When I was young, we often took the ferry to France for our summer holidays. All four of us would clamber into the back of the car, elbowing each other and fighting to get the window seats. I always got the middle seat. My parents used to pack everything into our car, (winter and summer clothes, board games, even corn flakes), everything to keep us entertained and fed over the two weeks holiday. I haven’t taken the ferry since I was a child, so when I was offered a car-cation to Edinburgh with Stena Line, I jumped at the chance.
The weather in Ireland and the UK had been fairly miserable this summer, so we packed umbrellas, sun hats and hiking boots – just to be prepared for all eventualities. It’s such a novelty having no luggage restrictions. We drove to Belfast and promptly boarded the 11:30 ferry to Scotland. The minute we stepped on the ferry, the holiday really began. We had a lovely little cabin for relaxing and access to the Stena Plus Lounge where we enjoyed a nice glass of wine and delicious food. Let’s face it, when you take any form of transport, you expect the food to be pretty awful. This definitely is not the case with Stena Line. They recently employed the services of executive chef Kevin Woodford to overhaul the menu and it is very impressive indeed. We dined on delicious smoked salmon, fresh crab, salmon and asparagus followed by yummy homemade shortbreads and strawberries. We had beautiful seats overlooking the sea and felt very relaxed as we ate, and did a little extra research on Edinburgh using the free Wifi. The journey was so quick and easy, that we were sad to leave the lounge when the time came to disembark.
Once off the boat, we made our way Edinburgh and admired the scenic countryside. As soon as we arrived at The Holiday Inn in Leith, we freshened up and walked the short distance to The Kicthin restaurant. The Kitchin is run by husband and wife team Tom & Michaela Kitchin and has a Michelin star. The restaurant has a bright little conservatory area where we relaxed with some aperitifs. I had a nice refreshing gin and tonic and the OH enjoyed a Manhattan d’Ecosse and some fresh vegetable crudités. Dinner in The Kithin was real treat. To start with I had a hand dived Orkney scallop with fresh herbs, sea vegetables and wine, followed by Newhaven lobster with escargot butter and buerre blanc. Service in the Kitchin was excellent and we even got to meet the charming Tom Kitchin over a drink in the bar.
The next morning we were woken by the sound of torrential rain drumming on the windows outside. We had intended on going to Taste of Edinburgh, but given the crazy weather conditions, the event was cancelled. Undeterred, we made our way into the city and decided on a few touristy things to do. We began with Camera Obscura, which is a wacky interactive exhibition with mirrors, mazes and magic. It was a very fun place to spend some time, especially for big kids like us!
We whiled away the rest of the afternoon learning about Scottish whisky. The OH prefers Irish whiskey, but really began to appreciate some of the lesser known Scotch whisky on offer in Scotland. We bought a few bottles to bring home with us, just to check if they’ll still taste as good on Irish soil, or if it was just a holiday romance.
We were keen to seek out some local brews and were already familiar with Scottish Craft Beer, BrewDog. The BewDog pub is located on Cowgate Street and the bar has a very cool vibe. We tasted the BrewDog Punk IPA from the tap and were not disappointed. It has a lovely hoppy, caramel flavour and was a great antidote to all the heavy rain outside.
We travelled back to the ferry the following morning. We went via Waitrose and packed up the boot with some local Scottish produce. We wound down on the ferry with the Sunday papers and some coffee and cake. Overall Edinburgh is a great little city break. The service on the Stena Line was outstanding and we’ll definitely be back on it again soon. We might try the Highlands next time, and finally find a use for those hiking boots, instead of leaving them on the back seat!
I was guest of Stena Line on this trip, who provided ferry and hotel accomodation. Stena Line are currently running a Car- cation campaign, with a discount on early bookings on their website. All photos and opinions are my own. Many thanks to the Stena Line employees – Shona, Tommy, Gordon and Noel, who made our trip over and back so enjoyable.