Always Trust The Locals: Edinburgh Edition
We arrived in Edinburgh on August 31 after a long, 17-hour travel day from Spain, via a stopover in Stockholm. While walking and wandering around the streets, I was stopping at pretty much every restaurant to check menus and prices, looking for places that seemed good but also wouldn’t break the bank! I stopped at one, which happened to be closed for a private pre-wedding function. Outside, there were two men in traditional Scottish attire. They were musicians hired for the event, outside having a wee break. Being the randomly chatty person I am, I struck up a conversation with them while Jon and the girls were patiently indulgent and let us chat away.
During our conversations, they told us about Portobello Beach. Apparently, it was THE place to be and vacation by the seaside until the advent of cheap, package holidays. They recommended we check it out. They even told us which public bus to take to get out there quickly and where to catch it! So, two days later that’s exactly what we did! We hopped on the 26 and took it out to the beach for the day.
This was one of our favourite days in Edinburgh! It was amazing! It was a short bus ride, maybe 20 minutes. We got off and walked the main street a little bit, stopping at a cute bookshop and a café for a much more affordable sandwich and treat than downtown Edinburgh.
We left the main street to head to the beach, where we were stunned at first by the vastness and the beauty of the area. It was low tide, so the water was way out, leaving tons of beach and sand area. We immediately walked down towards the water. The girls went out into the water to splash around a bit, oblivious to the cold of the water! We then spent a good 45 minutes searching all over the sandy area that would be covered in water during high tide for shells and other interesting finds. We found so many gorgeous shells that we packed up into coffee cups and brought with us. We also found some shells/carcasses of various crabs.
We made our way back up towards the road to check out the extensive boardwalk. There was a huge arcade, lots of street food vendors, and restaurants/cafes along the boardwalk. Per usual, I stopped at every single one to see the menus and prices and found a great little café that we returned to later. We walked the entire strip of the boardwalk and found two playgrounds. I’m not sure of the exact distance of the boardwalk, but it was about 30 minutes to walk the entire length (each way). On our return walk, we stopped at one of the playgrounds, where the girls happily played for the better part of an hour.
We decided that it was time for a snack, and headed back towards the café/restaurant. We got a bottle of wine, a few appetizers, and some babyccinos (foamed milk with cocoa dusted on top and some mini marshmallows – looks just like a cappuccino!). The girls were in heaven, because they just played on the beach in the sand, mostly digging holes. They would pop back up when we got an appetizer, inhale some food and drink, and then disappear back over to the beach area. Meanwhile, Jon and I were in heaven, as we got to sit and enjoy wine and appetizers together and actually have an adult conversation!
Given it was mid-week in early September, it was perfect! The weather was gorgeous and it wasn’t too busy at all. This meant we could order one or two appetizers, then after we finished them order one or two more. We enjoyed a leisurely 2.5-3 hours here, soaking in the views, relaxing, chatting, and (for the girls) digging.
After we finished up here, we decided it was getting late and we should head back to the hotel. We all went home happy, relaxed, tired, and full of sunshine, shells, sand (so much sand!), and good food. This is a spot we never would have heard of if it weren’t for my random conversation with two locals. It always pays to be friendly and strike up conversations with people. And reinforces our mantra to always trust the locals! This was one of our favourite days in Edinburgh that has definitely left a lasting impression on us all.