Even though I’m staying in Glasgow, this Sunday I headed east again, actually past Edinburgh, to Dirleton Castle in East Lothian…
I didn’t take the ScotRail train back to Edinburgh, and then a 90 minute bus to visit the castle, though. I got up at 7.30 and travelled all that way to run with the Edinburgh H3, for the very first time! It was a lovely run, very sunny, and we were so close to getting on the sandy beaches again! And it seems almost inevitable when running in Scotland: we passed yet another golf course.
I didn’t stick around for lunch at The Castle Inn, since it would already take me long enough to get back to Glasgow.
After a shower and change in the hotel, I had my highly necessary coffee at Laboratorio Espresso. Then I checked out the guest beer list at the Innis & Gunn Brewery Taproom. Well, it was short, this time…
For dinner I went to Buck’s Bar. Not sure why I put this place on my list, but I think The King burger on the menu had something to do with that: fried chicken with spicy peanut and sriracha satay sauce with sweet chilli jam.
The day ended with a couple of beers in very pleasant company at Stereo.
My Saturday in Glasgow was definitely a combination of new places during the day, and some old favourites in the evening…
As nice as a full Scottish breakfast may be, when presented with the option, I like to try something more exotic as well. As it happens, nearby Thai restaurant Chaophraya only recently started serving breakfast! I ordered the Khai Krata fried eggs with Thai sausages, and was happily surprised. At first I thought the sauces were just ketchup and brown sauce, but oh boy, was I wrong: the red sauce was some kind of chili sauce, the brown one a spicy soy sauce.
My next National Trust for Scotland destination was a bit out of town, so I had to take another Scotrail train to Milliken Park. From there it was a little bit of a walk to the Weaver’s Cottage. While they were originally linen weavers, they changed with market demands, and started weaving tartans as well, and many other things!
Back in Glasgow, first had a stamp, a beer, and a smash burger in BrewDog Merchant City.
I then had some coffee at Off the Rails, and beer at Shilling Brewing Company. Their guest selection has definitely improved since the last time I was there!
It was about time I had some Indian food for dinner again, so hoping for a table, I went to the busy Chaakoo Bombay Café. In less than fifteen minutes they could seat me, so I could order and enjoy my Masahari, keema matar, mango chutney, and garlic naan.
The highlight of the evening was without a doubt my visit to the Koelschip Yard. Refreshed from the outside, but still the very welcoming neighbourhood vibe on the inside. Once you’re dragged into a conversation with the regulars, you’re in it for the night. And the beer list is still banging, of course!
Side note: In this bar where I drank Epochal beers for the first time, they haven’t got a clue what’s going on with them either!
On my way back to the hotel, I made a last stop at The Pot Still for a wee dram. Truly a night well spent!
Time to change hotels for the last time this trip! This time, I’m even staying a bit longer. It’s Glasgow, after all, and I need time to revisit my old favourites, and some new places, of course!
Before leaving Edinburgh—my train would only be around noon—I enjoyed a breakfast at the apparently very popular Greenwoods café, and had the Carbonara Benedict.
A last coffee at Lowdown, and I was ready to finish packing, check-out of my hotel, and head to the Edinburgh Waverley, from where another ScotRail train would take me to Glasgow Queen Street.
I dropped off bag at the hotel, and headed back out again for a coffee at Spitfire Roasters. A double espresso, because when you drink it at the source, you should get it as pure as possible! I dropped by at Mr Ben, but unfortunately I didn’t find a vintage sporran to my liking…
I hopped on a First bus to get to the House for an Art Lover. So, this house is built based on drawings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh from the beginning of the 20th century, but only built in 1989! It’s nice to see his designs finally being realised this way.
Then it was finally time to check in to my hotel and home for the next four nights: Premier Inn Glasgow City Centre Buchanan Galleries.
After relaxing and recharging for a bit, I walked to the Epochal Barrel-Fermented Ales brewery, somewhere in an industrial estate. All shutters were closed though, and there was no sign of life, even though the taproom was supposed to be open…
After hanging around for a bit—maybe they were just late?—I then walked to the Rail Yard Food Market. After finally finding it, I couldn’t believe my eyes how small it was: three vendors, one of which just coffee! The other options were pizza or baked potatoes, so I went for the latter.
Sufficiently fed, I could then finally start drinking! First stop was the Grunting Growler. It’s actually a bottle shop, but with an excellent selection of beers on draught as well.
Considering the area, it isn’t hard to guess my next destination: BrewDog Glasgow! I found myself a spot at the bar, and enjoyed some lovely beers there. In case you were keeping score: I now drank 123 beers at that bar, the most of all foreign bars I’ve ever been!
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.
Wednesday was another travel day—although just the train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh—and another hashing day, with The New Town hash this time.
The day started a bit earlier than expected, since I had to go to the NorthLink terminal to pick up some haberdashery (hashing gear) that didn’t make it to the event in time. Back in the hotel with my loot, I enjoyed breakfast there, and then finished packing.
Well before my train was due to depart, I went to Aberdeen station to relax a bit in the First Class Lounge.
It would take the ScotRail train about 2h20 to take me from Aberdeen to Edinburgh Waverley, but on board as well there was an unlimited supply of water and shortbread. And great sea views for a large part of it!
After arrival, I went straight to the hotel Hub by Premier Inn in Rose Street, and after a cup of tea in the lobby, I could already check myself in.
For my coffee I didn’t go too far. I had even visited Wellington Coffee before!
Completely new, however, was BrewDog Edinburgh Waverley, a franchise bar in the main train station. I took me a while to find it, but while The Shaw OG hot dog was tasty, the beer choice was disappointing. It really is a bar where you’d only go to kill some time before your train leaves, not a beer geek destination…
Time to change again, and hop on a bus to get to the start of this week’s The New Town H3 run. Nice turnout, great trail!
Back in the centre and in my MacLaren kilt, I had a couple of beers at the Fierce Bar.
After a quick late night dinner at Jollibee, the last stop was at Vessel, a restaurant and bar run by Pilot.
