FyneFest Trip – Day 12

Published on 9th June 2023

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Heading Home…

Eventually, there’s always that day you have to go home, and today was that day…

The original plan was to have breakfast at Snax Cafe, the very first I ever visited in Edinburgh, fresh off the MegaBus on my first trip to Scotland. However, it seemed I turned up just during their morning rush, and there was no space to sit at all. So the alternative was a breakfast with an Indian twist at Dishoom, a restaurant that had been on my to try list for a very long time. I picked a simple bacon and egg naan so it wouldn’t take too much time, but I’ll definitely go back there to try some of the other dishes!

From there I went straight to Edinburgh Waverley Station to catch my LNER to London Kings Cross.

With a couple of minutes delay, we arrived in London, where my first stop was One Shot Coffee for my daily dose of caffeine.

At BrewDog Camden I met up with Ryan to enjoy the last couple of beers of this trip, and some Buffalo dirty fries, since I’d be on the train during dinner time, and arriving in Brussels too late to still eat.

Getting to and checking in at the Eurostar terminal went without a hitch, only for the departure of the train itself to be delayed… Only a couple of minutes though, and the train to Brussels wasn’t even very full! Arrival in Brussels was just about ten minutes late.

So, that’s it, almost two weeks of travelling through Scotland, with some hashing, copious amounts of delicious food, and lots of beer!
Until next year, Scotland? Of course!

FyneFest Trip – Day 0

Published on 28th May 2023

Under the Sea & Under the Covers

It’s spring, and for me, that’s kind of the perfect time to go to Scotland! The main destination is FyneFest again, because I just couldn’t get enough of it last year. So once again, I found myself deep under the sea in a Eurostar, on my way to London.

After dropping off my bag, my first stop was Camden Coffee Roastery, since I hadn’t had time to have a coffee before leaving Brussels. Some cake would be very welcome as well, knowing beers would follow soon…

And indeed, 3 Locks Brewing Company was just a couple of hundred meters away. Unfortunately, they were only serving in disposable plastic cups, which for me was reason enough to move on after just one beer.

The next stop was The Black Heart. I had been there before, I’m sure, but either because of the the lack of cell reception, or the level of intoxication at the time, I hadn’t checked in a single beer there…

Just around the corner then, BrewDog Camden, the OG London BrewDog bar! Just a short stop this time, but I’ll make up for that on the way back.

The plan was then to have some Malaysian food at Roti King, but the queue in front of the restaurant was way too long! So I ended up at Yatri, an Indian restaurant conveniently right next to the place where I left my bag.

Then it was time for my traditional last pre-sleeper beer stop: the Euston Tap. Here again, only plastic cups, but this time they gave a reason for it: football…

Not wanting to use too much plastic, I then went to the first class lounge for a cup of tea and a muffin.

Finally it was time to board the Caledonian Sleeper! As soon as the train started moving, I made my way to the Club Car for a dram and a cheese platter, the best way to start a trip to Scotland!

A bit of blogging, and then it was time to get under the covers…

London Trip – Day 3

Published on 28th January 2023

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More Hashing & Hammerton

Another day starting with a breakfast buffet! Not to fuel me for a morning of museums this time, but for a mid-day run. Today I ran with another kennel: the OG London Hash House Harriers. I packed all my stuff, put on my running gear, checked out, and headed to The Golden Fleece, where the run would start at one. More nice hashers—and some familiar faces from Thursday—a lot of banter, again a really nice, touristy trail, and of course some beer at the end…

After the run I still had some time—although less than planned—to check off a few more beery places on my list. Caps and Taps and Indiebeer are primarily beer shops, so an excellent opportunity to buy a couple of cans to take home. Of course I also had to taste a some of the beers they had on draught…

My last stop this trip was the Hammerton Brewery, a microbrewery in Islington. Unfortunately the kitchen was closed, so I had to forego the pizza I was hoping for… The beers and cracklings were nice, though!

Eventually I made it back to St. Pancras International in time for my Eurostar back home.

So long London, is has been a blast, and see you again in a couple of months!

London Trip – Day 2

Published on 28th January 2023

Culture, Comrades & a Ceilidh

After a big, hearty breakfast in my hotel—more than pictured—I was ready for a full day in London. I had planned some museums and exhibitions I hadn’t seen yet, and the first one was almost next to the hotel: the London Canal Museum.

The second stop was the library, to see the Treasures of the British Library. Among those treasures were the Magna Carta, and original manuscripts from Shakespeare, Dickens, and Austen. Great stuff, for a bibliophile like me!

I then visited to the British Museum for even older versions of the written word, in the exhibition Hieroglyphs: unlocking ancient Egypt.

After all that sauntering I was well overdue for a coffee, so I went to Monmouth Coffee for my fix. That gave me the energy for one more cultural stop: the Museum of Freemasonry. We have one in Brussels as well, but with London being the birthplace of freemasonry, and quite a bit more traditional, I could not afford to miss this one!

Time for a pie—well, a sausage roll—and a pint—well, halves and thirds—at the Sutton Arms! It looks like a classic pub, but had quite a few modern craft beers on tap! From there I got on the new Elizabeth Line, a train line that had been long in the making, and provides a faster connection with the west of London.

And in the west I finally got to visit The Dodo Micropub, where I also met up with some London friends for a couple of beers. On the way back east I stopped at A Pint of Hops for a couple more… Crowded, standing space only, but nice people, and great beer.

Properly sauced, I was ready for the main event of the evening, a Burns Night Ceilidh, my excuse to walk around in London in a kilt all day… Loads of fun, although a bit more chaotic than other ceilidhs I’ve been to!

Before finally heading back to the hotel, there was one more important stop: BrewDog Camden! After ‘a couple’ of beers with Ryan, I then called it a night…

London Trip – Day 1

Published on 27th January 2023

Waterloo & West London H3

The last time I was in London for more than a couple of hours, is almost four years ago! About time to visit it again, so today I finally found myself once again on a Eurostar under the English Channel. Lots of queueing—the train was full—but at least the biometric gates now worked with my Belgian comic strip passport.

Since I didn’t have time for a coffee before my departure in Brussels, and because I had a bit of time to kill before I could check-in in my hotel, my first stop in London was at Redemption Roasters for some—apparently—prison-roasted coffee, and a piece of banana bread.

My hotel for this trip is again the very conveniently located—right next to the station—hub by Premier Inn King’s Cross. I’ve stayed there once before, returning from one of my Scotland trips. A swift check-in, change into my kilt, and it was time to hit the town!

First up was Mother Kelly’s Bottle Shop & Taproom in Vauxhall. Their taprooms had been on my to-do list for years, but somehow I never made it… This one has 33 beers on tap, so it wasn’t hard to find some beers I liked! The music I didn’t like that much, so after two beers I moved on.

The second stop was the Waterloo Tap. The bar is part of the same family as the Euston Tap, my usual last stop before boarding the Caledonian Sleeper, so I kind of knew what to expect: a nice selection of keg and cask beers. I wasn’t wrong about that, but the venue itself was so much more open than the Euston Tap: it was basically a rather narrow railway arch with windows put in on both sides!

Then it was time to visit BrewDog Waterloo. At that moment it was still the newest London BrewDog bar, but that would soon, very soon, change… I’ve visited BrewDog bars of all sizes, but this one is just ridiculously large: apart from the bar space itself—with 60 taps—and a micro-brewery like we’ve seen in other Outposts, this location also has a separate coffee bar, an indoor ice cream van, a hidden cocktail bar, a podcast recording studio, duckpin bowling, and a slide! My stomach was still on Belgian time, so I seized the opportunity to give the Vegan Allstars menu a try, and had a portion of Loaded Skins.

I didn’t want to eat too much, because the next activity on the schedule was a run, with the West London Hash House Harriers. In The Old Star pub I quickly changed into my running kilt and shoes, and off we went! As usual when hashing, I met a lot of nice people, and as luck would have it, it turned out to be a very tourist friendly trail!

The last stop of the evening was BrewDog Wandsworth, for its Equity Punk (pre-opening) night, that just happened to be during my visit to London. So yes, from now on until the next one opens, that is the newest BrewDog bar in London! I managed to chat to some people I’ve been reading on the EFP forum for years, and some I had met before. It was a really nice way to end my first evening in London.