train - Martijn.be

The New Town

Published on 25 June 2025

Wednesday was another travel day—although this time just the one train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh—but also another hashing day, with The New Town hash this evening.

The day started a bit earlier than expected: I had to go back to the NorthLink Ferries terminal to pick up some haberdashery (hashing gear) that didn’t make it to the event in time. Once back in my hotel with the 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 I was well provided for, since on board too there was an unlimited supply of water and shortbread. And I did get some great sea views for a large part of the voyage!

After arrival, I went straight to my 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 have to go too far, since it was just around the corner. I actually had even visited Wellington Coffee before!

Completely new to me, however, was BrewDog Edinburgh Waverley, a BrewDog 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 on the other hand was rather disappointing. It really is a bar where you’d only go to kill some time while waiting for your train, and definitely 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. It was a nice turnout, and an even better trail! Somehow the TNT runs I join are always quite hilly, though…

Back in the centre—and freshened up and back in my MacLaren kilt—I had a couple of beers at the Edinburgh Fierce Bar.

After a quick late night dinner at Jollibee, my last stop of the evening was at Vessel, a restaurant and bar run by the Pilot brewery. Since it was almost closing time, I was their last and only customer, which gave the bar staff plenty of time to provide me with loads of recommendations of places to go in Edinburgh!

Travel Day

Travel Day

Published on 20 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 Ellon 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.

A Stagecoach bus then brought me back to Aberdeen, where I met up with couple of dozen of hashers at the Krakatoa bar. It was no coincidence that we met right next to the harbour, since we all had the get on the same NorthLink ferry from Aberdeen to 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 nice 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

The way back from the brewery to town was even less convenient—Scottish public transport truly works in mysterious ways—so I ordered a taxi straight to the Black Isle Bar. There I actually managed to find a couple of beers not available in the brewery, so happy me!

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 of beer 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 simply would have been too much… I settled for one dram of Raasay, and then went to bed, to catch up on some sleep…

Simmer Dim Trip

Simmer Dim Trip

Published on 17 June 2025

Finally! Another ‘big trip’! Not unexpectedly it’s to Scotland again, but with a very specific goal: experience the shortest night of the year—Simmer Dim—on Shetland. As usual, the first day is all about getting to Scotland: 1287 km in under 21 hours, including over 7 hours in London…

Faithfully filling out all those questionnaires from Eurostar meant I had gathered enough points to upgrade to Eurostar Plus. There’s no lounge access included in that class, but in Brussels that’s usually not really needed anyway. For me the most important advantage of class upgrades are the solo seats. On trains to London however, Plus actually includes a light meal and drinks as well! On the menu today: roast beef bowl with horseradish and lovage potato salad, green beans and courgettes, apricot Bakewell. I also got to try the Two Tribes beer Nomad, brewed exclusively for Eurostar.

A wheelie bag, with a kilt roll and a backpack strapped to it, on the tiled platform of a Brussels metro station.

After arrival—just seven minutes late—I first headed to Hoppers for the second part of my lunch. Not that I didn’t enjoy the food on the train, but it was just a light meal, and definitely not enough for what was about to come… Also, Hoppers had been on my to-do list ever since I saw the founder as a guest chef on the Sorted YouTube channel. So I had an egg hopper, the Lankan chicken kari, tomato chutney, pol sambol, and seeni sambol, all of that with a Toddy Ale by SALT.

Big snifter glass with beer on a wooden table, a brass plate behind it.

Differently sized bowls with food on a table.

I wouldn’t stray too far from the train stations today, but still, taking my big wheelie bag—with a kilt roll and a smaller backpack strapped to it—would be quite annoying. So it was time to store my bag at what turned out to be the cutest Nannybag location I ever used. The lady running the shop calling me ‘dear’ all the time reinforced this sentiment even further…

Wheelie bag, with on top of it a yellow luggage tag with the number 08

After that I had some time to relax a bit and have the first decent coffee in days, at Store St Espresso.

Inside view, a customer at the wooden counter

From there it was just a five minute walk to The Queen’s Head. I’ve been to this bar a couple of times—probably already my very first time in London—but the beer menu never disappoints! To soak up a bit of the beer before my last stop, I finished off with a Mr. Barrick’s pork pie.

Classic pub facade, wooden tables in front

Beer on the bar, bar stools and people sitting at tables in the background

Dimple mug with dark beer on the bar, pump clip in the background

Then it was time to retrieve my bag while the shop was still open—even though the nice lady gave me clear instructions on what to do if it was closed—and head to my traditional pre-sleeper stop: the Euston Tap! It was sweltering inside, so after my first half, I ordered a pint to take outside.

19th century gatehouse, stones engraved with destinations of trains leaving from Euston station, drinking after work people in front of it

Glass of beer on a table, with taps mounted to a copper plated wall behind it

A glass of beer balancing on a fence railing, the Euston Tap and its terrace in the background

Derelict 19th century gatehouse, stones engraved with destinations of trains leaving from Euston station

I didn’t stay too long, since I hadn’t tested the new Caledonian Sleeper lounge yet. It’s definitely nice they have a space of their own now: you already get your room key card—pre-activated, so no messing about with double-tapping—and an announcement when it’s time to board. And of course all the shortbread and Irn-Bru—and coffee and tea—you can stomach! The lounge was quite busy, but I still found a seat.

When I was finally on board, I quickly dropped my bag in my room, filled out the breakfast card, and headed to the Club Car, for my traditional whisky and Scottish cheese plate. After my second dram, I decided it was time to go to bed, and spend most of the 914 km to Inverness sleeping. After all, breakfast will be served at 7:15…

Tumbler with whisky, the mini bottle next to it

So for now, time to take off my trousers and stash them away for the next two weeks, and get some sleep!

Bonus! A little video of my Caledonian Sleeper experience!

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.

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…

Tag: train

The New Town

Travel Day

Back in Inverness

Simmer Dim Trip

Paris Beer Festival: The Run