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Back in breeks…

Back in breeks…

Published on 1 July 2025 
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If you want to read about this trip from start to finish, instead of in reverse order, click here!

All good things come to an end, and so did this trip… I rolled up my kilt again—the Eurostar metal detectors don’t like its buckles and pin—and for the first time in two weeks, I was back in breeks again.

After an early breakfast in the hotel I successfully finished the packing puzzle: even with an extra T-shirt, pyjama bottoms, silly kilt towel, eight new items of haberdashery—of which six for others—and a bottle of whisky, I was able to zip up my bag quite smoothly!

After chilling in the Avanti West Coast Lounge of Glasgow Central for a bit, the staff announced our train was waiting for us at platform two.

Five minutes after boarding I already had my first cup of tea, and I would be well catered to for the whole 4.5 hour trip to London Euston.

After arrival I quickly went to the lounge in Euston, mainly to use the toilet—too many people queuing to go on the train—and enjoy the air-conditioning for a bit. Apparently outwith Scotland, there’s some kind of heatwave!

On to BrewDog Camden then, mainly just because it’s BrewDog Camden, and of course to try some more beers.

Before heading to St Pancras International, I managed to squeeze in a new place for dinner: Beer + Burger. Don’t know why I postponed it for this long, since the beer selection is impressive! And the burger was tasty…

Then there was only the slightly delayed Eurostar, taking me back to Brussels and thus marking the end of this trip…

Outlandish…

Outlandish…

Published on 26 June 2025

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 in Scotland have power and USB outlets here to charge your devices, even in buses and right 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 from Leeds, 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. 

The New Town

The New Town

Published on 25 June 2025

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 Ferries 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 actually 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 really nice, the beer choice was rather disappointing. It really is a bar where you’d only go to kill some time while waiting for your train, 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 back 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. 

Travel Day

Travel Day

Published on 21 June 2025

This Friday was to be another travel day: a train, two buses, and a ferry… Well, I could have saved myself the two buses, but then I would have missed out on a quick stop at a brewery! 

On a check-out day, just having breakfast in the hotel is the most convenient, so that’s what I did. All packed and dressed for a hot day, I headed to Inverness station to catch the ScotRail train to Inverurie. Unfortunately the airconditioning wasn’t working, so even in first class, I was in for a sauna… Luckily the train conductor kept his sense of humour! 

With a slight delay, I arrived in Inverurie, where I had a couple of beers in the local BrewDog, conveniently located right next to the bus station. There I got on the Watermill Coach that would get me to Ellon. 

Those who know me—or beer—immediately realise that is where the main BrewDog brewery is, and the DogTap attached to it. Since my stay in Inverurie was too short to have lunch—especially after my train had a slight delay—I had my All the Meats Sub and some dragon fries at DogTap. 

Stagecoach then brought me back to Aberdeen, where I met up with couple of dozen of hashers at the bar Krakatoa. It was no coincidence that we met right next to the harbour, since we all had the get on the NorthLink ferry Aberdeen – Lerwick, the “Hrossey”. 

After boarding, I made myself comfortable in my room, had a curry for dinner in the Magnus Lounge, and then joined the other hashers again for some beers. When I finally decided to go to bed, it was still light outside…

Back in Inverness

Back in Inverness

Published on 18 June 2025

After a full Scottish breakfast—but is it still Scottish when it doesn’t include haggis?—we arrived about ten minutes early in Inverness. My Scottish adventure was about to start!

My first port of call then was the Caledonian Sleeper lounge, just across from the station. It was definitely smaller than the one in London, but it fulfilled its purpose, and I had a moment of relaxation with a cuppa and a cookie.

Rectangular plate with beans, sausage, a hashbrown with some other items hidden underneath it, a mini frittata, and a slice of toast

I then dropped off my bags at Travelodge Inverness City Centre, and headed to PERK Coffee + Doughnuts for coffee and—you guessed it—a doughnut. 

Coffee shop facade, people queuing out the door

Since the last time I was in Inverness I was quite hungover, I decided to once again take Stagecoach 27 to revisit Culloden Battlefield. 

From there I took the same bus back in the direction of the Black Isle Brewery. From the nearest bus stop it was still a 25 minute walk, but who cares when your walking in the Highlands? The brewery didn’t actually have a taproom—just some cans in a fridge. They did however spontaneously offered to give me a tour of the brewery, which of course made me very happy!

A sign pointing out the way to Black Isle Brewing Co., hilly meadows and woods in the background
A shed turned into a brewery

The way back was actually even less convenient, so I ordered a taxi straight to the Black Isle Bar. There I still managed to find a couple of beers not available in the brewery, so double win!

After checking in to my hotel, and briefly closing my eyes, I popped by at the Victorian Market, where everything seems to close quite early… Moonshine was still open though, so I had a can there. 

Since it was still a bit early to go for dinner, I also made a stop at Highlander. While most of their beers are pretty standard, they do seem to have a special place in their heart—and fridges—for a local brewery: Dog Falls. 

From there it was onto Mangrove, for some proper Indian food! I had the ttandoori mix, chilli korma chicken, and some garlic nan. 

Then I ventured into the lion’s den: MacGregor’s, historically archenemies of the MacLarens… They didn’t seem to recognise my tartan though, and served me beers with a smile on their face. Bullet dodged! 

The last stop of the night was The Malt Room. They initially recommended me a flight, but as appealing as that sounded, it would have been too much… I settled for one dram of Raasay, and then went to bed, to catch up on some sleep…