Visiting Aero Leathers

[Smithy]

Smithy, you are also just a hop, skip and a jump from the North Pole as well as Scotland! I will say that Norway in August is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, specifically the fjords all the way to North Cape looking at the Arctic Sea.

Back on track: I understand there is now a train between Edinburgh and Galashiels that runs through the Scottish Borders that is an experience in and of itself. If I were visiting the Aero factory, I doubt that I could get by with less than half a day, excluding travel.

Off topic:

We are lucky here Richard, it's a very pretty part of the world. And if you like doing outdoorsy stuff (like I do) you're spoiled for choice with, depending on the season, fishing, sailing, skiing, hunting, hiking, etc, etc. We're not regretting the decision to bring the kids back over here. Makes a nice change from continually saying to them, "Don't do that dear, there's probably snakes/spiders"

Thanks to everyone for the tips on visiting Aero and surrounds, it's not going to happen this year for us (wife has already organised the summer hols) but I'd like to do this next year. My mother-in-law's husband and I fly fish and we've been talking about taking a trip to Scotland for a spot of salmon fishing. Bit of fly fishing and getting a new Aero sounds like a damn nice holiday. Well maybe a couple of distillery tours as well to round things off!

 

[the loco]

Definitely the holly land of leather jackets

 

[Harris HTM]

Goodmorning fellow Loungers. Next week I arranged for 3 days off and I booked a nice trip to Edinburgh for me and my gf. Ofcourse I will pay a visit to Galashiels as well, it will be my first time. So, any recommendations? Is Galashiels worth spending more than half day there, apart from Aero? Any tips for good food / whiskey / pubs in Edinburgh?

 

[wdw]

Edinburgh has no shortage of good food and bars, so if you say what type of things you're interested in, I could hopefully steer you in the right direction.

 

[rocketeer]

Goodmorning fellow Loungers. Next week I arranged for 3 days off and I booked a nice trip to Edinburgh for me and my gf. Ofcourse I will pay a visit to Galashiels as well, it will be my first time. So, any recommendations? Is Galashiels worth spending more than half day there, apart from Aero? Any tips for good food / whiskey / pubs in Edinburgh?

Not sure there are many sights in Galashiels ask the staff at Aero may be a good bet. Worth looking up points of interest. You will enjoy the trip to the Aero factory I am sure but a bus ride into Kelso would be worth 2-3 hrs. There are some nice local produce and craft shops and a visit to A Hume clothing is well worth a trip as they stock RM Williams boot, jeans etc http://www.ahume.co.uk . Plus the area is also known for fishing and country sports so maybe other things available in stores around the area.
A little further out is a museum dedicated to racing driver Jim Clark, you will have to Google that one.
Have a great trip, John.

 

[Harris HTM]

Edinburgh has no shortage of good food and bars, so if you say what type of things you're interested in, I could hopefully steer you in the right direction.

hey wdw, thanks! i am mainly interested in tasty and cheap meat dishes, good whiskey bars and quiet pubs (= no fistfights, broken bottles, etc)!

 

[Harris HTM]

Not sure there are many sights in Galashiels ask the staff at Aero may be a good bet. Worth looking up points of interest. You will enjoy the trip to the Aero factory I am sure but a bus ride into Kelso would be worth 2-3 hrs. There are some nice local produce and craft shops and a visit to A Hume clothing is well worth a trip as they stock RM Williams boot, jeans etc http://www.ahume.co.uk . Plus the area is also known for fishing and country sports so maybe other things available in stores around the area.
A little further out is a museum dedicated to racing driver Jim Clark, you will have to Google that one.
Have a great trip, John.

Thanks for the advice John. I will be using public transport so I'll check the bus ride. I will definitely ask the guys at Aero about sightseeing.

 

[Peter Mackin]

hey wdw, thanks! i am mainly interested in tasty and cheap meat dishes, good whiskey bars and quiet pubs (= no fistfights, broken bottles, etc)!

Lol its gala not jburg..

 

[Harris HTM]

Lol its gala not jburg..

Hi Peter! I'll stay in Edinburgh, this is where I'm looking for nice places! I will be in galashiels only for Aero!

 

[wdw]

hey wdw, thanks! i am mainly interested in tasty and cheap meat dishes, good whiskey bars and quiet pubs (= no fistfights, broken bottles, etc)!

Here's a random selection of meaty places, depending on what type you like:
New York Steam Packet Co - central, good steaks and burgers, cheap, BYOB
Indaba - quite central, South African, not expensive
Hanam's - Middle Eastern, near castle, good cheap kebabs, BYOB
Wildfire - central, good steaks
Queen's Arms - central, good pub food, probably good for whisky too

Best to reserve in advance, as good places are usually full at the weekend between 7 and 8:30.

As for bars, I'm not a whisky drinker, but here's a couple:
Bow Bar - real drinkers' pub, central, not dangerous
The Dome - central, much classier, but not crazy prices, nicer for women
Whiski Rooms - central, food and whisky, more of a restaurant than a pub

There's obviously a thousand other places, so just wander around and do whatever takes your fancy. Edinburgh's not known for dodgy bars (the centre at least), so pretty much everywhere will be perfectly safe.

Have a great time anyway, and make sure you give a trip report.

 

[Harris HTM]

Have a great time anyway, and make sure you give a trip report.

Thanks Wdw! I will try most of the restaurants and pubs above! I will definitely post a trip report.

 

[Sloan1874]

Can I recommend the Cafe Royal. It's just off Princes Street, not far from The Dome, so it's easy to find:
http://www.caferoyaledinburgh.co.uk/
Rose Street, which runs parallel to Princes Street, is a good place for pubs generally - The Kennilworth is recommended - it also has Fopp on it, a good record shop, though sadly it has closed the bar it used to have in it (a record shop with a bar!).
The Bow Bar, just around the corner from the Whiski Rooms, is another nice local pub - it's reasonably priced and used by locals: http://www.thebowbar.co.uk/
If you're looking for somewhere a bit off the beaten path, though worth it if you're staying in the New Town, The Cumberland is one of my absolute favourites:
http://www.cumberlandbar.co.uk/

 

[Harris HTM]

Can I recommend the Cafe Royal. It's just off Princes Street, not far from The Dome, so it's easy to find:
http://www.caferoyaledinburgh.co.uk/
Rose Street, which runs parallel to Princes Street, is a good place for pubs generally - The Kennilworth is recommended - it also has Fopp on it, a good record shop, though sadly it has closed the bar it used to have in it (a record shop with a bar!).
The Bow Bar, just around the corner from the Whiski Rooms, is another nice local pub - it's reasonably priced and used by locals: http://www.thebowbar.co.uk/
If you're looking for somewhere a bit off the beaten path, though worth it if you're staying in the New Town, The Cumberland is one of my absolute favourites:
http://www.cumberlandbar.co.uk/

Thanks SLoan,
i will stay in South bridge, very close to the train station, I guess everything is in walking distance from there more or less. Is it safe to walk after 22.00-23.00 there?

 

[wdw]

South Bridge is very central, so a fine location. No problem at all walking any where at that time. I often go to the Jazz Bar and Whistlebinkie's for live music, both near North/South Bridge and it's always very busy and calm until at least midnight.

The only place I'd be a little nervous of is some of the darker areas of the Cowgate (immediately below South Bridge) after say 1am, but incidents are few and far between, especially given the number of bars and people down there.

 

[Harris HTM]

I often go to the Jazz Bar

The hotel is actually next to the Jazz bar!

 

[Sloan1874]

Central Edinburgh is incredibly safe all year-round. It's very well-lit, lots of police in busy areas and has little in the way of 'trouble areas' - the Cow Gate area under South Bridge is very much student territory, avoid it on Thursday evenings as it's the 'cheap pints' and it gets very messy. Not violent, just irritating. Actually, below the Cowgate is a lovely bar called Holyrood 9a, (that's it's address as well).
I've never had a single moment of trouble in all my evenings out on the town. Glasgow is a different matter...

 

[wdw]

I'm guessing it's the Ibis. Smack in the middle of everything. If you like music, check out the Jazz Bar, Whistlebinkie's and Stramash listings. All within 200 (300?) yards of each other, the latter two free.

You won't go wrong around that area, and hardly any staggering distance involved.

As @Sloan says, Holyrood 9a is famed for its fancy burgers and wide choice of beers, so a handy place for you to nip out to stuff your face. Don't be put off by the Cowgate, by the way. We often go there to Stramash and have never seen any trouble, just read about it occasionally.

 

[Sloan1874]

If you walk five minutes up South Bridge, you can visit the Museum of Scotland, or, if you're so minded, cross the road and visit the scene of the Grand Theft Aero Trial - court 4's the place to go. It's a year this week since that took place...

 

[Carlos840]

If you fancy a walk, go to the top of the hill in the middle of Holyrood park, nice walk and very cool view of the sea and the city. Worth doing IMO.

 

[Harris HTM]

I'm guessing it's the Ibis

Yep, it is the Ibis, I hope it's good!4

It's a year this week since that took place...

I remember your detailed descriptions!

If you fancy a walk, go to the top of the hill in the middle of Holyrood park, nice walk and very cool view of the sea and the city. Worth doing IMO.

If the weather permits I'll do it!