Following my trip to London and then the Cotswolds, I headed to my favorite train station of all time: Kings Cross, London. From there it was super easy to get to my final destination: Edinburgh, Scotland. Just hopped on a train, and some five hours later I found myself at Edinburgh Waverley. Which conveniently lays smack bang in the middle of the old and the new town of Scotland’s capitol. Not only is taking the train from London much better for the environment than flying, but you also get to see way more of the beautiful scenery. Especially approaching Edinburgh, as the train tracks go right by the ocean! Who needs to watch a movie when you can watch mother nature, right?
Day 1: Getting settled in Portobello, Edinburgh
Because I had a slow start to my travel day – well, I did have to return the rental in London, and traffic there is never slow – I arrived somewhat late to our airbnb in Portobello. This accommodation was a nice change after the shepherd’s hut I stayed in in the Cotswolds. Much more space, that’s for sure! And as lovely and cute as that shepherd’s hut had been, it was a great feeling to be able to scatter my stuff all around an entire flat. Which is exactly what I did. I mean let’s face it – who keeps their stuff nice and tidy when on holiday?
After getting settled in the airbnb I headed to the beach, which was just a few minutes walk away from the place. Since the weather wasn’t exactly what you might expect in the middle of July, there weren’t a lot of people there. I grabbed dinner at Portobello Beach Bistro, where I had some fish & chips (of course). But honestly guys, regardless of where I had fish & chips in the UK, I was never blown away by the taste. I’m hopeful that I simply went to the wrong places. Will do some more research into this next time I’m there for sure! Afterwards I got some really good gelato at Oscar’s, which did not disappoint! Definitely recommend to check it out, should you be in the area.
Day 2: Exploring the old town of Edinburgh & getting my Harry Potter fix
My second day in Edinburgh started with a fantastic breakfast at Laila’s, where I had french toast with poached egg. Highly recommend! Laila’s is right opposite of The Milkman, which I think is pretty Instagram-famous but lacks a lot of the usual British coziness. I actually didn’t go inside, but it looked like there were maybe 2 or 3 tables to sit at. Not a welcoming atmosphere at all! Laila’s on the other hand is a rather cute, cozy & comfy (as well as instagramable) vibe. Lots and lots of pink, and even more flowers. And like I said, the food was really nice as well.
Walking tour of the old town
If you have read any of my other travel diaries on this blog, you know that I love to do walking tours in every city I go to. And of course, Edinburgh is no exception. So right after breakfast we headed to our meeting point. I actually don’t remember the company we went with, but they are basically all the same anyway. Just google “free walking tour” and you’ll find many an option. If I’m being totally honest, I actually wouldn’t recommend our tour guide anyway. I do appreciate guides giving their own opinion to things, but this guide was a bit over the top with it. So much so, that I now feel like I know all of his opinions about Scotland, England and what not, but rather little about the history of Edinburgh. Which I would have way preferred. Anyway – not here to complain.
Regardless of the amount of information you get on such a tour, it always helps to understand the layout of a city, making it way easier to find your way around. That is part of the reason I like to do tours like this early on during my trip. To get a basic understanding of what is where and what I want to come back to to explore some more.
Harry Potter walking tour
My trip to the UK was most definitely highly influenced by a certain Harry Potter. As soon as I saw there was a Harry Potter walking tour, I was hooked! And it conveniently fell to be an hour after the other tour, so perfect timing to have lunch in between.
If you didn’t know, J.K. Rowling spent a good amount of time in Edinburgh when she was writing the Harry Potter books. And of course, your surroundings very much influence you as a person, as well as your creative work. So it comes to no surprise that a lot of the places or names in the HP-books are inspired by things Rowling saw in Scotland’s capitol. The Ministry of Magic, for instance, was inspired by the Edinburgh City Chambers. And it has been speculated that Victoria Street was the inspiration for Dragon Alley, although J.K.R. has never officially said that it was. But, looking at it, you can really see why some people would think so.
On the graveyard of the city – Greyfriars Kirkyard – is actually a tomb stone with the name “Thomas Riddell” on it. Might ring a bell with Harry Potter fans. There is also a tomb stone with the name “Moodie” on it – but apparently that’s not the inspiration behind Alastor Moody. It appears J.K. Rowling simply knew a guy with that name at one point. I’m telling you, that’s why it’s a good idea to have a guide!
Princes Street Gardens
After so many facts, buildings & tomb stones, it was time to just relax a little. And what better place to do so than the beautiful Princes Street Gardens? Back in ye olden days, the gardens used to be a lake. Or a swamp rather, as it was the place that all of the excrements of the inhabitants of Edinburgh went. The middle Ages really were disgusting, weren’t they? Today, there luckily are no remains of what it once was, but rather a marvelous flower garden. I guess the ground is well fertilized… From Princes Street, you have a fantastic view all over the old town, complete with the castle and church. And right next to it, you can see Holyrood Park, which bears close resemblance to the Highlands.
Dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen
Having been out exploring Edinburgh all day, I was pretty hungry come dinner time. But finding a place to eat proved to be rather difficult. Every single pub/restaurant on Rose Street – one of the main streets of Edinburgh’s new town – was short on staff and thus not doing food. Every. Single. One. And guess why? Brexit. You heard it here first. Apparently there were a lot of young European people in Scotland/the UK, that had to leave because of Brexit. So, no more dinner for us, or anyone for that matter.
We did end up finding a spot that was still doing food after a while – Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen. Since we didn’t have reservations we had to wait for a little bit, but at least with the prospect of being fed. So, honest review, is Mr Ramsay’s restaurant really better than any other? No. Of course this one wasn’t one of his very fancy once. But the burger I had at Honest Burger in London was a lot better than the one here. It was still a pretty good burger, but nothing out of the ordinary. Now does my opinion on this matter? Probably not to him, but at least now you know.
Day 3: Adventure day in the “Highlands” of Edinburgh & more shopping
I actually prefer nature way over cities. Which does seem a little weird, given the fact that I have done many a city trip in the past. But I always like to sprinkle in a little hike – or adventure day as I like to call it. Which I found in the above mentioned Holyrood Park. The park itself wasn’t too far away from the Airbnb, which is why I decided to walk there. And honestly, there is nothing super special or exciting about Holyrood Park, but it’s just a beautiful place to get lost in and climb to the top. You do get pretty good views over the city of Edinburgh from up there, although I would say there are prettier cities to look at from afar. But like I said, I way prefer nature anyway.
The climb to the top of Holyrood Park – called Arthur’s seat – is pretty simple, doable for all levels I would say. Because I also saw all kinds of people up there, young and old alike. Really not too difficult. But really windy, so mind your footing!
Holyrood Palace & The Royal Mile
After having a lovely walk/hike through the park, I walked to Holyrood Palace. Looking at the palace, you could see how J.K. Rowling probably got inspired to “build” Hogwarts. Lots of towers, chimneys, fountains. All very magical looking. Starting from Holyrood Palace is the Royal Mile, the high street of Edinburgh old town. It connects the Holyrood palace with the castle, and is just over a mile long (hence the name). All along the Royal Mile you find touristy shops, but also lovely places selling all kinds of traditional Scottish clothing and fabrics. Tweed being a grate example for that. I actually bought to woolen blankets for the new apartment back home, and have been absolutely loving snuggling under them. Thanks to the German summer that is.
So I walked up the Royal Mile, had another fantastic coffee somewhere, and then spent my time looking around all kinds of little shops. I have said it in the previous two UK posts, but I just love how much attentions Brits pay to every single detail in their stores or pubs. And once again I was gutted that I couldn’t buy everything in sight – budget and Lufthansa wouldn’t allow it. All the more reason to come back, right?
Drop In at CrossFit Edinburgh
The best thing to do after a day of walking & exploring? Right, going for a workout! We decided to do a drop in at CrossFit Edinburgh that pretty much killed us. It was just running and lifting some weights over head, but boy did we feel it the next couple of days! All worth it in the end of course. And it’s always nice to see others gyms and how they do things, right?
Last Supper at the beach
For our last night in the UK we finally managed to get a table at Forester’s Guild in Portobello. We had walked past it a few times, but they either were fully booked or not doing food (there’s the thing with Brexit again). But since that day was also my boyfriend’s birthday, we lucked out. And the food was sooo good! We had a Scottish egg to start, and then more burgers to follow. Being honest here: those burgers were actually much better than the one’s we had at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant! And the place itself was super nice as well, there even were little beach huts outside where you could eat. I’m telling you, attention to detail… it’s everything!
Day 4: Saying goodbye to Edinburgh
So finally out last day of a wonderful trip all through the UK had to come. Luckily we had a late flight, so time to do some more of whatever we wanted. And part of that was going back to Laila’s for breakfast. This time I had the pink avocado toast – it’s pink because it’s got beetroot hummus on it. Absolutely scrumptious!
Mary King’s Close
Afterwards we pottered about and then handed to the Real Mary King’s Close. “Closes” are what very very narrow streets were called way back in the day. You still find them all through Edinburgh. Mary King’s Close however is underground, because the city was eventually just built over it. And apparently it was cheaper to built over it than to demolish it all. Which is great news for tourists like me, because that we you can visit it. Just be aware that it is all underground and very dark and narrow in some places. If you don’t mind tight and gloomy spaces however, this is a fantastic place to come to learn about Edinburgh in the middle Ages and see first hand how some people lived. I was also told there was a guy there living until like the 70’s of the past century. Like how? The close is literally underground, no light, no water, no plumbing, nothing. Not a housing choice I would have made…
The Scottish National Gallery
Afterwards we went back to Princes Street and the Scottish national gallery. It’s free entry, so you can just walk in and look at all the exhibits. I don’t really think of myself as a lover of arts, to be fair. And most of the art displayed in there really wasn’t my taste. Or I didn’t understand what it was trying to say. Probably my fault. But alas, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. If you’re really into art, I would recommend going. After all, it’s free! So nothing to lose.
And that pretty much wraps up my fantastic trip to the UK! I hope you enjoyed reading all about it as much as I did writing it down. This blog is like a diary for me after all.
Lots of Love,
Lena