Sunshine on Leith

On our recent trek up to Scotland last weekend we stopped off in Edinburgh for a night to break the journey up to St Andrews a bit and to show my daughter around Edinburgh Uni as it's one of the institutions she's considering for next year. We stayed in a hotel in Leith rather than the city centre, mainly because it's cheaper but also much, much easier to park a car for free; when we arrived in the early afternoon we checked into our hotel and freshened up a bit, then we walked the 5 km or so into the city centre. It was a great way to unwind after a long car journey and didn't take as long as I thought it might passing lot's of interesting shops and restaurants on the way. I did notice however that they seem to be extending the tram line down from the centre to the port which will make the trip much quicker if we ever stay there again. 

Anyway, after our excursion into the city we strolled back to Leith in the early evening and grabbed a cold one at the craft beer establishment pictured above, called "Lost in Leith" it's a brewery/bar that has a wonderful selection of beers some produced at their own brewery and others from around the country. I was surprised to find one from Double Barrelled Brewery in Reading (the nearest big town to my home in Berkshire); such is the craft beer scene these days when you can travel 400 miles up country and still find a beer brewed a couple of miles from your house!

Whilst sitting outside the bar we decided that as the evening drew in it was getting a bit chilly for us soft southerners so we decamped inside. While sitting in the window seat we observed and discussed the other people still outside, one table had a bunch of youngsters in tee shirts and another a couple of middle aged guys in thick jumpers and jackets. We joked about how the kids much be Scottish (and accustomed to the chilly air) and the older gentlemen English (i.e. wimps!) A little later the older guys gave up on the evening air and also decamped inside, guess what, we were spot on they were indeed English and spookily also from Berkshire just like us, small world!