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An Isle and an Inn

An Isle and an Inn

Published on 30 June 2025

Last full day of my trip, but I was not about to slow down! On this Monday’s schedule: a visit to the Isle of Bute, and my last run in Scotland for a while…

After breakfast at Social Bite—I really appreciate what they are doing for the less fortunate—I still had time for a coffee at Riverhill Coffee Bar, before catching my ScotRail train in Glasgow Central. 

I had to get to get onto a ferry in Wemyss Bay, but the station actually was a destination in itself! 

The CalMac ferry Wemyss Bay brought me to Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute. It was quite windy on deck, so some people might have seen more of me than I intended! The risks of wearing a kilt…

The Bute Museum is a cute little museum, but you don’t need much more than half an hour to see everything. That meant I had to some time left to visit Bonnie Bling, serving coffee from the local Isle of Bute coffee roasters. 

After that Rothesay Castle finally reopened after its lunch break. Once again I was confronted with Norwegian king Hakon… In the courtyard they were even flying the Norwegian flag, alongside the Saltire and the Buteshire flag! 

After escaping from the prison pit, I headed to the Bute Yard. It’s a magnificent space, but a bit empty on a Monday afternoon, and no food vendors. Luckily the bar of the Bute Brew Co. was open, so I enjoyed a couple of their beers. 

After returning to the mainland, I skipped a train to have some fish & chips from Macari’s, a place that came highly recommended to me. No place to eat in inside, but luckily the seagulls left me in piece. 

Back in Glasgow I had just enough time to get changed in the hotel, and take the beloved subway—finally, because they were on strike when I wanted to use it—to Inn Deep. 

There I met up with the Glasgow H3—for the third time already—to run and drink with them alongside the river Kelvin and beyond. 

Since I still had all my packing to do, after the last beer at Inn Deep, I then went straight back to the hotel. 

Back to Lothian

Back to Lothian

Published on 29 June 2025

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. 

Shetland Simmer Dim Hash

Shetland Simmer Dim Hash

Published on 22 June 2025

This weekend was all about the main event of my trip, the Shetland Simmer Dim Hash! A hostel full of hashers running and walking on both Shetland proper and Bressay, and getting a taste of local culture, food, and beer! 

After a restful night and a nice breakfast in the Magnus’ Lounge on the Hrossey, all the hashers gathered in the lobby to debark together. In the arrivals hall we were greeted by some local hashers—although only one of them actually lived on the island—and fiddle music. 

There was a coach already waiting to take us to the hostel to quickly drop off our baggage, and then on to the start of trail, a good hour’s drive away.

I’m sure a run around Lerwick would have have been lovely, but Saturday’s trail was just stunning! The weather was very un-Scottish as well, since it was incredibly sunny, albeit quite windy, and the bogs invariably soggy…

After trail we had the opportunity to visit a wildlife sanctuary, which was hosting a grey seal, and the caretakers passionately told us all about it. Others were crazy enough to take a dip in the cold sea…

We then had a sandwich lunch and circle at a nearby hotel—also serving local beers—after which the coach took us back to Lerwick so we could get settled in our rooms. It had been a while since I had shared a room with ten other guys! 

By sheer coincidence, just before we were about to leave for dinner, the Lerwick Midsummer Carnival parade passed right by our hostel. As so much on Shetland, it was very Viking themed! 

Dinner and the rest of the evening program would take place at the nearby Lerwick Town Hall. The main hall was beautiful, with a wooden vaulted ceiling, and stained glass windows, many of them featuring Norwegian monarchs. 

The dinner buffet was excellent—lamb pie made with local lamb—the beer aplenty—cask and keg from the local Lerwick Brewery—and the ceilidh—I even brought my dancing ghillies for it—a lot of fun for everyone! 

Since it was overcast and rainy by then—we even had a thunderstorm that night—the ‘dim’ was a bit darker than it usually is… It still was a very short night, though! 

Hangover Trail

As is customary at events like this, there was a hangover trail on Sunday morning—even though my hangover was less severe than on Saturday morning… Less customary was the trail length: even longer than the Saturday trail! Since I would need my trail shoes by Monday evening again, and I prefer them to be dry, I decided to do the walk. 

For this trail we actually had to cross the water, as it was on Bressay. Considering the weather—mostly wet and misty—this had been a smart choice to not run today, as they most definitely would have gotten even wetter… As nice as the beach at the ‘swim stop’ looked, I couldn’t be tempted to go in the water! I did get to see a seal in its natural habitat, though! 

After trail we had another marvellous lunch: I just couldn’t stay away from the buttered bannock with slices of lamb…And again: Lerwick Brewery beer on cask!

Then we had to run to catch the ferry to Lerwick again, where we had another drink together, before picking up our bags and the ride to the NorthLink ferry terminal.

Once on the Hjaltland, I enjoyed another dinner in the Magnus’ Lounge, before joining the other hashers in the front bar for the last couple of beers.

Paris Beer Festival: The Run

Paris Beer Festival: The Run

Published on 25 May 2025 
Reached this post by just scrolling through my blog? 
If you want to read about this trip from start to finish, instead of in reverse order, click here!

Okay, technically the run isn’t part of the Paris Beer Festival… However, the Paris hashers made it a tradition to end the run in the festival week at the beer festival. Obviously, I joined them for this run!

After enjoying a coffee and some cake at Café Tranquille, I dropped off my bag at a Nannybag location near the Gare du Nord. That way, I wouldn’t have to go back to the hotel on my way home, yet still spend the day running and drinking unencumbered by a backpack.

Facade of Café Tranquille

Once that was taken care of, I went to metro station Michel Bizot, the start location of today’s hash.

I was a bit early, but soon the members of Sans Clue H3 started to arrive. As it turned out, there were only two runners, including me! In order to get to the beer festival in time—Sundays can be busy there, apparently—it would be a rather short run, and an even shorter circle.

Up until that point it had been quite a drizzly day, which probably helped to keep the queues short so far. It also meant that by the time we got in, most of the outside tables were still empty, so we managed to secure a spot for ourselves for the remainder of the festival.

Eventually it was time to go home though, so back to the Gare du Nord I went. The Eurostar left perfectly on time, and I was home again before dark…

Beer Lovers’ Marathon 2025

Published on 18 May 2025

I did it again! The Beer Lovers’ Marathon that is… Sans wig this time, but with a homemade blue balmoral bonnet with a red toorie, embodying Tintin in his The Black Island album.

The theme of the Beer Lovers’ Marathon this year was “Belgian Comics”, so that’s why I gave my best interpretation of Tintin in his album “The Black Island”, or as it’s called in Gaelic “An T-Eilan Dubh”: kilted—obviously—wearing a blue balmoral bonnet with a red toorie, and a blue, long-sleeved running shirt, with the album cover printed on the back.

My first attempt at this marathon was in 2022, and it definitely went better this time: more than half an hour faster! I still had to walk the last bit, but I managed to run most of it this time. I actually already started feeling my right knee from about kilometer 20, and my left knee started acting up soon after that.

After climbing the 374-step Montagne de Bueren staircase, and the nasty climb following that—around the 11th beer stop at 34,4 km, Saint Nitouche—my my knees told me that, if I still wanted to use them after that day, I’d better stop running…

I tried a little jog every once in a while, but the signal my knees gave me was clear: don’t overdo it… Even after slowing down, the pacemaker with the “10 minutes until the bar closes” sign never caught up with me, and all seventeen beer stops on the course were still serving beer by the time I reached them.

In despite of the pain, I still ran the final 100 meters from the last beer stop to the finish. You can’t finish a marathon walking, can you? In the end, I finished 1152th, of 2274 finishers in total, so not too shabby at all!

(See this run on Strava)