that evening. They were alright but not particularly stand out establishments. The first was The Holyrood 9A. The pub gets its name from that part of Edinburgh, which is just east of the city centre, at the foot of the Royal Mile. Holyrood is also where the Palace of Holyroodhouse can be found, which is Queen Elizabeth’s official residence in Edinburgh. We had a few pints of Aspall Suffolk Cider, plus a nice Mezze Board and purely out of intrigue, some Haggis Bon Bons served with a beer mustard mayo. They were pretty nice to be fair.
The final stop that day was to Deacon Brodies Tavern on Lawnmarket. Part of a chain, there was nothing particularly endearing to say, although it supposedly has a rich history and serves hearty classic Scottish fare. We saw bottled wheat beer on the menu so ordered that. The waiter made a very strange choice of glass… he brought a traditional British dimple pint pot over and Dad is very fussy about having the right glass for the beer! The beer just didn’t taste right! We didn’t stay long and it has been a long day anyway, so back to the hotel to sleep in our cupboard.
Day two of Edinburgh beckoned… with rather large hangovers all round. We got up and showered – both with great difficulty I might add – and set off to the castle. We weren’t planning on going inside, but wanted to walk up to catch the awesome views of the city below. The castle is a world famous icon of Scotland and part of Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site. A once mighty fortress and now world-famous visitor attraction, it’s dominated the city’s skyline for centuries. It stands on Castle Rock, which has apparently been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. We took our hungover body’s up the Royal Mile and had almost reached the entrance. We needed food though. The Little Inn Cafe came to the rescue. If you’re looking for a grab and go breakfast, or if you’re a little hungover, this is a great little cafe for a good breaky! Haggis, sausage and fried egg on a bap… or whatever the local word for it was. The perfect hangover breakfast 👌
We spent a good half an hour up near the castle entrance. The views really are spectacular and we did get jelly legs looking over one side out towards Arthur’s seat. We had a bit of time to kill until Dad’s next pub booking, so we just walked around the Old Town and then down to the Scottish Parliament Building, which I’ll describe as unusual to be polite. Nicola or Janette Krankie – as Dad likes to call her – wasn’t around, but we chilled outside for a while, before heading back up West Bow, near Edinburgh’s famous Grassmarket. If you’re wondering where that is, you’ll often see West Bow on postcards and posters. Its gentle curve and colourful shopfronts make it a favourite spot for tourist photos. Just a quick walk up the hill to the statue of Greyfriars Bobby first though. He was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14th January 1872.
Time for a drink. Dad had booked us in to Bow Bar, a real ale and whisky bar and we didn’t know at the time, but it had been awarded ‘Best Bar in Scotland’ in 2018 and 2019, as well as numerous other rewards. It was a pretty cool place as well. Dad settled on a rather nice pale ale and Mum went for a wheat beer first, thankfully served in the correct glass here! We were booked in for two hours, but ended up staying more like four! They found a great way for social distancing. Instead of installing screens between seats, they put huge teddy bears to make sure people maintain a safe distance. We love this idea ❤️
Of course by now we were starving and conveniently just up the hill was Bertie’s Proper Fish & Chips. We had a drunken snack of haggis, chips and beetroot. It might sound crazy, but oh did it work! We went back to the hotel for a quick chill and phone charge and then back out. That evening we were going to The Pitt. It’s a street food and craft beer place based in an industrial yard in a back street of Edinburgh’s Leith area and it was just our type of thing. After decades of industrial decline, Leith gradually began to enjoy an upturn in fortunes in the late 1980s and is now the home of many hip creative types. Even if you haven’t heard of Leith before, you probably know Trainspotting, a famous novel that takes place in this neighbourhood. Well worth a visit and we only wish we’d had more time to explore here.
That was pretty much that. Our train back was late the morning after and before we left we had time to visit the butchers for some proper haggis to take back. I almost decided to stay in Scotland and start a bagpipe career, but maybe another time. There are still too many other places to explore, so until next time fans, it’s Byrn the Bagpiper Bear, signing out from Bonny Scotland 🏴