|
|
CJ & SM's wee trip to Edinburgh, May 2005 |
The excuse we used to go to Edinburgh was to visit the son of one of the 2 males we allowed to accompany us on this trip (well we needed someone to help push us up & down the steep hills & many steps) who is at university here. First bit of advice, get fit if you intend walking far around this beautiful city!
As usual we flew up on Flybe from Southampton, unfortunately late each way but still really good value if you book far enough ahead. When you arrive there is a bus, No 100, to the city centre, only £5 return so much cheaper than a taxi for that distance, the drivers are friendly & advise you of the nearest stop for your hotel. We stayed at a Premier Travel Inn In Lauriston Place. Excellent rooms, very new & reasonably priced, considering it's location, at £62.50 a night ; it's not very far from the Castle & there are lots of bars & restaurants in the nearby Grassmarket area.
|
|
Having dumped
our bags we walked to the Castle, thought we had better explore it whilst
the weather held, such good views of the city, a shame it was
cloudy. By the time we left we were starving & found Amber
restaurant in the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre which is just below the
castle at the start of The Royal Mile. We expected it to be really
touristy but it was great & the best food we had during our
stay! Visit www.amber-restaurant.co.uk
to check out their menus. Everything we ate was delicious &
reasonably priced. Whisky fans will never leave, there are 280
blends to try! 9/10  |
| We spent the rest of the day wandering around & nipping into various pubs to dodge the rain. Met a great couple in the World's End, a very cozy pub, also on The Royal Mile, who gave us some suggestions of restaurants to try, for your info they were, Howies, Victoria St. (report later) Petit Paris & the Grainstore both in Grassmarket but unfortunately when we tried to book them for Friday they were both full so book early! | |
|
|
Later that evening
we met up with our young student in The White Hart Inn in Grassmarket for
a drink, busy basic pub. Progressed to an Italian restaurant he
recommended but sorry cant even remember its name, it had been a long
day! Ended up at one of his student bars, The Three Sisters, cant remember
where that is either but if you are 18 (average age of its clientele) I am
sure the cab drivers know it!! Tip, use the cabs they are much
cheaper than down here.
The next day was my favourite for sightseeing, we went on board The Royal Yacht Britannia which is moored at Ocean Terminal (No 22 bus from city centre). Much to the men's horror there is a new & very large shopping centre there, we were not allowed to enter. The tour around Britannia has been so well organized. You have a personal audio system so you can take as long as you like but would advise you go early AM before the crowds build up. |
|
|
That evening we ate at Howies in the very picturesque (but steep!) Victoria St. see pic. A warm & welcoming restaurant, very friendly young staff but not madly impressed with the food, it looked very pretty but lacked flavour. Would still recommend trying it for the atmosphere, perhaps we made bad choices! Menu details on their web site. |
|
|
On our last
full day we took one of the many bus tours around the city, there are several
companies, more details on this
site , easy to hop on & off at the different attractions.
Couldn't miss going down into the vaults, chose Mary King's Close, very scary, not! Lunch was a picnic in Grassmarket of bread & cheese bought at the French Market there. Unfortunately our last night was the worst meal I have eaten for many many years! As I mentioned earlier we left booking the recommended restaurants too late & so ended up at the restaurant in The Beehive Pub in Grassmarket, it was disgusting & I felt so sorry for the young waitress who was totally embarrassed. For example the starter that SM & I ordered was described as roasted sweet carrots with toasted hazelnuts & mixed salad... it was a side plate with 6 very thick sticks of raw carrot, which were not even crisp, lying on a few faded ordinary lettuce leaves with about 6 pine nuts! We sent it back of course & should have sent everything back but it was all so long arriving & it was getting very late. They did give us a complimentary bottle of wine. Avoid like the plague!! |
|
|
On the last day we had a bit of time to kill before we went to the airport so we enjoyed The Guildford Arms which is just off Princess St & not far from the bus stop for the airport, in fact obviously others had the same idea as there were loads of baggage piled up! Great baguettes, packed with filling & very reasonable. Restaurant looked interesting but we only wanted a snack. The decor is lovely, have a look at their site as its quite a famous pub. |
| Apart from The Beehive (don't want you to forget that name!) we highly recommend Edinburgh. We found that 3 nights, almost 4 days, was plenty of time to see most of the famous sights but if you are an avid museum goer you'll need far longer. It's so easy to fly up, a great location for a short break! Report CJ. |
| Site Entrance |
|
|
