According to Google Maps, it would take 5.5 hours to drive from Edinburgh to Portree in Skye. Relying on public transport it took a little longer than that for us, taking all day to get to Kyle of Lochalsh and then a bus in the morning to finish off the trip – call it a day and a half all up.

It wasn’t all bad though, some of the views from the train being quite stunning.

Aberdeen

One of the reasons it took so long to get to Portree was that the schedules of each of the component legs just didn’t marry up. Given the gaps, we elected to have a look around Aberdeen town centre.

Inverness

With an hour in Inverness we elected to have a meal at the Belhaven Pub near the station to ensure we weren’t late for the train departure.

Overnight at The Kyle

And then we were within eyeshot of the Isle of Skye. We elected to stay overnight at The Kyle Hotel where I’d stayed with Mum 9 years previously when we’d visited the Isle of Skye.

Bus to Portree

The train line finishes at Kyle, so we took the bus to Portree instead.

Portree

The biggest town on Skye is Portree, home to a couple of Co-op supermarkets, the only ones on the island. A network of local bus routes sporadically run allowing the locals to go shopping, the bus stop outside the larger of the supermarkets visited by each of the buses we took.

Cuillin Hills Hotel

The Cuillin Hills Hotel where we’d booked to stay for the week was around a 13 minute (according to Google) walk from the centre of town, visible across the harbour from the main road.

Scorrybreac Circuit

On the first day we decided to do the Scorrybreac Circuit, the start of which we’d passed on the way to the hotel.

We were about to pass the large park-like clearance on our left when I glimpsed a map of New Zealand on the park bench so we had to investigate.

It turns out that the Scorrybreac Circuit runs through the headlands which were the family homestead of the Nicholson family, and the park bench in question was donated by the Nichols clan in New Zealand.

The path meandered pleasantly along the waters edge, the branches of the trees meeting above the trail making a nice canopy. The path wasn’t too muddy and we made good time.

The tide had come in enough to separate the Black Island from the mainland. It turned out that Bonnie Prince Charlie had left from this point dressed as a woman in his return to France after the disastrous battle at Culloden.

Around the corner the path became a little more challenging, gaining elevation and becoming a little more muddy. Looming above us to the left were cliffs with sea hawks apparently nesting in the cliffs. We saw some wide winged birds staying aloft without flapping their wings – surfing the updrafts – but I wasn’t sure whether they were sea hawks or some other species.

As the path turned inland, it started to switch back onto itself as it climbed steeply up the hill to a lookout high above the sea. Below we could make out one of the many salmon farms offshore, and a different path split off the Circuit and headed out over the neighbouring farmland past sheep and cows beyond the hills further along the coast.

We paused on the park bench overlooking the vista for lunch and to say hi to a couple walking their dog, and then continued along the path. It was much less steep and eventually left the overgrowth into farmland on the back of the path.

Though it was only a warm up, the steepness of the hill reminded me of how unfit I was. Ange had made the comment that even though she couldn’t see me on the steepest part of the hill track through the trees and undergrowth, she could still hear me ahead of her because of the wheezing and puffing. Hmph!

Old Man of Storr

The next day we took the bus to the new carpark at the base of the Old Man of Storr. The Old Man is a rocky hill in the shadow of the Storr which is a plateau in the middle of the Trotternish peninsula.

The Old Man was apparently created from a rockfall from the Storr and is one of the most famous walks on the island. The carpark construction going on is an attempt to alleviate the street parking in the height of the summer.

We had checked out the bus time table and saw that we had three hours to get up and back which should not be a problem when the round trip was supposed to take two hours. Even with my low base fitness, we figured we should be alright.

The early going was on good paths with an insistent gradient which allowed you to concentrate on the views without needing to pay much attention to your footing. The high fences and gates made sense as they were to keep deer out.

I never figured out whether the deer were in the uphill section and they were keeping away from the road below or being kept away from the heights above us.

At the top of the section the path joined another, continuing up the hill over a slight rise into a dip. Any positive thoughts generated from the pause in uphill progress were stopped when we saw the what was ahead.

Some workers were creating a rock staircase up the side of the hill, the steepest parts already finished, with the flat parts between steps to be filled with aggregate later. At the bottom of the hill the path through the fence was in the process of being filled, a mechanical digger clearing the path for the bags of aggregate to be spread.

We inched around the digger which almost blocked the path and made good use of the steps. Having good solid rocks beneath us ensured we could concentrate on breathing rather than trying to figure out where to put our feet, so we made good progress again… until the steps ran out and the regular path was roped off to allow workers to create more stone steps.

This meant we had to walk through less firm track churned up by previous track walkers. We did our best goat impressions and made our way back to where the track went and went along reasonably flat track to the base of the Old Man, checking out the other promontory stone structures.

We had made such good progress that Ange wanted to try and replicate the picture we’d seen in the hotel. I was more worried that we’d use up the extra hour buffer before the bus came, but went along.

It was a little disconcerting coming across signs warning not to go any further… from the wrong side! In a couple of cases the “not” was scratched out, or covered in stickers. I couldn’t figure out which path you would have to have taken to come across the signs from the “proper” side, as we had taken the most obvious route up the hill.

We paused for our lunch and then headed around behind the Old Man of Storr, marvelling at the fields of rock from the slide (the cause of the signs – if more rock came down there would be no warning!). The path behind the Old Man towards the Needle was straight from Middle Earth, and a welcome relief from the winds.

The path looped back around, narrow and exposed in parts, but firm enough underfoot. It was with some relief that we retraced our path and headed down the hill. Less strenuous than the route up, still needing to concentrate on path selection until we rejoined the staircase made of stone where the different muscles in our legs reminded us that they weren’t stretched on the way up.

We reached the bottom with about twenty minutes to spare and then proceeded to look for the bus stop. Google Maps had it on the other side of the road about five minutes away so we headed there.

There was nothing at the spot it indicated, so I headed up a little further. Still nothing. I was worried – surely there would be something to show the bus stop? I looked at the printed out bus timetable and it had “Old Man of Storr Carpark” so we broke into a trot and made our way back to where we’d started from. Still no signage or anything. I figured I’d leap in front of the bus – surely that would stop him?

The darkening skies started to spit, delivering on their gloomy promise which had miraculously stayed dry up to that point. Around the corner came the bus, and I stuck out my arm and it pulled to a halt. As we got on board I asked the driver if this was a stop.

He responded that they operate a “Hail and Ride” system where you hail the bus and he would stop. As long as you were on the correct side of the road. Smiling in apology at catching the bus from the wrong side of the road, we made our way to our seats just as the rains really started in anger.

Happy that we’d made the bus and avoided a three hour wait to the next bus (we’d taken note of the phone number of a taxi driver as a back up so we wouldn’t really have to wait three hours in the rain), we headed back to Portree, only pausing briefly to see to a nasty blister on one of my toes from the walk down the hill.

Rain And Wind. And Rain. And More Wind.

We weren’t able to book a tour the next day, and the weather forecast looked dire. So we booked the tour for the next day instead and hunkered down in the room, watching squall after squall roll over the harbour from the hills beyond. The wind buffered the windows and the rain battered the panes all day and all night. Room service and a bath were the only antidotes!

Tour

Donald from Skye Scenic Tours picked us up and dropped us off after the winter tour – always a time efficient way of seeing a lot of the critical sights.

Carbost: Oyster Shed & Talisker Distillery

The sky was still threatening more rain when we caught the small local bus to Carbost. It was more a mini-van than bus, with three locals bestown with shopping from Co-op getting aboard without paying.

My face dropped when the driver said he only took cash, but this being Skye, the driver said he’d wait as I disappeared to the nearby bank to get cash out of the ATM. A return ticket purchased for each of us, we boarded. The driver asked if we were going to the distillery and we said that yes we would be, but after we’d gone to the Oyster Shed for lunch.

He said he’d drop us off just before the Shed at the top of the hill. We’d checked out the route on Google Street View and thanked him profusely for allowing us to avoid that climb, my legs at least still feeling the results of the trip up the Old Man of Storr.

This bus showed us a different side of life on the Island, the bus driver also delivering mail and helping the passengers on and off the bus with their grocery shopping.

I think that the Oyster Shed is primarily a fish retailer with a kitchen bolted on. You order in the main part of the shop, surrounded by industrial levels of fresh fish of a wide array of assorted species. Ange was particularly enamoured by the crab fridge magnet with the legs which wobbled, only £2.50.

The volume of seafood you get at the Oyster Shed certainly lived up to what we’d seen online – definitely good value for money. The outdoor eating area is only partially roofed, so when the heavens opened I was thankful that Ange had chosen a good barrel to eat at.

By the time we’d finished lunch the rain had blown over, and the walk back down the hill to the Talisker Distillery was a pleasant post meal meander. Though there was no footpath, so I had one ear cocked for traffic behind us.

We’d booked our slot on the Talisker Distillery tour and we had a few minutes before it started so had a look around the exhibition.

Megan did a good job with the tour, answering all our questions and walking through the tasting notes for the three varieties we tasted – the Talisker 10 Year, the Talisker Distiller’s Edition and the Talisker Distillery Exclusive.

Neither Ange nor I wanted to drink the full drams, so I made use of the “Drivers Option” which was a cool little hessian bag with little containers for the scotch, so that you could still have a taste in the Distillery but you could also take the rest home to enjoy there.

The only problem with a bus which only runs twice per day is that if you miss the last one you have an expensive taxi trip or an unexpected overnight stay. As a result we made sure we were at the bus stop in good time.

It also meant that we kept a beady eye on the road above Carbost, starting at each white van sighting, and only worrying a little when the bus was a few minutes late.

Dunvegan

We knew that Dunvegan Castle was closed, but there was walk which started in Dunvegan and went near the castle so we elected to take lunch and jump on yet an other bus to check out Dunvegan and the Two Churches Walk.

We got dropped off at Dunvegan village – the bus continued onto the Castle but that would cut the walk in half and spoil any sense of accomplishment. I did make a point of asking the driver where the return bus stop was.

Opposite the starting point of the walk, Ange found an alpaca wool store, selling knitwear as well as alpaca wool. We’d seen sheep throughout our tours and wanderings – the sheep pretty much left to their own devices, each spray painted a particular colour to indicate ownership, but hadn’t seen any alpacas. Ange bought some wool for her knitting, and then we headed back into the cold for our walk.

The two churches referred to by the walk title were the abandoned ruins of St Mary’s Church and the still-in-use Church of Scotland. The trail lead behind the church and along the hillside in the forest.

The trail was unusual for all the walks we’d done on Skye had been exposed and this one was under the canopy of a mature forest. It was unusual for another reason which became apparent as we proceeded.

Periodically we came across “evidence” of fairies, obvious put in place by school children with named fairy doors either high on trunks or nestled in the roots of the trees along the path. There were also little fairy dolls stuck to branches

The path had little piles of logs alongside it in parts, and someone had cut a little picnic area into some of the logs, trunks being converted into seats and a log having seats spliced into it, looking almost like a seesaw, but surprisingly secure.

The path continued through the forest until stopping at a T intersection. The left hand side path lead to the main road and onto the Dunvegan Castle and Gardens. We headed to the gates just in case they were open, but no, the carpark was empty and the gates resolutely closed.

Just in the background beyond the closed and padlocked gates was the top of a tower from the castle. There were parts of the fence which we could have gotten over, but we thought it best to leave Skye by train rather than in a police van, so we headed back to where the path had split and continued on the official path.

The autumn leaves had left a carpet of dappled colour as the path started to climb to the top of the hill. It was slippery in parts and some areas had exposed rock, but it was all very low key after the various walks we’d already done.

Then we reached a gate which lead to more traditional environment: a track through gorse bushes, the canopy of forest gone now and, beyond the gorse, the brown of the bracken covering the hill sides all the way to the horizon.

It wasn’t too long before the path itself seemed to be a stream, with limited footing which wasn’t actually under an inch or two of water. Deep enough to occasionally seep into your shoes and get your socks wet.

We braved our way through though and towards the end of the path we saw the side branch which took us to the Duirnish stone, a stone raised in the traditional method in 2000 to celebrate the millennium.

Ange checked out if the stone had any “Outlander” magic to take us back to 1743. We paused there for some lunch, sheltering out of the wind behind the stone. Then we headed down the hill to the other, ruined church, which turned out be the burial spot for the clan chiefs of the McLeods.

We still had over an hour before our return bus, so we walked through Dunvegan town and then back to the Dunvegan Inn for a tea or a coffee. They were full, but we waited outside and before long we were invited inside out of the cold and enjoyed a lovely cheese board.

Eilean Donan Castle, Pock & Hector’s Bothy

The next day was our last and so we took the bus back to Kyle. We’d arranged for a taxi driver to meet us to take us to Eilean Donan Castle, the most photographed castle in Scotland according to Brian McFadyen.

Brian was awesome: I thought we’d just get him to take us to the castle (which was closed), we’d take a few photos from the shore and then we’d go back to Kyle.

Instead, Brian dropped us off, told us he’d be back in half an hour, came back, took us to a vantage point across the loch, then took us to the starting point of a secret lookout. Finally he dropped our bags off at a café in Kyle so we wouldn’t have to carry them around to the lookout point. Great service, and great value.

Eilean Donan Castle sits on an island where three lochs meet and has featured in many movies. It’s incredibly picturesque, and for Memorial day was lit up with red floodlights. It would have been something to see!

After commenting on the great weather, Brian took us to the secret lookout up the back of Kyle.

The lookout was reached out by a narrow lane which rose up from water level to a the top of a hill which commanded great views sweeping from Loch Alsh past Kyelakin to the Skye Bridge and around to Badicaul. Well worth the climb.

On the way down, Ange found some wild blackberries growing on the side of the road and tried one.

Then we headed to Hector’s Bothy to meet up with Brian and get our bags and to grab a bite before our train ride home.

On the way home we made sure that we sat on the left hand side of the train. Both Brian and the strange guy we’d talked to at the train station as we waited for the train had both given us that same piece of advice and it was true: the landscape reminded us of British Columbia in Canada in parts with the forest reaching down to the water line.

So we didn’t manage to get into Dunvegan Castle or see the Fairy Pools, but I guess it just gives us another reason to come back to Skye.

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We were early as usual and enquired whether our room might be ready. The receptionist checked her computer and we smiled when she told us it was. We headed up the stairs and along the hall to our room, checking out the photos of Skye’s wild attractions as we went.

The Room

The room itself was huge – an enormous super king bed with ten pillows/cushions on it taking pride of place. It was two singles pushed together but the mattress was thick enough that we didn’t notice at all.

A full dresser and desk with ample drawer space allowed us to unpack and feel like we were at home, the TV was also huge and pivoted on its frame so we could swivel it around and watch from the round table and two armchairs in the corner.

Because of Covid-19 restrictions, the hotel had removed the £5 room service charge, so dining in-room was an attractive option. If we got the breakfast door hanger filled in and hanging on the door by 3am we could get anything we wanted delivered between 7:30am and 10:00am.

This proved an excellent option when we were heading out early for a tour or catching a bus. The breakfast was included in the room rate so there was no limit to what we could order.

I felt just a little bit bad when the delivery guy puffed his way in having carried the heavy tray all by himself from the kitchen, up the stairs and into the room. They did have little trestle tables that they set up outside the room and rested the tray on while knocking.

Being there for so long allowed us to see those rare incidences when things don’t go perfectly – there were two of these in our stay. One morning there was a knock at the door at 7:30am. We were awake and Ange went to the door to be greeted by the trestle table and a tray of breakfast on it.

She called out after the delivery guy “Excuse me! Hello! We didn’t order breakfast!” The guy came back and didn’t seem too bothered “Well, I can take it away if you like?” I immediately suggested that that wasn’t necessary and that we would take it – I hate to see food wasted and we were awake anyways.

Ange was worried if we took it that someone else would miss out (which would mean that the error was one of wrong room), but the waiter confirmed that it was for our room number, and so we said that we’d take it.

We looked at what the breakfast was and it was what we had previously ordered, so we figured the old door hanger had somehow got back into circulation in error. Seriously, talk about first world problems!! Oh no, our 4 star hotel accidentally delivered a delicious cooked breakfast!

The Bathroom

The bathroom boasted his and hers sinks which Ange loved – no more of my whiskers or toothpaste splatter interrupting her beauty regime. The shower had a rainforest showerhead which I always love, and the bath was the perfect size for luxuriating the aching muscles after one or other of our walks on the island.

……And when the wind blew and the rains came it was decadent to bathe while sipping a wee dram of the local product.

The toiletries were Algotherm and while I didn’t really need the shower cap, shampoo and conditioner it was good to use the shower gel and soap. I figured that the local seaweed probably wasn’t used in the formulations of the products – the gap between high and low tide all around the island was speckled with different species of seaweed, but Algotherm is made in France so they probably used locally sourced macroalgae.

We could elect how often our room was made up which was good – Ange hated the waste of having towels replaced every day, but I was tempted because each time they made up the room we got free bottles of water and shortbread. It’s always good coming home to a clean room!

The View

The view from the room was awesome, a constantly changing vision across the harbour where you could watch the clouds roll up the Loch. There was one day where a storm hit, a constant barrage of wind and rain and even though the window rattled slightly when buffeted by particularly strong gusts, we were perfectly snug all day.

It was a little mesmerising watching the changing light as clouds raced across the sky and the harbour hues melted one into the other – dawn especially striking.

The Food

The hotel had its own Scotch bar, a nook beside the main bar where you could select one or more of the many flavors on offer. The bar itself was off limits due to Covid, but that merely shifted where you needed to drink your drinks.

The picnic tables on the front lawn had online ordering, so if you picked your moment between rain showers and enjoyed the sun, you could use your phone and enjoy a libation while watching the next shower cloud approach across the harbour.

The food was amazing the whole time we were there and the other small hiccup occurred one day when our room service order for lunch didn’t make it to the kitchen. Again, another first world problem: we had to ring again and they sent it up within 20 minutes. Boo hoo!

Staying for a week and having most meals at the hotel, we learned what we liked from the menu and obviously recognised the waitstaff. If I was more of a people person I would have learnt all their names, which is a pity because they were all friendly and lovely, and gave great service.

The leek and potato soup was our first introduction to the restaurant and while I was under the mistaken impression the garnish on top was bacon (more likely deep fried leek), it certainly set the standard for the rest of the meals.

When we asked if there were any recommendations the waiter mentioned that the scallops were fresh and that you could actually watch the scallop boats landing their catch in the port over the harbour.

As good as they were, the star dish for me was actually the starter portion of the mussels, served in a white wine broth and crusty bread. Really good value – there must have been close to a kilo of them for £8.50. We had them a few times while we were there!

Another item we kept coming back to was the burger. Definitely better with the cheese and bacon, it came with a little salad, chips and onion rings. I had fomo with Ange’s fish and chips so obviously had to have that the following night!

Let me pause and reminisce about the sticky toffee pudding. It had quite the range of textures, from the pudding itself, with the obvious toffee sauce, but the ice cream that accompanied it was sandwiched between a biscuit-y topping and some sort of ganache.

The first time I ordered it from room service they asked if I wanted it delivered at the same time as the main or afterwards and I made the mistake of getting it at the same time as the main, so the head of the hot toffee sauce melted the ice cream.

The second time I ordered it I made sure not to repeat the error, and when I said I’d have it later they said that they wouldn’t make it at the same time but just to ring down 10 minutes before I was ready for it and they’d make it and bring it up. Cue the most pompous phone call you have ever heard:

Ring ring.

“Hullo recepetion, how can I help?”

“Uh… I’m ready for my dessert now. Please send up my sticky toffee pudding.”

While we were staying at the hotel we did a tour which offered a hotel pickup and drop off. Now we only arranged to go on the tour a day before it actually left and on that day that we arranged it we didn’t want to leave the hotel because there was a storm: a constant barrage of buffeting winds and squalls of torrential rain.

So, no way of making the ten minute walk into the centre of town to get a sandwich and packet of crisps from the supermarket in town. We asked if the hotel did a takeaway lunch and were told yes, we could get a bagged lunch for £10. So for the £10 each we got a sizeable sandwich, bottle of water, packet of crisps, piece of fruit and a pair of shortbread biscuits, all in a brown paper bag.

Would I go back?

Hell yes! The room was large, the bed was huge and comfortable, the views were gorgeous. The food was delicious. And the friendly staff were the icing on the cake. Very much recommended!

The post Review: Cuillin Hills Hotel, Portree, Skye appeared first on etrip.tips.

It was a bit tricky to find a tour company operating in Skye. Visiting their websites showed that they were all closed, or had no availability, so we assumed that they’d all shut up shop. We were therefore surprised to see a tour bus picking up passengers from the main bus stop in the centre of Portree.

A few emails later and we were booked onto the 6 hour Winter Tour by Skye Scenic Tours. We arranged a hotel pickup/drop off and got the hotel to give us a packed lunch. Sorted!

We got a sizeable sandwich (choices of bacon, lettuce, tomato, ploughmans or salmon), a bottle of water, packet of crisps, piece of fruit and shortbread – perfect for refuelling.

Fairy Pools

Our biggest reason for going with Donald on his Winter Tour was that he visited the Fairy Pools. Even though we had hunkered in our hotel room the previous day as torrential rain was blown in sideways across the island for over 24 hours, we were still hopeful of being able to reach the turquoise pools and waterfalls which were normally visited by over 200,000 people every year.

We pulled into the carpark and the attendant greeted Donald by name and let us know the bad news. The ford which started the walk up to the Pools was over ankle deep. Previous trampers had had to throw their poles and gear across – just too much rainwater collected from the Black Cuillin’s and funnelled to the Brittle River.

Donald was good though, he gave the four of us on the trip the option of going anyway. We looked at each other and eventually agreed that it was probably best for us not to spend the rest of the day with drenched shoes and jeans, and to head a little further down the valley to a “secret spot” Donald knew about. I took the below photo of the Fairy Pools as we went by but it will have to wait until the next time we visit.

The “secret spot” turned out to be visible from the road opposite the Glenbrittle Youth Hostel, so I don’t feel like I’m breaching any confidence in mentioning it here. Lovely waterfall and while the turquoise of the iconic photographs was hinted at rather than saturating the view (suggesting post-photo filters), the white of the rapids, the darkness of the rocks and the brown of the bracken were all very picturesque.

Sligachan

Happy enough with the replacement waterfalls, we headed back to the main road to Portree. At the crossroads, where the Kyle – Portree road met the roads leading to the western most two peninsulas, we stopped for a look at the Old Sligachan Bridge which used to be the only way across the river.

Statues of two iconic hill walkers had just been erected to commemorate Professor Norman Collie and John Mackenzie, first to top many of the peaks on Skye.

It was possible to get public transport to Sligachan but not to the Fairy Pools, so when we had done our research we’d explored getting public transport to Sligachan, then hiking the 7 miles (11km) between the peaks in the Black Cuillins to the Fairy Pools and arranging for a taxi to meet us at the Fairy Pools carpark and take us to the Talisker Distillery in Carbost (£35-£42 depending on which taxi firm you use if you’re interested).

Old Man of Storr

We had previously climbed the Old Man of Storr, so this was just a quick photo stop. It was good to get a perspective on just how tall the climb had been.

Lealt Falls

Donald was a local of the Trotternish peninsular, the eastern of the three fingers which formed the northern part of Skye. As a native Gaelic speaker we marvelled as we could pick out Irish and Welsh elements of his accent – on top of the lilting sing-song Scottish Highland accent of course!

He kept up a steady stream-of-consciousness commentary about pertinent things as we passed – certainly the most value in terms of words per minute of tour time, that’s for sure!

The same rains which made the Fairy Pools unreachable, made for impressive waterfall displays on the Eastern side of Trotternish.

Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls

The wild cliffs stretching in both directions provided excellent views out across to the Isle of Raasay and below the water level, according to Donald, there was a research facility specialising in submarine activities. Apparently an assortment of weird and wonderful naval vessels undertook exercises at various times.

An Coran Beach – Staffin

With some extra time available as a result of not being able to get to the Fairy Pools, I dropped a few subtle hints about maybe being able to see the dinosaur tracks at An Coran Beach.

Everybody seemed to think that was an OK idea, so Donald drove down to the beach. We had researched getting to Staffin on our own, but with there being only three buses per day, it was going to be awkward getting there. As Donald drove us down to the beach I was doubly glad he’d agreed to take us as the road was narrow with lots of blind corners and no safe walking places for pedestrians.

In addition to being convenient and safer, Donald actually knew where the footprints were! While the tide was perfect for finding them, if he hadn’t pointed them out we might have spent hours scouring the beach for their exact location.

The tide on our arrival was perfect: mid tide – where there is enough water to accentuate the prints but not cover them entirely.

Quaraing

We then headed inland climbing up one lane roads which doubled back on themselves like pictures I’d seen of the Swiss Alps. I was glad Donald knew the roads (he’d pointed out his village where he lived on the way) and that it wasn’t snowy or icy.

The views from the top were spectacular: The Quiraing is a landslip on the eastern face of Meall na Suiramach and features truly spectacular views. We stopped at the carpark where the tracks leave from, quite glad we didn’t have the two hours to complete the 6.8km track as apparently it’s classified as ‘Medium’ in length and ‘Hard’ for difficulty.

Fairy Glen

We cut straight across the top of the Trotternish peninsula to Uig (pronounced Ooh-igg) where the ferries departed to the Outer Hebrides, stopping at the local brewery. I was more interested in having lunch and the others made use of the facilities rather than checking out the local products, so we didn’t linger long, heading south out of Uig and then up a valley to the Fairy Glen.

It almost captured the otherworldly feeling of the Quaraing in miniature, with an extreme Middle Earth vibe.

Castle Ewan turned out to be a natural rock formation which looked like an actual castle. Ange braved the high winds, crossing the exposed path to reach the actual rock of the keep. We were there when there were maybe four other people – in the summer with the crowds it would be quite interesting with too many people on the paths potentially jostling for position. If the fairies didn’t get you the drop might!

Some tourists apparently moved the stones to make patterns in the fairy rings, so a sign warned them that the fairies didn’t like that. Apparently the locals spent a lot of time and effort putting the stones back after people had left: exhausting – a truly Sisyphean effort!

St Columba’s Isle

Donald hadn’t really given much guidance in terms of how long we had at each stop, primarily a combination of not needing the Fairy Pools’ 90 minutes and not really lingering at any of the other stops. I imagine if there were more than the four of us then we would have used more time.

Anyway, Donald took us to a couple of places that weren’t on the itinerary to fill in the time. A detour down a farmer’s driveway looking for Highland cattle (“hairy coos” in the local parlance) turned up blank, but we took in the wonders of St Columba’s Island which turned out to be a square burial island reached by a small bridge.

It turned out to hold the remnants of the Mortuary Chapel for the Nicholson Clan, the same clan whose homestead sat on the headland beside our hotel.

The best parts of Donald’s tour was that he was flexible – not being able to go to the Fairy Pools wasn’t so bad – we got to see the waterfalls further down the road, and it was the people on the tour who made the choice not to go (and get wet) and it gave us more time to see the dinosaur tracks on the beach. Not a bad trade off.

The post Skye Scenic Tours – Winter Tour appeared first on etrip.tips.

We arrived on the last train from Inverness at 8:30pm and the receptionist from the hotel rang at 8pm to ensure that we were still coming. The hotel was only a five minute walk from the station, but Kyle is so small you pretty much see the all the sights on the way.

When we arrived, check in proceeded smoothly and we headed upstairs to our room. We weren’t expecting luxury and the room was perfectly serviceable – if we had one complaint it would have been that everything was maybe a little small, probably due to the size of humans when the hotel was built (pre 1897 by all accounts). So while the room was clean and the bed comfortable, the TV was tiny and I only just fitted into the shower!

We were spoiled for breakfast the next day, though. Angela had the porridge and they had oat milk for her as a dairy alternative, while I enjoyed my pancakes which came with sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs. All washed down with coffee and orange juice.

The Kyle is such a convenient location – I actually had stayed there almost ten years before when I’d travelled to Skye with my mother and although my memory isn’t perfect, I’d hazard a guess that the hotel hadn’t changed a jot since then. If you’re looking for somewhere to lay your head overnight between trains or buses, it’s definitely convenient!

The post Review: The Kyle Hotel, Kyle of Lochalsh appeared first on etrip.tips.

The original building on the corner has been added to, with restaurants on the ground and first floors – super popular from lunch all the way through to the small hours – and brand new apartment-type hotel rooms above large balconies looking out over the sea.

The newer apartments are more expensive though, so we settled for a standard double room in the older building.

The Room

The bed was large enough and if you like pillows, you’re in the right place!

The bathroom features toiletries in the Essentiel Elements Bathe range, made by Gilchrist & Soames, and even though we are in the original wing, the bathroom is still modern with a great shower.

The spa is operating at reduced capacity because of Covid, but the robes look comfortable and the room comes with additional blankets and pillows should you decide the eight on the bed aren’t enough!

The furnishings don’t feel dated: there are enough easily accessible power points to charge or power what need recharging or powering and the wood finish feels more classic than old.

The only complaint was that the internal walls are paper thin. We could clearly hear the conversations going on in the room beside ours at night, as well as the sounds of the programs that they were watching on TV. I imagine the more expensive rooms have more insulation.

Breakfast

Breakfast under Covid was a challenge. There was no signage, so I approached the breakfast buffet, as one would normally do, to discover that you were supposed to ask the non-existent wait staff to load your plate for you.

The staff member came bustling up after I’d started self serving to let me know in no uncertain terms that she was supposed to serve me. I bit my tongue – while I could see that the chef was making eggs to order, there was no other indication of how things work. The muddling through continued when I somehow got our neighbour’s espresso instead of the coffee I ordered. More of an issue for him I guess – hope he enjoyed my flat white.

The same entrance served both the nearby (very popular) restaurant as well as the hotel, which was annoying as we always had to explain to the maître d’ that we were guests of the hotel as we passed the velvet rope. But the real reason I wouldn’t return to the Royal Yacht is the lack of sound insulation in the original building.

The post Review: Royal Yacht Hotel, Jersey appeared first on etrip.tips.

Train

The train from Edinburgh to Aviemore took about three hours, the scenery after Dalwhinnie following the Truim River which cut through a narrow valley between snow doused hills, before the Truim joined the Spey and the valley widened.

I was quick enough to capture a tramper making his way into the snowy hills alongside a tributary of the Truim, a reminder of the Cairngorm’s place as the winter sport’s capital of the UK.

Arrival

Before too long we were pulling into the station in Aviemore, a few hardy souls carrying on to Inverness, but the bulk of the passengers heading off the train with us for some winter excitement. We dropped off our bags at the MacDonald Morlich hotel, Ange almost abandoning the suitcase in her glee at seeing the snow.

Information Centre

Then it was back to the station to get our bearings from the nearby Information Centre. The staff there were very knowledgeable and gave us some good advice on the various walks and other entertainment available.

Next door was one of many outdoor/winter sporting shops and we got a plastic sled which was half price due to being the last day of winter. And then we headed to the nearby hill on a vacant lot next to one of the hotels.

Sledding

The snow was getting a bit threadbare in parts, with the lawn peering through in places, but there was enough snow and a steep enough hill for it not to matter.

Some enterprising souls had collected enough snow to make a ramp of sorts and eventually Ange and I tried a ride on the sled with both of us aboard. I had worked out how to steer by this point and as we hurtled towards the ramp, I mentioned to Ange that she should hang on as we we’d be going over a ramp.

The second the words were out of my mouth we hit it at speed and there was silence as we floated through the air before landing and remarkably remaining on the sled. As we slid to a halt Ange was silent and I was worried she was upset before realising the shaking of her shoulders was from laughter rather than anger. Phew!

Lunch

Our appetite piqued, and the snacks we’d had on the train being a distant memory, we decided to nip inside the Coffee Corner for a quick bite. It was the folksy down home sort of Mom-and-Pop sort of cafe that only took cash so we replenished our supply of cash from a nearby ATM (note: the closest one is at the Tesco supermarket).

For an unassuming cafe (that joyfully ignored our dripping wet sled), they did offer a venison burger, so I gave that a go. It was accompanied by coleslaw and fries and the chef came out with some salsa to go with it all and it was extremely good value.

Ange had a bacon and egg bap and some soup and had trouble finishing it all. I’d have helped but it was all I could do to finish mine.

Craigellachie National Nature Reserve

The main road of Aviemore runs parallel with the railway line, and perched on a slight incline between this road and the A9 are where most of the hotels are clustered. Towering above the town on the other side of the A9 is the Craigellachie Reserve, a ridge of hills capped in snow.

According to the lady we spoke to at the Information Centre, at the top of the hill was a cairn overlooking a lake, the Black Loch. We’d been told it was a 45 minute walk up, so we headed towards the underpass which would let us pass under the motorway and into the Reserve.

The path started off pretty easy, a well-marked dirt track sporadically littered with rocks and gently rising as it meandered around a reservoir.

It soon hit the snow line and the banks either side were covered in snow. The going was still easy and the steps well formed so we powered on ahead.

The path actually started back down, snow disappearing and then it joined one of the other routes and this time we headed up. This time when we hit the snow line the trees started to fade away and the drop to our right became more precipitous.

But it wasn’t until the path began to be covered in a nasty layer of ice that we realised it wasn’t going to be easy going all to the top. In fact when we passed someone coming down and asked how it was ahead, they paused and mentioned that it wasn’t terrible but that the ice made it a little treacherous. She was wearing sneakers without any tread, so we could see why that might have been an issue on the ice.

We were above the tree line when I discovered it was actually easier to walk on the snow which was centimetres deep on the side of the track rather than slipping on the ice on the track. This made the trek up a little faster and much less stressful.

After much puffing and groaning, we made it all the way to the top. The sun was peeking out from behind the clouds, reflecting off snow and loch and the bright light made the view quite stunning.

The summit was 493m above sea level, and provided views over Aviemore to the Cairngorms beyond, as well as up and down the valley beyond.

The trip down was a joy. After discovering the secret was to go off the track and through the snow, there was no slipping and the only surprise was when the drift of snow you stepped into turned out to be deeper than you thought. Ange followed in my footsteps and heeded my warnings when I discovered boggy ground beneath the snow.

It wasn’t long before we found ourselves descending through the birch trees to the partially frozen reservoir at the base of the hills. It was hard to see how thick the ice was and other trampers had tried to satisfy their own curiosity on the matter by throwing twigs and stones through the ice, littering it with various debris.

But it was with no small sense of accomplishment that we followed the path markers out of the park. Happy that we’d enjoyed the great views from the top, and happy that we hadn’t taken a tumble on the icy paths.

An Lochan Uaine

The next morning we headed out to the Green Loch. The lady at the Information Centre had told us of a pretty loch on a lovely walk in the Cairngorms, leaving from beside the Reindeer Centre in Glenmore. Legend had it, she told us, leaning forward, that the colour of the loch came from fairies washing their clothes in the waters.

We took the bus from the center of town and got off at Glenmore. We could have stayed on and gone up to the top of the mountain, but the bus timetable meant we’d have either 4 minutes or 64 minutes at the top before the bus headed back down and we’d have too many photos to take for a 4 minute stop and not enough to do to fill 64 minutes.

So instead we headed to the Visitors Center at Glenmore and had a chat with the guy behind the counter. We made sure we were happy with how strenuous the routes there and back would be and sought clarification on what “narrow path” and steep inclines really meant.

We also checked the latest weather forecast and learned that there were some heavy snowfalls forecast for early afternoon. Finally we popped next door to the cafe for some snacks to replenish our energy mid trek and then we were off.

The initial going was through the forest and only varied from flat by way of gently undulating, so we made very good time. There was none of the ice like on the track in Craigellachie, so it was a much more relaxed trek.

After a while we spotted the Green Loch through the trees and much to my disappointment there wasn’t an industrial laundry on the banks, populated with fairies and mythical creatures. It was quite nice with snow down to the banks making getting close difficult: the steep bank threatened to turn a slip into a frozen bath, but that didn’t stop a pair of golden Labradors from dodging their owner and barreling down the stone stairs for a swim.

While there was a seated area nestled under the trees overlooking the lake, there really wasn’t a lot to stay for, so after taking a few photos, we decided to check out the Bothy (shelter) that the guy in the Visitor’s Centre had told us about.

The path remained very well used and suitable for vehicle access and we revelled in the difference from the day before. Not having the danger of your feet slipping out from under you made the trip more enjoyable, even as the clouds started to close in and the horizon became a faint smudge of grey – barely delineating where sky began and mountain ended.

The path branched and we consulted Google. Our way forward changed slightly – no longer a joy to walk on, it was now strewn with pebbles and rocks. Still very much ice free and solid to walk on, it was more raw, as befitted the transition in terrain from tree lined path to exposed mountain side.

Occasionally the small streams would actually flow along the path rather than across it, and we were glad that the constant flow of water hadn’t rested long enough to freeze in place.

In the distance we saw the bothy’s red corrugated iron roof starkly contrasted against the white of the nearby mountains. A group of mountaineers made their way down the side of the mountain and disappeared inside, out of the cold.

We’d seen the occasional pairs of walkers closer to the start of the walk and the route to the loch had proven popular with the dog walkers, but since then we’d only seen groups of well equipped young people heading purposefully along the track and now we could see their destination: the peak towering ahead.

They would cluster around their leader, heads inclined against the wind and tilted so they could hear what they were saying so we surmised it was some sort of winter trekking training.

We didn’t stay long at the bothy, just enough time for the rest of our snacks and a drink of water before we headed back. The horizon had disappeared, the mountains in the distance overtaken with snow and we wanted to make sure we were a considerable portion of our way back by the time it hit us.

We reached the loch without delay and had to decide whether we should take the same (safe, flat) route back or to take the alternate route up the (steep, narrow) steps on the hill overlooking the stream.

I eventually deferred to Ange’s argument that we already knew what the safe path was like, and so we headed across the stream and started up the hill.

I’ll admit it was hard going. The path was narrower as promised and the dirt track up the hill was soon criss crossed with a tangle of tree roots, the elevation becoming steeper and steeper until it was necessary to have stone steps to ensure we could get traction in the mud.

Long stretches of the stony steps, periodically punctuated by the presence of a grand old tree which made for a good resting place, the evergreen branches protecting us from the gentle rain which soon turned to snow. The near vertical stretch seemed to go on forever but eventually we found ourselves moving along the hill instead of up it and even though the snow started to fall more thickly, the going became easier.

It was even more easier when we came across wooden walkways further along – the rivulets feeding the stream far below making the ground too boggy for good progress, so the the walkways had been added to aid in the trek.

Ange had literally said that “according to the map we should come to the lookout soon” when a clearing came into view, complete with park benches and a view across the valley to the trees on the other side. The snow was so thick that it was hard to see much more than that though.

The lookout was accessed by a very wide road which linked up to the Reindeer Centre adjacent to the Visitors Centre, so we ambled down it, wondering if we should have brought the sled for this section of the way back. The thick snow on the road would make for a fun way back. Or exhilarating if you failed to negotiate a bend in the road…

We warmed ourselves by the heater in the cafe at the Visitors Centre and waited for the next bus to take us back to town.

Mountain Cafe

Back in town we headed to the Mountain Cafe, a restaurant on top of an outdoor goods which is run by a Kiwi. We had about an hour before our train and we hoped that would be enough time to have something to eat.

There was a queue, so they gave us a buzzer and we wandered around the store downstairs (until I found the couch in front of the fireplace, and then I slumped in front of it) until the buzzer came to life and we headed back up.

The menu featured tastes of New Zealand, so I got the NZ soft drink, L&P, and corn fritters NZ style (with salsa, guacamole, sour cream and bacon) while Ange made do with a savoury scone.

It’s a popular spot, as evidenced by the queue of people waiting for seats. The wide windows overlooked the Cairngorms and the winter sports equipment were interspersed with NZ cultural art, making for a very convivial atmosphere. The corn fritters took a while to come and we were planning out how long it would take to get back to the hotel, collect our luggage and then make our way back to the train station.

They were definitely worth the wait when they did come and were wolfed down in short order. As Ange put it: twenty minutes to wait, two minutes to eat. She may have been exaggerating my eating speed a tad but it certainly wasn’t long before we had paid the bill and were heading back to the hotel in a hurry.

Train

We managed to scamper back to the hotel, collect our luggage and zoom back to the train station, arriving about ten minutes before the train. We had enough light to see some of the sights from the train, in particular the hairy coos.

You’re never far from history in Scotland and we were intrigued by the castles and castle-like structures visible for the train. One of them (unpictured) was Blair Castle, a very picturesque white castle nestled in forest which you can apparently stay in. Very nice.

Less obvious was another structure closer to the train which turned out to be a barracks built by the English during the Jacobite Rebellion. The Ruthven Barracks stood on a hill which had seen many castles built and destroyed before the English built the barracks to police the area following the 1715 uprising. It also featured in the 1745 uprising when the Scots retreating from Culloden used it as a rallying point. Definitely of interest to history buffs or fans of Outlander!

Eventually the weekend caught up with us and we were content with letting the countryside whizz past the window, until we arrived in Edinburgh, happy to have spent the weekend in the snow.

The post Weekend in Aviemore appeared first on etrip.tips.

Arrival

The most direct route the the Morlich involves a walk through the Spey Valley Shopping centre which provides various foodstuffs, knick knacks, swimwear and suits. You know, in case you forgot yours…

Popping out the other side of the shopping centre we found ourselves looking at the back entrance to the hotel, with the Italian restaurant to our right.

Inside we were greeted with the reception area, a TV screen showing a loop of advertisements for the MacDonald Hotel chains, their offerings in the sun, somewhat incongruous considering the snow on the ground outside.

The room wasn’t available yet, so we dropped off our luggage and headed into town for a bite to eat and some sledding on a small makeshift slope on the lawn in front of the hotel next door.

The Room

When we came back we checked in and headed upstairs. The receptionist had told us that the lift wasn’t working and so we walked up the one flight of stairs and along the corridor to the room.

Inside was a tastefully appointed room with a desk and a couple of armchairs flanking the window with a view across the road to the indoor sports centre. Obscured behind the sports centre was the A9 and beyond that the snow capped hills of the Craigellachie National Nature Reserve.

Inside the room were the usual utilities of iron, hair dryer and safe, along with tea making facilities and a pair of shortbread biscuits.

Bathroom

I love a good rainforest shower head and the Morlich certainly didn’t disappoint in that regard: a ceiling mounted rainforest head competing for attention with the different settings on the hand held shower nozzle.

The toiletries, like the MacDonald Houstoun House, were Elemis and the Speyside Shopping Centre had such an array of Elemis products that I almost thought it a shrine.

Giovanni’s Restaurant

I’m still getting to grips with the MacDonald chain’s offering of Breakfast, Dinner and Room for a single room rate. The Dinner is really just a per person credit towards the dinner bill and it locks you in to eating at the hotel rather than at one of the other places in town.

And I think you get good value. The credit can’t be used for your drinks, so you can’t elect to have a liquid dinner and drink your way through the credit, but there’s enough there for a good three courses each.

We both started with the Verdure Fritte – lightly fried vegetables covered in parmesan shavings and accompanied with a dipping sauce. The delicate batter was like a tempura and texture of the vegetables reminded me of mussels so it was like a less fishy mussel fritter.

I decided to be boring and got the spaghetti bolognese for my main, while Ange elected to try the ravioli, cynically opining that she’d probably only get six little meat parcels. She was off by a factor of 100%, pleasantly surprised by the serving size.

We’d maxed out the ordering to make sure none of our credit was wasted which lead to some swollen bellies after the sides of salad and garlic bread were added to the mains and starter. Of course there was just enough room for dessert!! Ange succumbed to the lemon cheesecake while I only just managed to finish my chocolate brownie.

After our walk through the Craigellachie National Nature Reserve our legs were complaining as much as our bellies from eating too much at dinner as we headed back up the stairs to our room, the lift still being broken.

When we got there we were a little concerned as the TV from next door could be heard pretty plainly from our room. I was worried that we would be kept up to all hours by whatever our neighbours elected to watch, but we were lucky and at the stroke of 10:00pm they turned it off and we enjoyed a relaxing night’s sleep.

Breakfast

We headed down the next morning, looking forward to what would be on offer for breakfast. A small selection of cereals joined the pastries on one table while a nice selection of fruits sat on the table beside.

But the queues weren’t forming in front of the healthy stuff, oh no! The morning crowds had their eyes on the cooked offerings. And a very good selection there was: in addition to the usual sausage, bacon, scrambled egg, fried tomato, baked beans and mushrooms were very Scottish additions of tattie scones and black pudding.

The staff were very responsive, refreshing the plates as soon as they looked like getting close to empty with a well practiced air.

We noticed that the lifts were working on our way back and squashed ourselves in (there was only enough room for four people really) to save our legs.

Would I Return?

I’d be worried about the sound proofing in the room to tell the truth – if our neighbours hadn’t decided to turn their TV off at 10pm we’d be at the mercy of whatever they were watching until they did turn it off, but apart from that if I found myself in Aviemore, the Morlich would be a perfect place to stay.

The post Review: Macdonald Morlich, Aviemore appeared first on etrip.tips.

After checking ourselves into the Aspire Lounge near gates 1 – 4, we walked down the long corridor, past three computers at cubicles on the right and into the main bar area.

While Ange set up opposite the bar, I wandered off to explore the rest of the lounge.

Around the corner a large seating area featured floor to ceiling windows allowing natural light to flood the room, and to give a commanding view of the bus stop outside.

Another window allowed you to see those waiting beside the toilets at gates 1-4, but why you’d want to look at bored people waiting for their partners to finish their business I don’t know.

Anyway, the seating area had low slung arm chairs with the odd stool at the window. When we were there it was almost empty and, while the numbers fluctuated through the day, it never got too full.

But what was the food like? On a side table sat some fruit and cakes, including sultana scones with clotted cream and jam.

At the bar was a cooled section complete with a salad selection, some cheeses and cold cuts. Enough to fashion a makeshift sandwich from one of the attendant buns.

In terms of hot food, there was rice and stews including a very serviceable pork and mushroom offering, but my favourite was the automated pancake maker complete with maple syrup.

A little hard to find, it was perched in plain view on top of a drinks fridge but hidden amongst the other coffee makers and assorted food preparation equipment. Worth the push of the button though!

This particular Aspire will be undergoing a refurbishment which will hopefully address the lack of toilet facilities (you have to leave the lounge via a side door to use the public toilets and then return through the main entrance).

Other than that, a perfectly serviceable lounge.

The post Review: Aspire Edinburgh Airport Lounge appeared first on etrip.tips.

£ = £10-15

• Voodoo Rooms (New Town)
• Here Internet Cafe (Bruntsfield)
• NangYang (Quartermile/The Meadows)
• Platform 5 (Haymarket)
• Milk Cafe (Haymarket)
• Vietnam House Cafe (Haymarket)
• Mum’s Comfort Food (Old Town)
• Wings (Old Town)
• The Fringe (Old Town / New Town)
• Roseleaf (Leith)
• The Finn and Bear (Leith)

££ = £15-20

• The Apothecary (Quartermile/The Meadows)
• Bertie’s Proper Fish and Chips (Grassmarket/Old Town)
• Bar Italia (Fountainbridge)
• First Coast (Haymarket)
• La Casa (Haymarket)
• La P’tite Folie (West End)
• Filling Station (Leith Walk)
• Frankie and Bennies (Leith)

£££ = £20+

• Brasserie Prince (New Town)
• The Witchery (Old Town)
• Timberyard (Grassmarket/Old Town)
• The Shore (Leith)

Voodoo Rooms £

Ascending the stairs from street level brings you out into a grand bar/restaurant very well decorated in what I have seen variously described as a gothic, baroque and neo-baroque style. Lots of gold and black what ever it is!

The menu promises adventurous combinations that I wouldn’t have expected and it somehow all works. We both went for the pork and finished by sharing the Kahlua ganache. Mains £11-16.

Voodoo Rooms
19a West Register Street
New Town
EH2 2AA

Brasserie Prince by Alain Roux £££

We had an afternoon to kill and a bunch of work to do after checking out of the Balmoral, so we hung out at the hotel’s brasserie using their internet. Periodically we would order a bite, getting through croque mesdames, fries, macarons and hot chocolates. Friendly staff. Mains £16.50-26.

Brasserie Prince
1 Princes Street
New Town EH2 2EQ

First Coast ££

Unpretentious dining in Haymarket. Loved the freshness of the salads. Mains £14-22.

First Coast
97-101 Dalry Rd
Haymarket EH11 2AB

Here Internet Cafe £

An internet cafe was exactly what we needed one day when the heavens opened – we weren’t expecting such good food – simple fare like nachos and a slice of cake with a hot cuppa. Just what the doctor ordered!

Here Internet
23 Leven St
Bruntsfield EH3 9LH

Nang Yang £

NangYang offers a welcome relief from the surrounding sterile glass skyscrapers and serves up delicious Malaysian and Chinese food. My favourite is the Malaysian street food flat noodles: Char Kway Teow, and gotta love banana fritters. Mains £9.50-16.

NangYang
6 – 7 Lister Square
Quartermile EH3 9GL

The Shore ££½

The Shore is a medium posh restaurant in the port of Leith overlooking the water. I decided to start with the fish and move on to the steak, much to our fellow diner’s mirth. Who goes to a fish restaurant and has steak? Mains £15-27.

The Shore
3 Shore
Leith EH6 6QW

Frankie and Benny’s £½

Frankie and Bennys is a chain restaurant; we grabbed a meal from the one in the OceanView terminal overlooking the Britannia, after not being able to served in the cafe onboard but that’s another story.

No such bad service at Frankie and Benny’s and we get our choice of seats and shoot the breeze with the waitress. I tried the ribs and followed up with a crushed meringue on a waffle, while Ange went healthy with a chicken salad followed by her favourite – New York cheesecake. Mains £10-20

Frankie and Bennys
Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre
Leith EH6 6JJ

Roseleaf Bar and Cafe £

We’d passed the Roseleaf a few times in Leith and were intrigued by its funky good vibes emanating from within. When we finally got time to go inside we weren’t disappointed. Local artists’ art featured on the wall, and the burger was a work of art, somehow adorned with a giant pickle.

Roseleaf
23-24 Sandport Place
Leith EH6 6EW

Apothecary ££

The Apothecary, like its neighbour NangYang, sits in modern Simpson Loan surrounded by a mix of old hospital buildings and brand new glass apartment blocks. We first went before a change of ownership and so enjoyed lunchtime pizzas on wooden server boards.

We went back after they had changed owners and had a lovely lunch, enjoying a starter of mussels before launching onto mussels (me) and salmon and mushroom salad (Ange), fish and chips (both) topped off with the sticky toffee pudding. Mains £12-28.

Apothecary
No.8 Lister Square,
Quartermile EH3 9GL

Platform 5 £

The Belhaven pubs are the Scottish answer to Wetherspoons: cheap food and drinks – frequented by students, the retired and groups of sports fans on the way to or from some sports event.

Platform 5 was next door to the Haymarket Hub so naturally we stopped in and tried the local fare. It was definitely what you’d expect – deep fried everything with anything green in short supply. Mains £7.80-14.30.

Platform 5
8 Clifton Terrace
Haymarket EH12 5DR

Milk Cafe £

Healthy breakfasts from £6-9: double poached eggs on sourdough with some greens on the side? don’t mind if I do!

Milk Cafe
232 Morrison Street
Haymarket EH3 8EA

Vietnam House Cafe £

Tucked away on the main stretch of Haymarket is an art gallery/cafe with awesome food. Ange couldn’t get through her pho (pronounced fa) while my prawn salad was fresh and light and the layers of textures from the prawn, the lettuce and the nuts contrasted delightfully.

Vietnam House Cafe
28 Haymarket Terrace
Haymarket EH12 5JZ

La P’tite Folie ££

We were on the hunt for dinner on a windy and cold evening and our hunt lead us to La P’tite Folie. They managed to squeeze us in and we enjoyed a delightful French meal.

I started with the mussels and followed with lamb so tender you could cut it with a fork. The mussels were big fat and tasty, just the way I like ’em. To tell you the truth I can’t remember what Ange had, I was so focused on mine, and the sticky toffee pudding was certainly not shared! Delicious all around. Mains £12-23.

La P’tite Folie
9 Randolph Place
West End EH2 1LH

Bertie’s Proper Fish and Chips £½

Bertie’s is an award winning fish and chip shop which is in such demand that bookings are required. I’m not used to booking a greasy spoon, so the first time we tried to go there we were turned away – it was a weekend during The Fringe after all! The next time we made sure to have a reservation, and so skipped the queue.

The fish and chips were… fish and chips. Nice, but… not sure what all the fuss was about. We availed ourselves of dessert – I finally tried a deep fried Mars bar (Scotland’s contribution to world cuisine, along with haggis and Irn Bru), although I swapped the Mars bar with a Snickers bar instead, having read that the Mars bar was excessively sweet and the different textures of the Snickers made it a more enjoyable experience. Decadence! Mains £12-13.

Bertie’s Proper Fish and Chips
9 Victoria Street
Grassmarket EH1 2HE

Fringe £-£££

Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival is supported by food stands of all sorts: not just hamburgers, hotdogs and chips! My favourite stand was on George Street near the more highbrow performances – amusing to me for its Parmesan and Truffle Oil Chips, it’s half and whole lobsters and the Soft Shell Crab Burger. Mains £7-27.

So many options! Also worth trying is the toasted sandwich place just off Bristo Square which had a number of gourmet offerings including cranberry and brie which went well with fries smothered in mayo and ketchup. Yum! Mains £7-10.

Mum’s Comfort Food £

Mum’s is an institution, built around the ethos of comforting wholesome food. They have specialty sausages of various flavours accompanied by a range of mashed potatoes and a trio of gravies. You’d have to keep going back to try every combination, and some of the sausages are even vegetarian.

They were very kind and even made my burger into a Kiwi burger (adding an egg, pineapple and beetroot) for a taste of home. Truly something for everyone. (The pie is from a different visit) Mains £10-13.

Mum’s Comfort Food
4A Forrest Rd,
Old Town EH1 2QN

Wings £

Guess what they sell at Wings? You guessed it! You order the wings in buckets of six with your choice of one of 79 different sauces. Add drinks and, if you want, convert the wings to chicken nuggets instead. Enjoy the funky surrounds sharing with the T-rex in mittens and if you feel particularly macho, try getting your name on the Wall of Flame by attempting the Suicide Sauce.

Wings
5 – 7 Old Fishmarket Close
Old Town, EH1 1RW

The Witchery £££

Apparently The Witchery is Edinburgh’s most famous restaurant. Situated in a 16th Century building adjacent to the castle, you can even stay in one of the rooms upstairs. Though if you thought the restaurant was expensive, expect to pay even more to stay the night!

We enjoyed an indulgent evening dining there, with oysters to start (me), soup (Ange), followed by the scallops (Ange) and steak (me). We then fought over the dessert, marvelling at the wide assortment of flavours and textures, before finishing up noticing that I looked a little like the bust of a devil behind me when I smiled. Mains £27-39.

The Witchery by the Castle
352 Castlehill
Old Town EH1 2NF

Timberyard £££

I was lucky enough to be invited to my former workplace’s Xmas party which was held at the Timberyard. We had the four course meal for £57 and while the waitstaff were noticeable for their professionalism, it must be said that the atmospheric lighting made for an intimate dining experience but made photographing the food difficult.

A pity because it was so delicious! I enjoyed their home made ginger beer while waiting for my party to arrive and it was suitably gingery. The ginger fire died down by the time the starter arrived, the quails egg not surviving long enough to be photographed! The scallop was the most photogenic of the courses and while the servings were small, they were all accompanied by bread and butter, so nobody went home hungry.

Timberyard
10 Lady Lawson Street
Grassmarket EH3 9DS

La Casa ££

La Casa is a tapas and mezze restaurant just down the road from Haymarket Station. I started with the mussels, followed with the lamb chops and finished with baklava. Good sized portions! Mains £11-18.

La Casa
103-105 Dalry Road
Haymarket EH11 2AB

Bar Italia ££

Perfectly located for a post movie dinner or a pre-theatre meal, Bar Italia is sandwiched between the Odeon cinema on one side and the Traverse Theatre and Usher Hall on the other. We inadvertently timed our arrival just as the theatre crowd were about to head off which was a bit disconcerting, as we had just gotten settled when most of the crowded restaurant decided to settle their bill and leave. Something we said?

I had the calzone and watched with amazement as they pulled something the size of my head and colour of a leopard out of the huge pizza oven behind Ange. It took a concerted effort to get through it all and dessert was not even a consideration. Mains £10-25.

Bar Italia
100 Lothian Road
Fountainbridge EH3 9BE

Filling Station ££

The Filling Station is a chain of restaurants and we headed to the one in the Omni Centre after watching a movie in the complex above. I must admit I was disappointed with my ribs but Ange loved her vegetarian pizza and the desserts made up for it. I had a bit of food envy: while my waffles were good, Ange chose really well with the banana pancakes. Yum! Mains £11-21.

Filling Station
Omni Centre,
28 Greenside Row
Leith Walk EH1 3AA

The Finn and Bear £

Lastly the Finn and Bear. We headed there one Sunday afternoon and were astonished by the value of the food. Their “buy three get one on us” worked really well for their tapas plates and for our £15 we got a vegetarian scotch egg, halloumi, guacamole and a half pint of scampi. Adding sweet potato fries meant we ate our fill for less than £20. Nice! Mains £9-13.

Finn and Bear
58 The Shore
Leith EH6 6RB

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Balerno to Leith Walk

Balerno is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh and the beginning of an eight mile path following the Waters of Leith until it empties into the sea at the Port of Leith. Best option is to take a bus out to the starting point and then follow the signposts. It’s a nice walk: very flat, and starting with gentle wilderness and becoming more and more urban as you get closer to town.

The highlights include the Colinton Tunnel – a disused rail tunnel which now hosts the biggest mural in Scotland; Slateford Aqueduct, where an elevated waterway crosses the Waters of Leith at right angles and, further along between Stockbridge and Dean Village, statues embedded in the river by Antony Gormley.

Cramond and Lauriston Castle

A brief bus trip away from Edinburgh itself allows you to visit an island attached by a promontory accessible only at low tide. Read all about it here.

Linlithgow Medieval Weekend

Periodically the nearish Linlithgow Castle hosts a Medieval weekend with jousting, falconry and other entertainment. It’s great for the whole family.

Cramond to Queensferry

If you feel like a gentle six mile flat walk along the beach, you could do worse than taking the 43 bus from downtown Edinburgh to Cramond Brig, and then following the paths through the Dalmeny Estate until it terminates under the mighty red rail bridge spanning the Forth of Firth.

After crossing the road and following GoogleMaps’ directions through a pub carpark, we headed down a quaint country lane to the start of the Estate.

The first stretch of the stroll was along a country lane, periodically seeing fellow walkers, their dogs and cyclists.

Before too long the paved road took a left hand turn, parallel to the beach a few hundred metres straight ahead. We could have turned left also but figured the path along the beach would be more picturesque.

The path was sturdy enough, never quite deteriorating into muddiness, and the farmland on either side turned from farmland to a wispy forest, before the John Muir path turned right and we went straight to see the beach.

Ange took the opportunity to put some plasters on to stop the new-shoe blisters that were forming and we looked out over the mud flats towards Cramond Island. The concrete ‘teeth’ that aligned the path to the island standing proud at low tide. It was a lot less blustery than it had been on the day we’d gone out there.

We headed along the beach to the Roman Eagle Rock to discover a plaque indicating that the carving in the stone may not have been Roman and may not indeed have been an eagle. Bummer!

The path headed a little inland around headlands, still following the coastline, before splitting into two: one path heading further inland and the other heading down to a number of cottages looking out over the beach.

We meandered down onto the beach and noticed someone had set up a shed on the edge of the yard behind the cottages so that a writer or painter could gaze through the windows over the Firth and be inspired by the views.

Not wanting to impose, we made our way out onto the beach which had widened to a large expanse of sandy shore. In the distance was Barnbougle Castle and so we headed across the sand to get a nice shot of it across the beach.

We hadn’t noticed but between us and the Castle was a stream, gurgling rapidly out of the farmlands inland to join the Firth. We weren’t sure of it’s depth so followed it a little ways up stream to see if there was a ford or bridge nearby. A quick look at GoogleMaps indicated we’d have to go some ways inland to cross it, so I put Ange on my shoulders and forded the stream closer to where it reached the sea.

The raging torrent buffeted my ankles and briefly tipped a little freezing water into my boots, but we managed to get to the other side safely enough. By the time we reached the bank at the edge of the beach my feet had warmed the wet socks back up to body temperature.

We clambered up the bank to rejoin the path, marvelling at the well kept lawns before realising that they were in fact part of a golf course. We paused for a while to take some shots of Dalmeny House, a stately home a little incongruous in the middle of the fairways like some sort of obstacle to be navigated around by the weekend golfers.

The path continued a hundred metres or so from the beach, becoming more and more divorced from it. No longer joined to the beach by frequent branchings allowing walkers to keep in contact with the sandy expanse, the walk became a more insular affair: more targeted on getting from one place to the other.

As we got further away from the beach the woods become closer to the path on both sides, the denuded branches forlornly reaching out to the sky and enclosing the path as if to drag it under the dirt. With the winter sun already thinking about setting, the shadows of the hills contrasted nicely with the light on the trees in the distance.

We’d been walking a fair way by now and I was really looking forward to some lunch from one or other of the restaurants in Queensferry. But the path just went on and on. Fellow walkers, cyclists and dog walkers increased in frequency, indicating that we were close enough to the end to be encountering those entering the Estates from the Queensferry end.

The terrain changed still further, becoming more forested with more evergreen trees and the green underbrush was pierced by a waterfall and streams making their way to the Firth.

And then through the trees but getting larger and clearer appeared the bridges across the Firth – the closest, red one for rail traffic, and the other two in the distance being for road transport. After passing under the rail bridge we found ourselves in the beginnings of Queensferry, and set about trying to find a restaurant which could fit us in. On a Sunday… for lunch.

We eventually found a restaurant who didn’t smirk when told that we didn’t have a reservation, and settled down to a well deserved fish and chip meal. The exercise didnt quite end there – we still had to climb the hill to get to the train station for the quick trip home. Well worth the effort though!

Craigmillar Castle

Only an hour’s walk from the centre of Edinburgh, Craigmillar is a well preserved ruin with an impressive history. At only £6 each to get in, it’s well worth the trip out there. Here are some photos of our trip out there on a surprisingly mild winter’s day.

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