Oh look, here’s a place you’ll have heard of (though there’s folk in our village who would place Edinburgh just above York on the map if asked). It’s the home of the little cricket team that just beat England, their Gaetjens moment if you like
Edinburgh is an essential annual visit, outside August anyway; one of the great places for urban walking and pub refreshment.
In late May it was overflowing with Japanese tour groups visiting the latest craft beer bars and other minor tourist attractions like these at Haymarket.
Haymarket is an underappreciated area of the city, containing one of the all-time accommodation bargains in the Travelodge, particularly if you bag the spacious family room for £29. Plenty of good food here, including a post-beer breakfast salad bowl at the improbably named Bite Me.
Not far from the autovac joy of Thomson’s Bar, Monty’s is yet another little gem.
20 years ago it would have been Deuchars and 80/, now you get this craft feast;
Look how far we’ve come ! (?)
Being old I can ask for advice at noon, and the very knowledgeable beer lady enthused about the Tempest, brewed just yards from where Mrs RM alights from her train.
“I’ll top that up for you !”
Phew.
Lovely service, decent beer (NBSS 3), and a two storey place with loads of potential to walk up and down stairs looking for photo opportunities.
Eventually I found a table I liked best, with a great view through the large bay windows to No.1 Kebab across the road.
No banter though, as I remained the only punter for 15 minutes. It seems a night-time venue, though you’ll rarely find an Edinburgh pub that doesn’t open at lunchtime.
But as compensation, I had the joys of “Cum on feel the noise” and “The Number of the Beast“, at decent volume, all to myself.
And 20 minutes to spare walking up and down the closes off the Royal Mile before the train to Prestonpans.
One more to go in the Lothians, and it’s an (official) classic.
retiredmartin 
Beautiful. Even Boltmaker on tap.
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Halfway House, now that’s a pub that is almost always busy. Pity the original bar counter was removed, but you can’t have everything.
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Mrs RM went in there for the cullen skink but I haven’t been in for 5 years. Lovely pub.
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Just close enough to pop in for a quick snifter while waiting to change trains. Pity about the lack of decent station bars in Edinburgh.
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Waverley is a maze, really struggle to get to Platform 15, let alone find that new Spoons. Edinburgh Tap ?
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The Spoons is on the bridge. An Edinburgh Tap would be excellent. Glasgow Central used to have decent beer in a couple of bars.
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Scott,
It’s just a few minutes round the corner from Glasgow Central to my favourite Scottish pub the Laurieston.
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Probably mine too, although the beer in Bon Accord was spectacular last year.
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Indeed. That is one great pub.
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What was that bright thing in the sky? I don’t recall seeing the sun, ever, in Edinburgh…
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That was one of those Scottish sixes hit off Plunkett yesterday entering the atmosphere.
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My favourite pub in Edinburgh is the Guildford Arms. Decent beer, good food and the revolving door to keep drunks out or in.
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Lovely pub. Surely you’d want to keep the drunks in for added atmosphere ?
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Agree about Waverley -took us ages to find the exit ! Had short holiday there last year -some excellent pubs from GBG but found some to be London prices -capital city/tourist trap I suppose
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Yes, not cheap. Perhaps they should rebrand Waverley as a maze and be done with it.
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Yes, and maybe even write a novel about it.
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Fleshmarket Close is the only Rebus book I’ve read; good book but more than my ten minute read maximum.
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“Our target Monty’s circled centre left at Haymarket”
Since it’s Scotland I shan’t make fun of any of the names on the map. 😉
“Good range there on the shiny bar”
Hang on. Does your saying ‘one beer’s enough’ only work for small villages then? 🙂
“Aerial shot”
Unless your feet were off the ground it’s more like ‘shot from above’.
(unless of course you were on a tiny cable car paralleling the stairs) 🙂
“Halfway House”
So called, I take it, because it’s halfway up the stairs and not because it houses folks who are transitioning from prison back into polite society?
Cheers
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Hey Russ, if I’m floating in the air it’s an aerial shot. Don’t doubt me, man.
Good question on beer range. A bar in the heart of tourist Edinburgh should be able to support four or five pumps, to be fair. Gets confusing when they’ve also got six keg taps on and load of gin, cider etc.
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I’ll go for the one Russ missed…
“I’ll top that up for you !”
err – I think the correct term is “I’ll finish pouring that for you…” it’s no-where near requiring a top up yet…
Lovely photo of that McEwans leaded window…(how long ago is it since McEwans was a real ale?…)
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Correct intervention, PubHermit. Ten points. Though the excellent lady did say “top up” and I didn’t correct her !
Guess I saw McEwans on pump in Glasgow mid-90s ?
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Fair enough…
Just Wiki’d McEwans and see that Marstons picked it up as part of their Wells and Youngs purchase last year. Surely McEwans will soon be joining Bass as a ‘revitalised’ cask ale…
…hope they don’t do it instead of Bass – that would be a major crisis…
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