UK Staycation 2021. Part 2. Edinburgh. Auld Reekie.

 As the summer started to relinquish its warmth, and give way to the first cooler breaths of the oncoming autumn months, we were again boarding a train, this time going over the border from England, and into Scotland.  Our destination was to be the beautiful and historically architectural gem of a city, Edinburgh. We were really looking forward to this visit, but, as the pandemic was still ongoing, we weren't quite sure as to how "open" Scotland's capital city would be. Whatever we may face on the restrictions front, we were determined to have a good, and boozy, time! 

Bellfield
Lawless Village.

Day One . We arrived in "Auld Reekie" (which gets its nickname, meaning "Old Smoky", from the days when smoke from open coal and peat fires hung over the the city like fog) just after lunch and, with just less than a couple of hours to wait until we could check in to our hotel, we decided to find a bar and slake our thirst. We initially tried to get into Cask Smugglers, adjacent to Waverley Station,  but, as it was so busy, places were certainly at a premium so we had a wander, found our bearings and looked for another venue. We homed in on a bar across the road and about a 5 minute walk away, namely The Newsroom Bar & Eatery, an easy going and modern looking bar facing the National Records of Scotland building. Keg and bottled beers alongside the usual offerings, are available. In here, I went for Bellfield Brewery Lawless Village IPA, 4.5%, a rather middle of the road brew but still satisfying enough with soft tropical notes nestled on top of easy grapefruit and zest. Jane opted for the cider, which was the dry and crisp Orchard Thieves. It was pleasant sat in the window here, watching the world go by, whilst we refreshed ourselves after our journey. We did, though, have a hotel to find and were soon stepping back out into the warm Scottish sunshine and retracing our steps back towards Edinburgh's Waverley Station, and then beyond there, over the busy North Bridge and into the Old Town area. We were staying at the Travelodge (Edinburgh Central) in St Mary's Street, which on-route gave us our first view of The Royal Mile and, in the distance, the impressive St Giles's Cathedral, which all seemed to be totally enveloped by the atmospheric and haunting music of the bagpipes. You couldn't have been mistaken by being anywhere else! After we had easily found the location of or base, I was aware that there was a highly rated pub just around the corner, namely The Holyrood 9A. There was a nice selection of cask and craft keg beers on here, and I first chose the Campervan Brewery Leith Juice Session IPA, 4.7%, which was, well, juicy and had a nice citrus edge. I followed this up with a schooner of Fallen Brewing Co Local Motive, 3.9%, a traditional English Bitter. This was a bit more hoppy than I expected, but still was very good. Both, as I recall, were craft keg. 

The Black Bull in
Grassmarket Square

After we had checked into our hotel, freshened ourselves up, changed and reviewed Google Maps for any hidden gems we had not already done our homework on , we set out to discover what Grassmarket Square and the surrounding area, stopping in at Greyfriars Kirkyard and discovering not only the monuments to Greyfriars Bobby, but also the final resting place of William McGonagall, known, maybe rather cruelly, as one of Scotland's worst poets. J.K. Rowling was also said to have taken inspiration for her some of her characters names in the "Harry Potter" stories from the headstones sitting in this peaceful graveyard. After this brief intermission, we strolled back out and across the road to Grassmarket, a lovely old marketplace in the shadows of Edinburgh Castle, which originally was the main trading area of the city for centuries, as well as the Executioners place of work until 1784. Its buildings now house a range of artisans, independent traders
and, of course, bars and restaurants. After our stroll, we decided on The Black Bull , a bar under the Cold Town Beer umbrella, to quench our thirst. In here, or rather outside here, whilst Jane had a cider, I opted for Cold Town Beer NEIPA, 5.5%. Tropical fruit come to the fore, with a nice rounded citrus finish. It was so nice I had another. As with all the bars in this area of Edinburgh, the interior of the bar is, seemingly, dripping in history, and the walls display hints of yesteryear. Our next pub was the nearby Fiddler's Arms, which, due to the gradual reopening of leisure premises, only had limited beers on offer. After scanning the counter, fully masked, I went for Williams Bros Joker IPA, 5%, which was ok, but, unfortunately, it was not at its best. The bar itself was welcoming, as were the staff and its patrons, which seems to be the case where ever you choose to stop and have a drink in Edinburgh. Our next venue was just a five minute walk away from here, The Bow Bar, which became a favourite of mine during our visit. There is a good selection of real ales, served by Air Pressure Tall Fonts, a traditional Scottish method of serving cask beers, I was told, which is gradually dying out. Craft keg beers are also available, alongside a bewildering array of whiskies. I decided to go for Tempest The Pale Armadillo, Session IPA, 3.8%, which had a lovely zesty citrus lacing at the back, complimenting the slight candy fruitiness in the main. The cider was Cidersmith's Craft Cider, which was crisp and dry, and apple-y. Seeing that we were in Scotland, I felt it would have been bad manners not to try one or two drops of the local spirit  After talking to the brilliantly knowledgeable staff, and my preferences noted on what I liked, and didn't like (I don't really do those big smoky whiskies) I was steered towards a wonderful Scotch Whisky, Auchentoshun 12 Year Old Single Malt was the bartender's recommendation, and, boy, was it a good one. I could have stayed all night, but we had to start our meander back to the hotel, all fuzzy and warm! What a great start to our stay.

Tranquility on 
the Water of Leith

Day Two. We were up and out at a reasonable time, if 10-00 am fits into that envelope, as we had booked to visit Edinburgh Castle. I won't bore you with the details, but, needless to say, it is awash with Scottish and British history and well worth the trip, even if some parts were still not open, due to the circumstances thrust upon us all by coronavirus. We spent well over two hours in here before heading back out for a spot of lunch. We started by having a quick pint, Stewart's 80/- Scottish Heavy, 4.4%, in the Last Drop Inn, which had a wonderful malty backbone to it, before dropping in at The Beehive Inn. Owned by Greene King, under the Belhaven Pubs banner, our visit coincided with a lack of any cask ales at all, so I opted for a rather poor Belhaven Best, the name seemed ironic. The food was enjoyable enough though, and set us up well for the second outing of the day, a walk to the picturesque idyll of Dean Village, an oasis of peace on the Water of Leith, just 10 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Later on, after a brief rest back at the hotel, we ventured out again, stopping off first at The Jolly Judge. This well reviewed hostelry, which has an ever changing line-up of brews, is situated just off the Lawnmarket area of the Royal Mile, is well worth a visit, although we only stayed for one on our call. Two by Two Mosaic, Amarillo and Ekuanot IPA, 5%, a lovely hazy, fruity brew, was my choice, and very nice too. As it was quite busy, and space being a a bit short, we bade farewell, which allowed another party to wander in and enjoy a beer or two. Next up was The Ensign Ewart, just a short stroll away. It usually carries 4 cask ales, but our visit saw only 2 on. I opted for the local Stewart's Pentland IPA, 3.9%, a lightly fruity brew with a nice hop finish. We popped into The Castle Arms next, just before it closed, it did seem like a quiet night around Castlehill area now, and sampled a pint of the really nice, sweet and malt driven 4.3% Scotch Ale brewed by Stewart's for the pub under the name Castle Arms No. 3. During the day and early evening, a veranda is open at the back, which offers good views over the West Bow whilst one can enjoy a beverage, or two. We must try that next time we come.. One thing definitely worth mentioning too is that so many of the pubs in the area have excellent food menus, and  foodies are very well catered for, with many dishes including quality local ingredients. 

We managed another couple of bars before returning to our hotel, firstly we went back to The Bow Bar,

The drinks choice in
The Bow Bar takes some
beating.

where I had Crossborders Braw, a Tropical Pale Ale of 5.2%, followed by a measure of Arbelour 12 year old Scotch  Whisky, another satisfying drop, expertly chosen for me by the bar team. Our last bar for the night was Brewdog, a stones throw from our hotel. We were the only customers in here, but it was getting late. Jane had been imbibing on G & T's all evening so decided on a soft drink, whilst I chose to start with a 2/3rd's glass of  Brewdog Mallow Lazer Quest, 6%, before concluding the night on another schooner of Brewdog Cosmic Crush Raspberry 4.5%. Both were ok, but I do find some of these drinks a little "gimmicky". 

Day Three. The day started on a slightly damper note, (rain and drizzle in Scotland? Surely unheard of!!) but we had already decided to visit the National Museum of Scotland during the morning, so it didn't impact too much on our plans at all. We spent about 3 hours in here, amongst galleries filled with various antiquities and artefacts. Some I can remember from my childhood and teenage years. Does this make these historically interesting objects seem too new to be in here, or am I getting old?  Anyway, at the end we still had more to see. Not bad for a free entry event. Next, a trip back to Bow Bar, where a Cromarty AKA IPA, 6.7% ( a very good beer that eased our thirst easily) was quickly followed by a 4.2% smooth and crisp Blonde Ale from Fallen Brewing, called Odyssey. Our next stop, after a bit of sightseeing, was back towards the station, in Brewhemia. This is a large, trendy bar, which has a few craft ales on tap, usually the more commercially available ones, alongside International lagers on draught and bottled. In here we chose Goose Island IPA, 5.9%, whilst Jane had Stewart's Brewing Lager, weighing in at 4%. Both were quite standard, and as expected. I finished off in this bar with a pleasing,  medium sweet, bready and thirst quenching Paulaner Munchner Hell, 4.9%. We wandered back towards our hotel, stopping briefly at OX184 where Jane had a soft drink, whilst I had the Stewart's Brewing Edinburgh Gold, 4.8%, before finishing off our afternoon session at Salt Horse Beer Shop & Bar. Jane had the cider in here, I can't remember which one though, whilst I had a Pilot Mochaccino, 5.5%, before doing a bit of shopping onsite and settling down to a Black Isle Blonde, 4.5%. Both were very good.

Hollyrood Pale
from Stewart's 

Our final evening in Edinburgh included a delicious meal at Howies Restaurant, Victoria Street, which saw us starting off with Haggis, Neeps & Tatties before moving on to two wonderful fish dishes, and a sweet (for the lady), washed down with a couple of G&T's (also for Jane), a couple of bottles of Stewart's Hollyrood Pale Ale, 5% and a Whisky Flight. The Craft Whisky selection was made up of Auchentoshan 12 year old, Highland Park 12 year old, and Macallan Gold. I'm getting to like those good whiskies again. The food, the drinks, the service and the  ambience of this restaurant were just perfect, and left us with a wonderful feeling of being spoilt. Although we were stuffed, a little tipsy but more than satisfied with our indulgent evening, we still managed to waddle the small distance back to The Bow Bar for a soft drink (guess who's?) a lovely rich, full bodied Crossborders Heavy, 4.1%, and another well chosen Single Malt, Balvenie Doublewood 12 year old. We would sleep well tonight.

Day Four.  Our final day started just before noon, after checking out of our hotel, and we decided to take things a little steady, as we only had around 4 hours before our train was due to depart, and had to squeeze in a spot of lunch somewhere along the way. After stashing our bags at the bag-drop within Waverley Station, we wandered over to the Rose Street area, which we hadn't really had much time to look at since we arrived. We had had our breakfast in the impressive former bank building in the neighbouring George Street, now a JD Wetherspoon pub called The Standing Order, on the previous morning, and skirted past it on the way to and from Dean Village, but not really stopped and explored what was on offer. Wandering along we soon became aware that some bars were still closed until later in the day, probably down to the ongoing restrictions, but one that was open was Fierce Bar. This

The drinks menu in 
Fierce Bar, Edinburgh

small, compact and sparsely decorated bar has a great selection of beers on the menu, 20 taps are available for dispensing the brews along with a vast selection of bottles and cans from not only from the Fierce Beer brewery, but other craft brewers far and wide too. I had a couple of beers in here, starting with a juicy, hazy and well balanced 6.7% Moonraker 4 NEIPA , from Estonian brewers Pohjala, before easing through the fabulous Fierce Beer F.A.B. Barley Wine, 12.5%, which was full of boozy richness with bourbon barrel notes and complimentary coconut spikes. A great brace of beers in a marvellous pub.

Next, we wandered down to The Auld Hundred for something to eat, where I reacquainted myself with another Cold Town Beer NEIPA. With lunch finished, we shot back to The Bow Bar for one last pint, Stewart's 80/-,  and a dram, Loch Lomond Inchmurrin Madeira Wood Finish. We had our last drinks in Edinburgh back at The Newsroom Bar & Eatery, the ubiquitous cider and a Caledonian  Brewing Co Coast To Coast, which was a smooth and rounded brew with a citrus kick at the end. This had been a lovely few days away, which had shot by all too soon. The bars we had dropped into were all pretty central, and didn't tell half the story of the real ale and craft beer revolution of this city. There are so many more venues waiting to be discovered by the Beer Tourist, and we would love to revisit Auld Reekie again. I hope you have enjoyed reading about our little trip, and until next time..

Cheers, and keep it Real.