This month’s round up features a North Coast 500 diary, a visit to Iona, exploring Portobello and the Pentlands, great day trips from Edinburgh, and 10 quirky places to spend the night. Hopefully, it will inspire you to get out and enjoy Scotland too!

Photo by A Petite Abroad

1) Start planning your North Coast 500

Australian blogger A Petite Abroad was lucky enough to recently drive the North Coast 500, the Scottish equivalent to the American Route 66. 500 miles around the north coast of Scotland from Inverness to Applecross, Gairloch and Durness to John o’Groats taking in some of Scotland’s most spectacular coastal scenery. Along the way, A Petite Abroad took some fabulous photos like this one of Ardvreck Castle, Loch Assynt in Sutherland. It’s all making me want to head out on my own NC500 again!

2) Go walking on Iona

Melanie of Full Stop Next Chapter recently took a day trip to Iona, a 10-minute ferry crossing from the Isle of Mull. She recommends visiting Iona Abbey and using my favourite 40 walks books to find a great Iona beach walk. Try this South Iona walk via Walk Highlands.

3) Explore Edinburgh – Portobello and the Pentlands

I found Edinburgh blogger Laretour’s story about becoming a local in Edinburgh fascinating, especially how the city can become such a familiar friend. It’s interesting to see Edinburgh through the eyes of someone exploring it for the first time especially when they explore two of the places that make Edinburgh really feel like home to me, Portobello and the Pentlands.

4) Take a day trip from Edinburgh

I am a huge fan of the countryside surrounding Edinburgh. I spend a lot of time out in East Lothian, so I loved Travels with a Kilt‘s photos of Bass Rock and Tantallon Castle; one of my favourite day trips. Neil also recommends more ideas for around North Berwick, Roslin and Queensferry. Really useful if you are planning a day trip, or a fan of Outlander!

5) Find somewhere quirky to stay in Scotland

From a hobbit hole to a bothy, Adventures Around Scotland lists 10 quirky places to stay in Scotland (she also has 10 more if you can’t find what you are looking for!). It’s given me load of ideas for places to stay, top of my list is the eco-domes at Appin, check out Susanne’s post for the view!

Join in the Love From Scotland roundup! Are you a Scottish Blogger or just love Scotland? If you have a post you’d like featured in next month’s roundup give me a shout.

Love from, Scotland x

More Scottish blog round ups

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Mamma’s Pizza do a full menu of starters and mains, which includes burgers, Texas chilli and steaks served on lava stones as well as the ubiquitous nachos and buffalo wings, which makes Mamma’s an American diner as much as a pizzeria. However, it is the huge pizza menu which most people come to Mamma’s for. They are also famous for their gluten free bases – Gluten Free Edinburgh have declared Mamma’s gluten free pizza as unbelievably good.

You could try the Scotsman (with haggis & potato), the Star Wars pizzas (Mamma’s was opened by the original Gold Leader), or a pizza with all of 2016’s superfoods on it? That’ll be black pudding, pomegranate, black bean and avocado! However, with over 40 toppings to choose from why not opt for the unusual – baked beans, cactus, black pudding, calamari, or smoked salmon? Or how about a dessert pizza? Apple, banana, pomegranate, chocolate and Marshmallow. Hum, maybe that’s not the best mix I admit! 

However, my test of a pizzeria is in its humble classics, and for B & I that is chicken & pineapple. Yes, we are pineapple on pizza people, don’t worry we are sticking together. We went for the 14inch and couldn’t resist adding mixed peppers, red onion, chilli and mamma’s special spicy tomato sauce.  I love traditional America pizza, with fat bottomed bases and stringy cheese. Yum! With friendly service and enough toppings on the pizza to sink us for a few hours, it was difficult to leave Mamma’s Pizza behind and head back out to explore Edinburgh.

So often Edinburgh’s stalwarts are over-looked over by locals in favour of the new pizza kid on the block – and I include myself in this! I think it had been at least five years since I’d visited Mamma’s Pizza and I was pleased to see little had changed. I’d always liked the quirky, laid back and slightly scruffy interior, and thankfully it has long resisted the pull of modernisation. For great American Pizza in Edinburgh, local’s and visitors alike, Mamma’s Pizza should on be on your list!

Love from, Scotland x

Thanks to Mamma’s for hosting us for lunch. Opinions are all my own. 

 Visit: Mamma’s Pizza

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The Riverside Museum was built to replace the much-loved Glasgow Museum of Transport and you will still hear it called this by most Glaswegians. Whilst the Transport Museum will be by some much-missed, it wasn’t the best of homes, with damp damaging many of the items on display. Now, its flashy new home is twice the size, with 3000 items on display. Tram aficionados can coo over the Coronation trams, if you like trains there is a huge South African Railways locomotive 300, as well as both the world’s oldest bicycle and Danny MacAskill’s stunt bike. Outside is the Tall Ship Glenlee.

Many of the vehicles are displayed high up on platforms which only gives you an idea of their shape and size rather than you being able to get up close and personal.  It does create beautiful lines, lights and displays which create life in the vehicles, much more than a static vintage car could alone. I can just image these cars revving their engines and roaring off their platforms out into Glasgow.

For me though, the most dramatic part of the museum is the inside & outside colour scheme of grey & yellow. The contrasting colours provide the perfect backdrop to the rather higgledy-piggledy collection of trains and trams and bikes and streets and spaces inside the museum, much like actual Glaswegian life outside between it’s gridiron streets.  For all the Riverside Museum’s outside glamour and style, it’s certainly not ‘Aw fur coat an nae knickers’. Just like Glasgow itself, I think you’ll find what’s on the inside just right if you get down amongst it all.

Love from, Scotland x

Visit The Riverside Museum, Glasgow

Free entry / Donations welcome / Open from 10 or 11 am until 5 pm every day / To get there you can walk along the Clyde, catch the train to Partick station, the mini ferry from Govan (in the summer only) the no.100 Riversider bus, or car parking is £1 for 4 hours.

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This rather pensive guy is one the Zoo’s 18 chimpanzees. Edinburgh Zoo works with conservation and breeding projects all over the world, including championing endangered chimps from the Budongo Forest in Uganda. Their 18th Chimp, Velu, was born in 2014 and was the first chimpanzee to be successfully reared in Scotland in 15 years.

This guy is Paul, who I was not sure is giving me a kiss or shouting at me!

Edinburgh Zoo also saw the first koala, Yooranah, born in the UK. This though is my favourite Koala. Her name is Alinga and she is a cheeky little girl who keeps a beady eye on you as she munches on eucalyptus.

It is not all international favourites at Edinburgh Zoo, though, as the zoo also looks after Scottish wildcats and bringing species such as beavers back into wild in Scotland. They are just a little more elusive to spot!

Unlike the capuchin monkeys who live in Edinburgh Zoo’s Living Links who aren’t afraid of coming forward… What are you looking at?

I really wish I knew what these guys were up to. Their quizzical faces were fascinating to photograph, although it took quite a while to capture them looking in the same direction.

My favourites though are always the penguins. I love penguins. Make sure you are there to watch the Penguin Parade at 2.15pm every day as it is brilliant. Or if you can’t visit the zoo check out Edinburgh’s penguin cam.

This King Penguin was keeping guard over the Zoo’s fantastic Penguin Rocks. I wonder if it is Sir Nils Olav, the Colonel-in-Chief in the Norwegian Guard, he certainly seemed very proud of himself.

Don’t Rockhopper penguins look like they are in the Mafia?

“We are sleeping with the fishes tonight. Har har har”

Oh and the final ‘character’ in Edinburgh Zoo? well, that will be me. Especially when I am pretending to be a penguin!

Love from, Scotland x

Visit Edinburgh Zoo

Edinburgh Zoo is open every day of the year, including Christmas Day / £17 for adults and £12.50 for kids / Book your Panda slot in advance / To get there catch the 100 Airport Bus or the no. 12, 26 or 31.

Thanks to Visit Scotland and the ASVA for hosting me & B.

Linking up with Monday Escapes

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Here are 15 ways to enjoy some lady time!

Galentine’s Day in Edinburgh with the girls

From @cazmonkeysround

1) Eat and drink like a lady at  Prestonfield House – the house and grounds are gorgeous! If you are lucky you might get your own private salon in which to sup champagne eat teeny-tiny sandwiches. After tea, have a wander around the lovely gardens and spot the peacocks! Prestonfield’s Afternoon Tea is served daily from 2-7pm at £25 or Champagne Afternoon Tea for £35. You can also find deals online!

2) Work up an appetite at Edinburgh Botanic Gardens – the gardens are great to have a wander around, with lots of things to see including the spectacular glasshouses, Inverleith House and a couple of Andy Goldsworthy sculptures to find. After a good walk, there are lots of cafes in the area including the excellent Blue Bear Cafe and Earthy at Canonmills. 

3) Get contemporary at The Dovecot Studios – Edinburgh’s centre for contemporary art, craft and design is built around a leading international tapestry studio. It also used to be a swimming pool! It is a fantastic building and the Dovecot Cafe by Leo’s has a good selection of really nice loose leaf teas and good food.

From @facetnation

4) Make mine a margarita at El Cartel – always a firm favourite of mine for that impromptu ‘meeting for coffee’ that turns into a boozy lunch. With a selection of very tasty tacos, you can choose to tuck into as little or as much as you want, and there’s always a new flavour of frozen Margheritas to try out (as well as a HUGE tequila menu). El Cartel is on Thistle Street also has a great selection of other bars and boutique shops to visit in the vicinity.

5) Go to the Fruitmarket Gallery – A great place to combine a little art and a tasty lunch with a browse in their bookshop, the Fruitmarket Gallery always offers engaging contemporary art exhibitions, with their current exhibition ‘Another Minimalism’ providing a combination of rainbow hues and sensory delights. The recent opening of Cafe Milk at The Fruitmarket is a welcome addition, serving a seasonal menu of salads, wraps, daily specials and delicious cakes.

5) West End, Best End? – The West End of Edinburgh and Lothian Road has had a bit of a ‘foodie’ transformation recently and is currently full of exciting new places opening; from the Innis and Gunn Beer Kitchen, to fantastic burgers at Bread Meats Bread, just stumbling distance from the wonderful independent cinema The Filmhouse. The home of Edinburgh Gin runs distillery and tasting tours by day and then transforms into intimate evening cocktail bar ‘Heads and Tales‘ at night. It’s gin-based menu ensured it was one of the first places our girl gang ‘tested’!

I’m also sure it won’t be long until there’s a group outing to the brand new Brewlab Coffee in the West End too…especially as our gang now has a few newborn baby members!

From me @_smidge

6) Make a day of it in Stockbridge – Walk the Dean Village part of the Water of Leith,  browse the Saturday market, pop into the brilliant charity shops (including Oxfam Music and Mary’s Living and Giving) & fill up on stinky melted cheese sandwiches at renowned Edinburgh cheese shop IJ Mellis. After a good browse head for brunch at The Pantry and then to The Last Word Saloon for a few cocktails or the Baillie for a few pints.

7) Play the penny arcades at Portobello – you can’t beat a bracing walk along the prom and a go at vintage the penny arcades! Portobello is favourite of Edinburgh locals for a stroll on a sunny day, when the sun is out and that blue sky is all above you there are very few places better. Even if it is not often warm enough to sit on the beach! Brunch after your walk is available at the cool Espy Bar, the Beach House cafe or my favourite The Skylark.

8) Go to Camera Obscura and World of Illusions – fancy getting silly? From mirrors to mazes, to optical illusions, Camera Obscura is five floors of fun. It’s not just for the kids! Please don’t ask me to go into the vortex maze… I just can’t do it! Camera Obscura is right next to the Castle on the Royal Mile and costs £14.50 for adults (it is worth it!)

From  @thatdenisegirl_the alcohol free option?

9) Visit the Secret Herb Garden – If you have a car this is a great place to escape to for a wander round the gardens and retro greenhouses; followed by a cup of tea and some amazing cake. They make everything on site often using their own homegrown plants and herbs, and they have a surprisingly good gluten-free range. Visit the Secret Herb Garden on Old Pentland Road.

10) Try Doodles Ceramics Workshop – Pick an item of pottery and then get creative with paint. From cups and tea light holders to plates and teapots, there’s a great selection to choose from! Even non-arty pals can get involved as they have lots of pieces around the shop for inspiration (or copying!). Doodles are based in Marchmont and prices start at £2.50.

11) Escape a room – Get a group of friends together, get locked (not really) in a room, and have to solve a series of clues to get the code to open the door and let yourself out. Importantly, they are not just for puzzle fans, everyone can contribute and you’ll soon find yourself swept up in the mystery and competitively trying to beat the clock!

From @domestikate84 a little further afield…

13) Sail to Inchcolm Island – Obviously, it is very special to me as we got married there, but it’s great for a day trip too. Just hop on the ferry in South Queensferry and spend a few hours exploring the abbey and Island. If you are hungry, stop for great cakes afterwards in the Rail Bridge Bistro. The ferry costs from £12.50 for a 1.5-hour sightseeing trip. 

14) Explore Linlithgow Palace – Fascinating historical palace in a lovely setting. Take a walk around the house and the loch – an hour is perfect. Afterwards, check out the great fabric shop on Linlithgow high street, or stop off at New Hopetoun Gardens for lunch and a browse.

15) Go to the seaside at North Berwick – A lovely drive along the east Lothian coast or a quick train journey from Edinburgh and you reach the seaside town of North Berwick. Take a walk on the beach then poke around the galleries and charity shops, and don’t forget to get some fish and chips! Watch out for the seagulls…

Thanks girls!

Where would you spend a day out with the girls in Edinburgh?

…and remember

Love from, Scotland x

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Located just 1 hour from Glasgow and 2 from Edinburgh with a fast 55 minute CalMac ferry trip from Ardrossan to Brodick, the Isle of Arran is one of Scotland’s most accessible islands which makes it perfect for a weekend away! We’ve recently returned from across the water celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary and we found that winter on Arran was just as good as summer – even in the rain, when the island has disappeared into the mist over the Firth of Clyde! Where has Arran gone?! It is there somewhere I promise!

What to do in winter on Arran

So what is there to do in winter on Arran? Well pretty much everything there is to do in summer! You just have to wrap up a little more and prepare to wait until the downpours have passed. You are hardy aren’t you?! It is the west coast after all. Luckily the weather does make for some particularly excellent light! I had to regularly get B to stop and pose for photos just to capture the scale of the beaches on Arran.

We didn’t let the rain stop us. We visited the ruined Lochranza Castle, hiked to the spectacular King’s Cave by Blackwaterfoot and up tot the Giant’s Graves above Whiting Bay. Even though the clouds were low and winter was working hard to suck the colour out of Scotland, Arran seemed to have a palette all of its own. I loved the red bracken, grey rock & constantly changing blue seas.

That is Holy Island above the Giant’s Graves. You can’t tell the scale here, but the tallest stone is taller than me, over 5 foot tall! I guess you should resist doing an Outlander here, you need to visit the Machrie Moor stone circles for this! Sadly it was too wet for us to cross the moors, so we saved that for another time.

Where to stay & what to eat on Arran

We stayed at the lovely and very stylish Glenisle Hotel in the village of Lamlash, where our top floor suite had a roll top bath, a huge bed and views out over the bay and Holy Island.

Check out that bath!

The best bit? All that walking meant that we could pig ourselves silly! From great sandwiches after our long walk in the Glenisle Hotel bar, to a romantic candle lit dinner in their restaurant on the first night, with salmon & steak and then drinks by the fire, we were thoroughly happy.

On the second night we ate at the fantastic Drift Inn, where their selection of 80+ gins, freshly caught scallops (they were the best i’d ever eaten) Lamlash lamb cutlets and beef bourguignon served with potato dauphinoise made for very happy tummies.

Both the staff in the Glenisle Hotel and the Drift Inn very welcoming and friendly and we instantly made pledges to come back!

Of course, we couldn’t miss out on visiting the Isle of Arran distillery to pick up a bottle of Arran 10… it is just what you need for winter on Arran. Cheers!

 Happy 3rd wedding anniversary B!

We are on a boat!

Arran we will be back!

Love From, Scotland

More things to do on Arran

Linking up with My Favourite Trip

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To my husband:

I think I am meant to say that I can’t believe I’ve been your wife for 3 years. But I can believe it. We’ve been through everything and more together. The years have felt very long, but you help me smile through anything. I am never going to learn to hoover, tidy away my shoes, put the top back on the red wine vinegar, hang up my coat or stop shuffling around & snoring in the night, and they are just my minor faults! Luckily, I know you are as happy as me. 

Love you, Smidge x

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More Edinburgh Must Dos

Edinburgh Must do: Edinburgh Castle

I’ve been inside Edinburgh Castle just a handful of times in my 20 years of living in Edinburgh. The husband, who was born here in Scotland, surprisingly never had! Can you believe that? How can we have one of the UK’s most famous landmarks (and most intagrammed!) be on our doorstep and we never visit?  Well, for most Edinburgh residents, the Castle is an everyday item, it is just there. We even tend to forget about it for months at a time. In fact, we spend more time directing people to it than thinking about going inside it!  

Where is the Castle?

Errr. There?

(I’m not joking because it is true) 

Last weekend we decided on an ‘Edinburgh day out’ to rectify this. We took a wander up the Royal Mile to the the Castle esplanade, popping into The Scotch Whisky Experience and Camera Obscura along the way (more soon on these) before heading into the Castle proper to take in (and photograph!) those stunning views. Well, what views we could actually see amongst the crazy weather we’ve been having lately…. snow does make things even more beautiful though. Even if I do find it hard work with my camera (tips please!) 

What struck me though was that it wasn’t just us that had forgotten about being tourists in our own city. We were asked so many times by the lovely venue staff where we were from – and our EH (Edinburgh) postcode and B’s strong Scottish accent raised everyone’s eyebrows! We even found ourselves explaining our ‘Edinburgh Day Out’ and kind of almost apologising for it. 

That isn’t right is it? Maybe it is time to change things? We Edinburgh residents need remember to explore too; before we find ourselves forgetting or taking where we live for granted… Edinburgh deserves more than that. 

Let me know what is stopping you from being a tourist in your own city.

Visit Edinburgh Castle all year round / Opening times are weather dependent / Free entry to the esplanade part (first photo) / £16.50 for adults, £9.90 for children / Buy your ticket in advance to skip the queues / Oh and wrap up warm in winter – it gets very cold up there!

Love from, Scotland x

More Edinburgh Must Dos

Thanks to Visit Scotland and ASVA

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Hopefully, it will inspire you to get out and enjoy Scotland too! 

1) Make a list of Scotland goals

To start the year, Nicola of Funky Ella’s travel blog shared her five Scotland goals for 2016. They include driving the North Coast 500 and bagging a munro amongst more some (to me!) much more scary ideas! My goals at the moment are a bit more sedate, and include upping my edinburgh walks each month, plus as much camping as I can fit in this year. Possibly I should be reaching a little higher? What would your Scotland goals be?

2) Visit Skye (at any time of the year)

Last summer we did a grand tour of the Isle of Skye in 2 days with the sun shining the whole time. It made for some gorgeous photographs. Then up pops Vicky Flip Flop who visited Scotland over #Blogmanay and took some amazing photographs, I must admit I went wow…. turns out Skye doesn’t need sunshine still to be spectacular! 

3) The beaches are brilliant!

A Family Day Out shared photos of their trip last summer to the beaches of Morar and Arisaig, Lochaber. With endless white sands, huge dunes and rough seas, I think Scotland’s beaches are up there with any in the world, even if it is rarely shorts & t-shirt weather! I really need to get up to the Highland west coast as soon as possible.

4) Always be a tourist in Edinburgh

Being Erica recently shared three amazing sights of Edinburgh, and her photos really do them justice. From Calton Hill to the Castle, I would always recommend these as must sees! In fact, I’ve been planning a wee photo tour of Edinburgh Castle for a while. I do admit I sometimes forget to be a tourist in my lovely adopted city of Edinburgh!

5) Fall in love with Scotland and never leave

10 years and 10 reasons to visit by Kkjaerside photography

I got a little emotional reading this next post, Kim Kjaerside, a Dane living in Edinburgh shared his last ten years in Scotland and ten reasons to visit. His reasons? Well, they are my reasons too. The landscape, the camping, the beaches, the food, oh the food! I’ve been here for 20 years and I do love it so! Might just be why I write this blog…

Join in the Love From Scotland roundup! Are you a Scottish Blogger or just love Scotland? If you have a post you’d like featured in next week’s roundup give me a shout.

Love from, Scotland x

More favourite Scottish Bloggers

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Edinburgh Must-Do: The Royal Yacht Britannia

Right at the top of the ‘things to do in Edinburgh’ list is a visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith. Getting the guide book stuff out of the way first, the Royal Yacht Britannia has been berthed in Leith Docks since 1998 when she was decommissioned after serving the Royal Family for 40 years. Step on to Britannia and you are instantly transported back 50 years to a more sedate time… It’s all rather gorgeous and shiny! We wandered the decks for an hour & a half wandering with our audio guide – I actually found the ‘below decks’ the most interesting; who knew there were so many bars on the royal yacht? Yotties obviously like a wee dram! Above decks, well here’s a big spoiler, there is a lot of chintz!

Now I won’t give you the full photographic guided tour, instead let’s take a look out to sea to Leith. It was my favourite part…

No, not that way! Walk to the very back of the ship and look out over the docks.

Can you spot him?

That is 6 TIMES by Anthony Gormley.

“For me, it’s about using the Water of Leith as a living bloodstream”
Gormley 2010

6 Times was a series of figures by Antony Gormley (yes that one) installed in the Water of Leith. The first sculpture is at the Gallery of Modern Art and the other 5 figures were placed along the river within Edinburgh communities where access to public art was most limited. Sadly, the power of the Water of Leith made them unstable and they have currently been removed for repair, after they went missing a few times! The last remaining sculpture is in Leith Docks and standing alone I think it is particularly evocative especially when viewed from the glamour of The Royal Yacht. Isn’t it funny what you’d miss if you had no idea it was there…

Visit the Royal Yacht Britannia at Ocean Terminal, Leith / To get there take the 22 bus from town for £1.50 or there is free parking / The Yacht is open all year round but closes earlier in winter / cost £15 adults / £8.50 for kids with a free audio tour/ good food is served at The Roseleaf at the shore if you are hungry after your visit.

Love from, Scotland x

More things to do in Edinburgh.

Linking up with Jo’s Monday walk

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