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Tag: public transport

FyneFest Trip – Day 9

Published on 6th June 2023

Something’s Brewing in Ellon

After a couple of mornings being woken by the sun around four in the morning, I slept in a little, in my nicely darkened hotel room. Unfortunately that meant I was just a bit too late to have breakfast in in my Travelodge, and had to go to a Greggs instead, if I didn’t want to miss my Stagecoach bus to Ellon.

My first stop there was The Coffee Apothecary, so unlike previous trips to to Ellon, I actually got to see a bit of the town itself. This coffee shop is actually somehow connected to BrewDog—James invested in it?—so Equity Punks get a 5% discount here. But more importantly: they have a couple of BrewDog and guest beers on draught. Coffee and craft beer: there’s definitely a market for it!

From there it was a twenty minute walk to DogTap. Through some bribing with a nice bottle of Cantillon, I managed to get a private VIP tour on a day they usually don’t do brewery tours at all… I got to see the offices, parts of the brewery that were only very recently finished, the canning line up close while operating, and heard loads of new tidbits of information and nice anecdotes. Thank you Craig, and most awesome guide Dan!

Back in Aberdeen, it was dinner time. Pick of the night: Jewel in the Crown! I first thought it was closed—nothing to see through the windows and a big closed door—but this Indian restaurant was in the basement, as restaurants and bars in Scotland often seem to be. The chicken Pasanda was quite a tasty discovery!

Foundations in place, a night in the town could begin. First up was the very first BrewDog bar, the flagship; BrewDog Aberdeen! It was followed by the other usual spots: CASC, Fierce Bar, and to again end the evening with, BrewDog Castlegate.

FyneFest Trip – Day 8

Published on 5th June 2023

Adventures in Aberdeen

After a last breakfast at FyneFest—a bacon and egg breakfast roll from Hector & Harriet—it was time to walk back that mile to the bus stop—albeit an invisible one—for my Citylink 926 back to Glasgow.

After quickly getting a coffee to go from Laboratorio Espresso, I headed to Glasgow Queen Street station for my ScotRail train to Aberdeen.

I arrived in The Granite City a bit too early to check in at my Travelodge, so I first visited The Craftsman Company, for another coffee, and a beer. There are not enough places like this that do both specialty coffee—this one even roasts in-house—and craft beer!

In the evening I planned to go the the hash of Aberdeen H3, but it was about 35km out of the city, and not that easy to get to by public transport. I was supposed to catch a ride with another hasher, but he himself had a problem getting to Aberdeen in time. So off I went by myself, two and a half hours in advance… First I had to catch a train to Inverurie, and change onto a first bus there. I had about half an hour for this, so I seized the opportunity to visit BrewDog Inverurie—right across the square from the bus stop—and pick up the pin they didn’t have when I did my Flying Scotsman trip.

After that first bus, I had to get on the same line in the opposite direction, since apparently it serves different stops. From that last stop, it was still a three kilometre walk to the start of the trail…

The hash was totally worth it though: a beautiful trail, a ‘sweetie check’, the most amazing beer stop location, and lots of nice hashers!

The way back to Aberdeen was a lot easier and quicker: I got a ride back with one of the hashers.

Back of the hotel I first had a shower, to wash off four days of camping and a hash through at times quite some dense growth.

After that I somehow managed to drag myself outside for a last beer at BrewDog Castlegate. They soon called last call however, so it would stay at just the one.

FyneFest Trip – Day 4

Published on 1st June 2023

Once Again to the Glen!

Thursday started with sleeping in a bit, packing, and checking out of the Z Hotel. I really enjoyed this hotel, I’m very likely to stay there again next time in Glasgow… Maybe I’ll even get a room with a window!

For my last breakfast in town I went to Spitfire Espresso, where I had a banging breakfast burrito: eggs, cheddar, bacon, mushrooms, with a smoked habanero sauce to give it a bit of a kick.

After a quick visit to a photo exhibition, I had a last espresso macchiato at Laboratorio Espresso.

Then it was time to pick up my bag and head to Buchanan Bus Station. 57 bus stances, indoor waiting areas, shops and toilets… And that for a city just half the size of bus-stationless Brussels!

Infrastructure like that made waiting for and getting onto my Citylink 926 to Cairndow an effortless experience. Not to mention the great views on the way to Glen Fyne…

After arriving at the nearest bus stop, it was just a walk of about 1,5 km to the festival terrain. On occasions like these, with only gravel paths and uneven roads, I’m really happy I can convert my trolley bag to a backpack!

So this year again, I bought an Early Access ticket for FyneFest, to make the most of the yurt I booked. And of course, the Thursday is a very relaxed day to start the festival. After getting checked in—can of Easy Trail included—and installed in my yurt, I had a couple of beers in the Fyne Ales taproom.

After that, it was about time for dinner, so I went for an auld favourite, Babu Bombay Street Kitchen, for their mixed pakora.

To finish the night, some Fyne Ales Origins Brewing beers and live music—by Micky Marr—in the Mixtape tent.

Oh, and a service announcement: midge season has definitely started!

FyneFest Trip – Day 3

Published on 31st May 2023

Rural Glasgow

After finally a full night of sleep, the breakfast choice of the day was a beef shin and cheddar toastie at Outlier. You can’t have a full Scottish for breakfast every day, can you?

From there, the number 6 First bus—eventually—took me to the National Museum of Rural Life. It was not just a museum, but also a working, centuries old farm, with Highland coos, rare Tamworth pigs, sheep, and big farm horses!

Then on to The Burrell Collection, in Pollok Country Park. When I was there the last time, they were just renovating the building, so this was my first opportunity to see it.

On the way to my first beer, I stopped for a coffee and brookie at Grain and Grind. Just a little bit up the road was the Koelschip Yard, where quite coincidentally, my mate Dom was sitting at the bar! Beers were had, and some very good bottles shared…

The plan was then to have a vegetarian Indian dinner at nearby Ranjit’s Kitchen, but their card machine was out of order, and without an actual card on me, it turned out to be impossible to get money from a machine…

I did have Indian in the end, but back in the centre, in a restaurant in the St Enoch Shopping Centre, Namaste by Delhi Darbar.

The last stop of the night was Inn Deep, a conveniently short subway ride from the hotel, which gave me the opportunity to use my Bramble smart card again, which still had some money on it from years ago…

FyneFest Trip – Day 2

Published on 30th May 2023

Over to Arran

This morning I got up unusually early, at 5.30! Just as well my internal clock was still on Belgian time, but nevertheless way too early! The reason for this was that CalMac Ferries decided to cancel the 11.00 ferry I booked, so I had to go on the 8.00 ferry instead. This meant I had to catch the 6.15 train to Ardrossan Harbour… To add insult to injury, there was no coffee or breakfast available, neither in the ferry terminal, nor on the ferry itself!

Needless to say, in Brodick, on the Isle of Arran, my first stop was the Little Rock café, for a full Scottish breakfast, and a coffee.

After that I was almost human again, and ready to walk a bit of the Arran Coastal Way to head over to Brodick Castle. Unfortunately it was in scaffolding, so the outside was completely invisible, but luckily the interiors and the beautiful gardens made up for it.

I stopped by at Arran Brewery, but since this brewery doesn’t have a taproom, I had one of their beers at neighbour The Wineport.

On my way to the Arran Heritage Museum I did some picknick shopping at Arran’s Cheese Shop.

The last stop on the island was the Ormidale Hotel, which seemed like a good place to have a whisky from Isle of Arran Distillers, which was a bit too far to visit in person today. I’ll have to save that for when they’re organising tours again, but for now, the Arran 18 Year was a nice consolation.

A ferry and a train brought me back to Glasgow, for some Greek/Turkish/Levantine food at a new, highly recommended place, ‘Babs.

As my only real beer stop in Glasgow tonight, I went to the Innis & Gunn Brewery Taproom. I’m not really a fan of their own beers, but the guest list was stonkin’!

Since that dram of Arran brought me in the mood for whisky, I ended the night at The Pot Still, with their malt of the month, Smokehead.