This is a city of shifting light, of changing skies, of sudden vistas. A city so beautiful it breaks the heart again and again
Alexander McCall Smith
Exploring new cities with friends is double the fun, so we were pumped when our friends Kelly and Chris asked if we wanted to join them in Edinburgh while they were on their 15th wedding anniversary trip to Ireland and Scotland. Being only a two-hour train ride away, Edinburgh is perfect for a weekend getaway, so the timing worked out great.
We met up with them on Friday in time for a late lunch. We started off our culinary tour of Edinburgh strong with a Scotch egg sandwich made with toasted rosemary focaccia, bacon, tomato chutney, and cheddar from a pub called Ensign Ewart. A Scottish egg is a soft-boiled egg surrounded in sausage, battered, and fried. Kelly went traditional because she was a Scotch egg newbie. Jimmy and I went with the special haggis version of the sandwich. We fell in love with haggis when we visited the Highlands in June and were so excited to try haggis in every possible way. This sandwich did not disappoint.
We were lucky to get a beautiful day of sunshine, a rarity in Scotland, so we took advantage and hiked to Arthur’s Seat, the famous lookout point above the city. Here we are at the start with calm, clear blue skies.
At the top, however, the wind was out of control. Kelly is so tiny, she almost got blown off the mountain.
But we made it, and the views over Edinburgh and the coastline were worth it.
We totally earned drinks at the pub after that adventure and found ourselves in the historic Greyfriars Bobby pub.
The bar was named after a famous dog who loyally watched over his master’s grave for 14 years in the mid-19th century, and the story has inspired multiple books and movies. In this historic pub, we continued our streak of amazing Scottish cuisine. Of course, we had to introduce Kelly and Chris to traditional haggis served with neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes).
And they liked it!! Kelly also had a traditional steak and ale pie. Jimmy and I shared a duck confit pie and a local specialty called chicken balmoral, which is smothered in haggis and wrapped in bacon. Haggis for the win again! Dessert was just as good with a round of traditional sticky toffee pudding and cranachan, a traditional Scottish dessert made with whipped cream, whiskey, oats, and fresh berries.
Edinburgh’s old town is lovely to stroll through at night to admire the architecture, especially the cathedral lit up with a full moon on Friday the 13th. We had great timing because this spooky day with a full moon won’t happen again until 2049.
The eeriest thing we probably saw or heard that night was “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”. Yes, you read that correctly. No ghosts in this old town. We thought perhaps we’d hear bagpipes or traditional Scottish tunes out at the pubs. Nope! Kelly and Chris told us that every pub they had visited so far in Ireland and Scotland had a cover band play that song. Sure enough, shortly after we were talking how terrible it was to be in a foreign country and stuck listening to American Oldies, the band burst into their rendition of the song. Luckily, we had a lot of catching up to do with the Parsons and chatted away the time instead of listening to the bands.
We started day 2 with the highlight of the city: Edinburgh Castle. Perched on a hill above town, this iconic castle has an incredible view and an even more interesting history.
Edinburgh Castle is one of the oldest fortified places in Europe and has had a rich history serving as a military garrison, royal residence, prison, and fortress. Iron age people built a hill fort here, and ever since, the defenses have evolved over hundreds of years. Mons Meg, one of the greatest medieval cannons ever made, was given to King James II in 1457. The large gun stones are over 300 pounds each and could be shot over 2 miles.
Edinburgh Castle has been home to kings and queens for centuries, and the oldest building still standing on the castle grounds is St. Margaret’s Chapel, which was built in her honor after her death in 1093.
The Royal Palace houses the Honours of Scotland, the oldest crown jewels in Britain. The crown, scepter and sword of state were first used together for the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots in 1543. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed of the crown jewels, but here are a couple pictures of the Royal Palace.
The Scottish War Memorial commemorates Scottish soldiers that fought in World Wars I and II and was built in the early 1900s standing at the site of the former St. Mary’s Church.
After touring the massive castle complex for a couple hours, we had worked up an appetite. With friends from our North Carolina days, we thought testing out Scottish pulled pork seemed fitting for lunch. Of course Jimmy and I opted for the version with haggis. For me, nothing beats the vinegar-based North Carolina-style BBQ, but the addition of the special spiced meat made for a uniquely Scottish experience.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering through the Old Town and the Royal Mile, which is the main street that runs from the castle to the Queen’s palace. The main highlight is the beautiful St. Giles Cathedral, built in the 14th century with the iconic crown steeple.
Historical Victoria Street, with its cobblestones and brightly colored buildings, is one of Edinburgh’s prettiest streets. The curving design by architect Thomas Hamilton replaced a steep z-shaped lane and is considered a masterpiece of his work. For Harry Potter fans, this street inspired Diagon Alley as JK Rowling lived here while working on the series.
The last stop on our tour of the Royal Mile was the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Her Majesty the Queen’s Royal Residence while in Scotland. The palace is best known as the home of Mary Queen of Scots, and as many dramatic episodes in her life took place here, the filming for the 2019 movie did as well.
The oldest part of the palace, The Abbey, was built over 900 years ago by David I of Scotland, and the ruins still stand. Legend has it that he saw a vision of a stag with a cross, or “rood”, between its antlers while hunting near Arthur’s Seat. He decided to build a new religious site dedicated to the Holy Rood.
Our last meal with the Parsons had to be proper fish n chips. We did an extensive google search to pick out one of the best restaurants and ended up at Bertie’s Proper Fish N Chips.
The generous portion of fish was perfectly done – golden crisp exterior with flaky, moist interior served with a fresh-made tartar sauce. Along with the usual offerings of fried fish, Scotland takes frying food to the next level and basically will fry anything…kinda like the North Carolina State Fair. We couldn’t have a meal without haggis, so our starters included haggis spring rolls and a black pudding (aka blood sausage) Scotch egg.
No matter where we go, the haggis variations are always a highlight. But, we didn’t stop there with the fried food. For dessert, we had a fried Snickers bar. Bertie’s gets a huge thumbs up from us with all their food being outstanding.
We surely ate our way through Edinburgh with Kelly and Chris and were quite proud of our Scottish culinary adventure in a mere 36 hours. We were sad to see them go the next morning to catch their plane back to the US.
As we just had a short train ride home, we still had another day to explore the lesser-known sites of Edinburgh. We kept our streak alive of eating haggis at every meal through breakfast the next morning. Jimmy managed to find us a fancy brunch spot that served haggis benedicts. Along with the haggis and poached egg, my benedict came with mac n cheese, pulled pork, and chili jam. Jimmy’s had caramelized onions, local cheese, and chili jam.
Haggis just makes everything better. Period.
Full and happy, we spent the rest of the day trying to burn off those calories walking around the New Town of Edinburgh. The views of the Old Town and the castle from Princes Street Gardens are honestly the highlights in that part of town.
We also strolled through a neighborhood called Dean’s Village and the coastal district of Leith, and both are worth a peek to see the quieter side of Edinburgh away from the tourist masses.
Our big-ticket item for the day was touring the Queen’s yacht, The Royal Yacht Britannia. The tour was incredibly well done and quite interesting to learn about the Royal family and what life was like for them and the crew as they toured around the world on various diplomatic missions (968 state visits!) and the occasional honeymoon, such as Princess Diana and Prince Charles’.
The Britannia served the royal family for 44 years and was last in line of a series of 83 Royal Yachts dating back to the 1660’s. The Queen herself helped with the design and decorating. We toured the state apartments, which included the Queen’s bedroom.
Seeing the crew’s living quarters was also quite interesting. Each of the different ranks had their own ‘Messes’ (social areas), which was a great place to relax after having to strive for perfection serving the Queen.
The Britannia had the largest laundry in the Royal Navy as it was also built to serve as a hospital during war times. Checking out the old-school equipment from the 1950s when the ship was built was surprisingly entertaining.
The immaculate engine room with sparkling brass, white enamel, and chrome is a testament to British engineering, and the Queen herself loved to show off this room to visiting guests after dinner. Every piece of machinery, gadget, and switch operated faultlessly until the yacht was decommissioned in 1997.
One of my favorite traditions in the UK is afternoon tea. When I found out that afternoon tea was served on the top deck of the Royal Yacht, I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity. So, we broke our haggis streak in exchange for scones, clotted cream, jam, and cream tea with a beautiful view over the water.
In addition, we also got to try smoked salmon mini sandwiches and a Scottish classic Cullen skink soup, a creamy soup made out of smoked haddock and potatoes. Scottish salmon is some of the best, so I’m glad we were able to sneak that in on this quick haggis-filled trip too.
Most people go to Edinburgh for the castle and the beautiful architecture. Not us! We think the highlight of Edinburgh was the food. Sure, the city is pretty, but Scotland definitely deserves more credit for their outstanding cuisine and creative use of haggis. Sharing this experience with Kelly and Chris was the icing on the cake, especially considering how much we love Kelly’s cooking. After the years of baked goods and holiday meals enjoying Kelly’s culinary expertise, we had fun sharing our love for discovering new international dishes with her and Chris.
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