Slàinte mhath

Slàinte mhath was said quite a few times during our week in Edinburgh, especially on our tour at Johnnie Walker Princes St.  We did try many different establishments and drinks, here's how we faired! 

Our first drink was at Star Bank in Newhaven, a short walk from our apartment. We holidayed Sunday to Sunday and enjoyed a lovely meal here accompanied by Busy Bee (my half) and Edinburgh Gold (Hubby's pint).

Our indulgent moment was enjoying a cream tea on board HMY Britannia. The venue and view was as superb, a moment to remember.

Leith's waterfront, The Shore, is becoming a food and drink hotspot with many fine restaurants including a Michelin Star venue. There's plenty of pubs too including Innis and Gunn Brewery and Taproom. It was quite quiet when we were there as it was early evening after our yacht tour. 

Our first rest was at The King's Wark, originally built in 1434, this old building with very thick stone walls was once a Royal Residence. Although served in a Thistly Cross cider glass I had a half pint of Leith Juice, a lovely orange session IPA. Hubby enjoyed a guest ale but we can't remember which one.

Before our holiday I had looked online at what pubs and restaurants were around, having spotted the Barologist it was a must for a cocktail. My raspberry mojito was so refreshing and disappeared far too quickly. Hubby settled back and enjoyed a double Glenfiddich whisky. Early evening is certainly the time to enjoy a drink or two.

My online searching also led to discovering a super wine store. Tucked away from the main streets Great Grog was full of wine from all over the world. It was like being back in a warehouse in France but with more variety. Too much choice we picked a Spanish Wine from Alicante made from Monastrell grapes. It was one to try and we promised to return with the car to buy a 'few' to take home. 

The wine was superb, enjoyed one evening at our apartment after a day of exploring the city. It was full of dark cherry flavours with a hint of heaviness, soft tannins yet full bodied and a great finish.

We certainly reached over 10,000 each day whilst exploring Edinburgh which of course means rest stops are important. One such stop on the Royal Mile was the Albanach, a very popular pub. I cannot remember 3the actual beers but they went down well. 

We did take a couple of bottles of wine away with us to enjoy on evenings we cooked at home. One such evening we enjoyed a sweet and sour chicken dish acco panied by a bottle of the guv'nor white and finished with a dram of Benriach, a miniature we had also brought with us. 

Our Johnnie Walker experience was superb, I really enjoyed my fruity old fashioned an d Hubby liked the Gold Reserve. In the 1820 bar after the tour we had a dram of Knockando and a Morlach, both delicious.

Coffee stops were a main feature too of our tour, I do enjoy my coffee but unfortunately it does vary from place to place. These mugs were very in keeping with our visit to Gladstone's Land with the cafe being on the lower floor of this old beamed property on the Royal Mile.

Whilst in Scotland last September Hubby tired Belhaven Best as most pubs are under the belhaven  brand, he didn't really like the flavour, some even tasted of blue cheese. Never to be defeated he had another pint in an Irish pub on the Leith Walk, a long straight road currently closed to traffic for the tramway installation that joins Leith to the City. 

This time the pint was good, as was my half of Guinness which was a must as it was St Patrick's Day. 

Having made it to Leith, the Leith Walk is just under 2 miles, we decided on dinner at Innis and Gunn Brewery and Taproom. Our burgers were delicious as were the beers. Although they did not do a flight of beers you could buy 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or a pint of any beer from a long list, all brewed on site. I chose a mango beer and a peach beer, both lovely; Hubby tried an IPA and another ale, again both good. 

Our final day in the city of Edinburgh was our day to tour the castle, lots of steps and slopes after which we treated ourselves to prosecco, cake and coffee in the castle tea room.

The day was so lovely, both in touring the Castle and the weather we decided to partake in the Friday tradition of a drink 'after work's missing out the work bit. A very refreshing gin and tonic, beer for Hubby, sitting outside in St George's square watching everyone rushing to and fro. 

Our final holiday day was rugby Saturday so watching the games was a must. We first popped to Great Grog in the car and purchased a few bottles to bring home, I'll be writing a separate blog about Great Grog wines. 

Back to Star Bank we settled ourselves to watch the Wales v Italy game. Of course the sheep hat came too and I finally had a glass of wine after many beer tastings. The score was not to be but we did have a fun afternoon. 

 

Just across from our apartment was the fish market and what's said to be the best fish and chip shop around. And so our final meal out was a fish supper sitting on the harbour wall, I even had a box of scrats! 

So as you can see we had a super time in Edinburgh with plenty of good food, wine, beer and whisky. Until our next visit I'll raise a glass and say 'Slàinte mhath'

Edinburgh

We had a super time in Edinburgh, although currently effected by major disruption as new tramways are installed to link the city to Leith, it did not spoil our stay. We have however decided to visit again in 3 or 4 years when the boarding and barriers have gone and the noise of the city will be hustle and bustle as opposed to drills and hammers. 

I have already written about our three highlight days: HMY Britannia, Johnnie Walker Princes St and Edinburgh Castle. There's lots of photos on each blog page, just click the links and enjoy a browse. 

This photo was actually taken as we left Scotland. Instead of travelling down the A1 we took the scenic route up high over the Cheviot Hills. At Carter Bar as you cross the border there's a cairn either side of the road marking each country. It was a bit nippy being so high and windy too but the looking back towards Scotland was amazing.

One of the main Edinburgh 'must see' is not a huge building but a very small statue. Greyfriars Bobby is the city's famous dog, although there is still doubt over the story. A faithful pet who visited his master's grave for 14 years and in recognition of his dedication became the responsibility of the City Council. His body, and his owner's, is buried in Greyfriar's Kirkyard.

Greyfriars Kirkyard is a popular place with Edinburgh's visitors and is included in most city tours. Although everyone loves the story of Bobby it is the graves people visit. They are such elaborate monuments but one in particular has more visits than any other ... Thomas Riddell. I wonder what the real Thomas would make of being made famous from an author putting his name in a book!

Our apartment was on the No 10 bus route so getting and out of the City was quite easy especially with the tap to pay scheme, no searching for loose change. However we did walk quite a bit over the week, one day we even walked back to Leith and it wouldn't be a trip to Edinburgh if we hadn't have walked the Royal Mile (thankfully downhill).

Just to the side of this famous road is St Giles Cathedral, an impressive building both inside and out. The stain glass windows were superb, telling stories from different ages. Again Scottish military played a dominant part with many standards and flags on display. 

The Thistle Chapel within the Cathedral was amazing with all the emblems a d coats of arms. The Order of the Thistle is Scotland's order of chivalry founded in 1687. The Lrder consists of the Sovereign and sixteen Knights and Ladies as well as members of the Royal Family and foreign monarchs. It was a beautiful room, such decoration along with the pageantry.

The other end of the Royal Mile to the castle is the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Edinburgh. We didn't visit as it was closed the day we walked there, typical, but it is something to look forward to on our next visit. It was close to the Scottish Parliment building which, if I'm honest, was not very impressive, too modern for me. 

Arthur's Seat is another iconic Edinburgh attraction. As with the  Castle it is a dormant volcano and stands high above the city. My photo is taken from high above the buildings and as such Arthur's Seat does not look so high. I had hoped to walk to the top but with all our other walking and visits we just did not have the time.

We did however walk up Calton Hill which also stands above the many buildings and roads of bustling Edinburgh. From the top we were almost level in height to the castle which is the super background to our windy selfie. The views from the top were expansive, a great view point.

As members of the National Trust we also get admission to Scottish Trust properties, one of these is on the Royal Mile. Gladstone's Land is named after Thomas Gladstone to owned the building from 1617. He rented rooms to many business a d trades people and to attract the wealthier tennants he added ingrict paintings to the wooden ceilings. 

The National Trust for Scotland bought the property in the 1930s at which time it needed much repair. It is now three floors each showing a different era of living in the house. The ground floor houses a cafe and the upper most floors are now Trust accomodation rooms. The ceilings, which were discovered under plasterboard, are beautiful and would certainly have added value to the rentable rooms. 

As I said before we had a super time in Edinburgh and will certainly visit again. Our apartment in Newhaven was superb, lovely pubs nearby and a great fish and chip across the road. It was close to Leith with it's waterway, breweries and cocktail bars. 

The absolute bonus to our stay was the view of the Forth Bridges, they were stunning early morning, midday and at sunset. It was so relaxing to just sit and enjoy the view after a day of walking in Edinburgh's great city. 

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle stands tall overlooking the city and beyond. Knowing the views would be a huge part of our visit we watched the weather and managed to have a sunny day.

We know very little about Scottish history other than the Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots. Saying that it is really Hubby that is the historian. For me the visit was all about the buildings and as such this post has more photos than text.

The castle stands on a now dormant volcano and walking the lower roads to reach the entrance show how steep the slopes are making it an ideal stronghold in uncertain times.

The Castle Esplanade is quite a slope upwards from The Royal Mile to the Castle Entrance above which is written "nemo me impune lacessit". It translates as "no-one provokes me without impunity" - no-one can harm me unpunished - this forceful statemant emphasises the fighting and conflicts that seems to dominate Scottish history.

Armed forces are a big part of the Castle with many cannons set looking out across the city. The views are spectacular and clearly show how the cannons would be very effective in providing defence against invaders. The half moon battery is a semi circular battlement of seven cannons, 18-pounders from the time of the Napoleonic Wars.

Today a modern form of a cannon is fired at precisely 1pm every afternoon. This however has nothing to do with the Army but is to aid sailors. It is so ships can set their instruments accurately and therefore plot their charts. Of course in modern times satellites and GPS are used for precision but previously this daily signal was vital for navigation. 

It was certainly loud, I'm sure could be heard way out on the Firth of Forth and, although expected, I still jumped as you'll see on my video.

The Royal Palace houses the Honours of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny, an ancient symbol of Scotland's monarchy. The Honours of Scotland are the oldest Crown Jewels in Britain and consist of a priceless crown, sceptre and sword of state all made from gold and silver with many precious gems.

There is a long history of royalty at the castle with one important event being the death of Queen Mary of Guise in 1560. She was Mary Queen of Scots mother and championed the Catholic faith against The Protestant Reformation. 

Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son James VI at the castle, he was crowned King of Scotland aged 13 months and became the first monarch of both Scotland and England. 

The last monarch to stay at the Royal Palace was King Charles I in 1633. The Great Hall today houses weapons and armour displaying Scotland military past but was used for great royal banquets.

The views really were spectacular stretching as far as the Forth Bridges, along the estuary and out to sea. The view over the pet cemetery looked over towards Leith and Newhaven where we were staying, in one of the high apartments to the left of the photo.

A few days earlier we had walked up Calton Hill and looking out from the castle, it too stood high above the city.

We were very moved in the Scottish War Memorial, so many had given their lives in both World Wars and in recent conflicts. This magnificent building housed the many ensigns with walls filled with memorials to serving Scottish regiments. As a dedicated space it is a quiet room with no photography or unnecessary noise, a mark of respect. 

All told we were nearly four hours exploring Edinburgh Castle, complete with audio guides that really helped with its complex history and military museums. The Lang stairs, now the modern even tred way to the exit, were once the main access to the castle. Always nice to discover a related name in history. 

A superb visit, certainly added to with stunning blue skies even if still chilly in the wind.

My favourite photo of Edinburgh Castle was actually taken a few days earlier whilst at Johnnie Walker. It looked stunning as the sun set, I haven't used a filter or edited the colours, this is nature at its finest.