Outlandish…

Another visit to Edinburgh without seeing the Royal Mile at all? Yep, because there’s so much more interesting things to see and do elsewhere, even outside of the city!  Especially if you’re an Outlander fan…

Since my first destination would take a train to get there, I had my breakfast at the Mòr Bakery right outside the station. 

My train was a Transpennine Express, a company I had never travelled with before, but the service was definitely excellent, even for the short fifteen minutes it took to get to East Linton. 

After a short walk I arrived at Preston Mill, where I had booked a guided tour. As it turned out, I was the only one at that time, so the very friendly and knowledgeable Alistair gave me a private tour. I’ve learned that oats need to be dried before they can be milled, and that the drying happens o floor very similar to one used in the malting process!

Back in the city, my first stop was at Red Kite Cafe for my coffee and cake. 

Next was Old Eastway Tap. I forgot why I added it to my itinerary, but apparently it’s owned by Cross Borders Brewing Co., so a lot of their beers were on draught. Let me also take a minute to appreciate the fact that so many places here have power and USB outlets here to charge your devices, even in buses and at the bar!

For lunch—and a beer—I went to Leith Depot, where quite unexpectedly I found a croque madame on the menu. Their interpretation of it was quite good!

Another coffee at Ground Floor—which also had a radio studio—and I was off to the centre again! 

Well, actually past the centre and into the west end, to visit BrewDog Lothian Road, since I’ve come to realise that collecting stamps in Beer Visa 3.0 actually has some real perks!

But I was also there to revisit The Hanging Bat. Last time I was there, I mentioned that it didn’t quite feel the same anymore. Now, the bar recently has been taken over by the Northern Monk brewery, and it has had an immediate impact on their beer offering. In a good way. 

To collect another stamp, a quick visit to BrewDog DogHouse, and then to the Salt Horse. 

So, the plan for dinner was to go to Wings, my favourite chicken wings place in Edinburgh, or anywhere basically. I had my checklist ready to make sure I’d only try rubs and sauces I hadn’t tried before. But when I got there, the venue was empty, for hire, no longer serving any chicken… How a genius concept like that couldn’t survive, will forever remain a mystery to me, but in its stead, I went to Bubba Q, a barbecue place nearby. 

To finish the night, I went to where it al began—my craft beer journey at least—BrewDog Edinburgh, the OG at the Cowgate.