DÙN ÈIDEANN
Mum had one request for our trip to Edinburgh - she wanted to hear bagpipes.
She had been to Scotland before, so this wasn't about arriving with a long list of landmarks to conquer or trying to squeeze every possible sight into a few days. There was simply something about hearing the pipes properly, in Scotland that mattered to her.
Et because this summer has been about taking Mum to places she hadn't yet seen and watching her discover them for herself, I was determined to make it happen.
So I booked tickets to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
If you're going to take your mum to Scotland because she wants to hear bagpipes, you may as well give her the full experience with Edinburgh Castle illuminated behind you, thousands of people gathered around you and an entire evening devoted to music, ceremony and spectacle.
As for the weather, it deserves its own mention — just WOW!
I've been to Edinburgh before, but I don't think I've ever seen it quite like this. Blue skies, sunshine and not a drop of rain for the entire trip. Edinburgh had apparently decided to put on its summer best, and I wasn't going to question it.
Edinburgh's Prettiest Neighbourhood
We stayed in Stockbridge, and I was completely taken with it.
There are places that announce themselves as desirable, and then there are places that simply make you feel you could belong there. Stockbridge is the latter.
It has that lovely village-within-a-city feeling, where you can wander around without really knowing where you're going and still end up somewhere beautiful.
It felt both effortlessly fashionable and entirely comfortable with itself, with independent shops tucked between handsome old buildings, cafés spilling onto the pavements and a rather dangerous number of places selling food that looked far too good to walk past.
Walking through, I found myself wondering whether our life could somehow be rearranged to include a flat there?!
It is also, frankly, is a minefield for the sweet-toothed.
Edinburgh, in fact, seemed determined to feed us.
Pastries, biscuits, doughnuts, Scottish ice cream, gelato, cakes and enough beautifully made sweet things behind glass to make any attempt at moderation completely pointless — and walking past them started to feel like an act of unnecessary self-denial.
Our bakery hopping led us to The Pastry Section, where a luscious cinnamon bun was quite possibly the best I have ever eaten.
I don't make declarations like that lightly.
Lashings of gorgeous topping, soft, sticky and completely indulgent. You take a bite, stop, and silently acknowledge that somebody has got it very, very right.
We were very late to the party with Lannan, with its impossibly long lines. We turned up and almost everything was gone — except the gooey chocolate-chip cookies.
Yesss, we HAD to, and yes, they were absolutely To. Die. For.
We also stumbled across Singh Street Cha, a family-run Panjabi cha shop and bakery with a modern fusion coffee-culture vibe, and devoured their ridiculously delicious pistachio cookie that oozed pistachio cream filling.
(Man!) It was decadence at its best.
An Oasis of Calm
We then wandered along the Water of Leith towards Dean Village.
The sound of the city faded, bit by bit, until all that was left was the soft, gurgling rush of the water beside us.
We followed the river as it wound through the greenery, past old stone walls, little bridges and cascading waterfalls — stopping every few minutes because the view kept getting prettier, and we couldn't quite believe it.
There was something incredibly peaceful about being there — the cool air, the shade of the trees (and boy, were we grateful for it in that Scottish sunshine), the sound of the water and the feeling that we'd somehow left the city behind.
And almost suddenly, Dean Village appeared — tucked into the valley below, like it had been hiding there all along.
It felt like we'd traipsed into a little Scottish village, tumbled straight out of a storybook, without ever really leaving the city.
Oh, the Views
We explored the Royal Botanic Garden and then made our way through some of the beautiful green spaces around Inverleith.
One of my favourite views came from Inverleith Park, where the city suddenly opened up in front of us.
It reminded me a little of Primrose Hill in London — that feeling of standing above the city and being able to take everything in at once except Edinburgh has a castle (wink).
The skyline spread out in front of us, with Edinburgh Castle sitting high above the historic centre, while rooftops, spires and hills stretched into the distance.
After spending so much time walking through the city, it was lovely to stop and see it from above.
You suddenly understand how all those dark stone buildings, turrets, spires and winding streets fit together, and you remember you're actually standing in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
An Italian, an Irishman, and a Scotsman Walk Into a Bar
We headed back towards Circus Lane, this time in the changing light, when Edinburgh seemed to take on an entirely different mood. Circus Lane is one of those streets that looks almost suspiciously photogenic with its old stone walls, tiny doors and blooming beautiful flowers.
Our destination and sole intent was Little Capo. I'd seen Stanley Tucci raving about its authentic Italian food on Instagram, so obviously I wanted to try it.
We had hoped to eat there. We really (really!) did.
We tried to get a table for three for three consecutive days.
There was absolutely no chance. I eventually accepted defeat.
So Little Capo remains unfinished business — which, conveniently, gives me another reason to return.
Instead, we found ourselves at Boston Bar, where we sampled their viral spice bag.
And yes, I did find it rather amusing that we had travelled all the way to Scotland and were eating an Irish dish.
But this was Edinburgh during the Fringe, where apparently geographical boundaries become slightly more fluid AND it was delicious so who was I to complain?
Shop 'til you drop
There are only so many beautiful old streets you can walk down before somebody decides they need something to take home, and of course there’s is a particular inevitability to holiday shopping.
You can arrive in a city determined to behave like a sophisticated traveller, admiring the architecture and pretending you have absolutely no interest in buying souvenirs.
Eventually you find yourself in a shop buying something you neither needed nor planned to buy because, well, you're in Edinburgh.
Mum embraced this considerably more enthusiastically than I did.
On Top of the World
Walking up Calton Hill had been my one non-negotiable for Edinburgh as the views are breathtaking.
Edinburgh spreads out beneath you, with the castle perched high above the city as though it has been deliberately placed there to crown it.
The hill itself is fascinating too, with its monuments, sculptures and extraordinary architecture, and from up there you get a real sense of how the city has grown around its historic centre.
It was just a shame that enjoying the view required navigating the Calton Hill Olympics.
Every vaguely photogenic patch of the hill seemed to have been claimed by someone determined to capture the perfect Edinburgh moment. Phones were held at increasingly inventive angles, poses were carefully arranged and photographs were taken, reviewed and taken again.
An extraordinary amount of content was being produced by people standing on one hill.
I tried to remain philosophical about it. I failed.
There is something uniquely irritating about travelling somewhere to admire an extraordinary view and discovering that the best part of it has been occupied by somebody attempting to capture themselves having an apparently spontaneous moment for TikTok.
I completely understand wanting the photograph. I take plenty myself, but when there are others waiting behind you, maybe you don't need every conceivable angle before you let someone else have a turn.
Eventually and thankfully (phew) we got our turn!
By the time we came back down, the streets were rammed. Turns out we'd picked Fringe season (but we already knew this and were prepared!).
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Fringe Fever
During the Fringe — the world's largest arts festival — the whole city seemed to be operating at a slightly different frequency.
Music spilled into the streets, performers appeared everywhere, flyers were thrust into your hands at alarming speed.
The Fringe is wonderfully chaotic and there is no sense that the city is trying to contain it. Edinburgh simply absorbs the festival, allowing the streets to become stages and the pavements to become meeting places.
Crowds moved with the purposeful urgency of people who had somewhere else they needed to be in exactly eight minutes.
We went to see Remember Remember, a comedy based around Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, and there was something poignantly fitting about spending an evening watching one of Britain's most famous historical acts of rebellion while Edinburgh itself was in the middle of its annual theatrical takeover.
We were also there to support Oliver's fellow actor, writer and producer, who had created this brilliant show — which made the evening feel even more special.
Marching, Saluting and BAGPIPES
And then came the evening Mum had been waiting for.
She finally got her bagpipes.
Sitting there with Edinburgh Castle behind us, surrounded by the music, performers and atmosphere of The Royal Military Tattoo, I was so pleased we'd listened to her when she said this was what she wanted. It was spectacular (to say the least!).
My mum was getting exactly what she'd come for.
It sounds like a small thing, but these are the moments you wish for — to remember how excited Mum was, and how she lit up.
For Mum, it was the bagpipes, and for me, it was watching her enjoy them.
Food Glorious Food
Afterwards, we celebrated by indulging in a HUGE New York-style pizza that had made Time Out's list of the ten best pizzas in the world ... we had to try it, obviously!!
It was ENORMOUS and absolutely delicious. There is no point travelling all the way to Edinburgh to discover a pizza that good and then pretending you are too sensible to eat it!! We also bumped into one of Oliver's students from London — also there with her mum, and clearly making equally sensible pizza choices (nudge, nudge, wink, wink!).
But even that pizza was eventually surpassed in sheer scale by our sandwiches from Mootz.
We bought GIGANTIC sandwiches for the train home, and when I say gigantic, I mean the sort of gigantic that require both hands and a strategy and a certain willingness to abandon any remaining dignity.
They were madly delicious, but eating one on a busy train is not entirely straightforward.
There is something particularly awkward about wrestling with a giant sandwich surrounded by strangers who are doing their very best not to stare.
Meanwhile, you're trying to work out how to take a bite without the entire thing collapsing into your lap.
Challenging. Messy. Magnificent.
And, I would absolutely do it again.
You know they're staring. They know you're aware they're staring.
I would have stared too.
Mum and I laughed about it, which was probably the best possible response.
Beannachd Leat
What an awesome trip!!
The three of us eating our way through Edinburgh, enjoying glorious sunshine when we had fully expected Edinburgh rain, walking until our feet were sore, laughing, exploring and just having a brilliant time together … and then there were the bagpipes!
Mum wanted Scotland, so Scotland we gave her!
I couldn't have asked for a better trip … bagpipes and all!!
Oh, BTW, one more thing …
The people of Edinburgh were wonderful — friendly, welcoming and, for the most part, a pleasure to encounter — but someone really does need to have a word with them about roadside manners.
Crossing the road and navigating the pavements occasionally felt like an extreme sport.
You'd look one way, look the other, step forward, reconsider, wait again and eventually make a dash for it with the determination of someone escaping a live-action obstacle course.
Mum, Oliver and I survived?!
