The B&B braveheart

I DISCOVERED two of Scotland’s national treasures on a recent mini-day break to Edinburgh. Both sparkled in company.

Both had a wealth of tales to tell. And both were much visited.

The first was Scotland’s Crown Jewels – housed in the castle which dominates this city of outsized buildings – which were locked away and forgotten about after the Treaty of Union in 1717. After pressure from Sir Walter Scott, they were rediscovered and the jewelencrusted crown, elaborate sword and sceptre are now on permanent display at the castle.

The second treasure was called Wallace – Wallace Shaw, to be exact, a former globe-trotting knitwear designer, now host of a very individual B&B. Wallace is an enthusiast, collector of artworks and artists, and raconteur par excellence. He also makes a very good cup of tea.

His quirky B&B takes up a small portion of the vast former Leith Assembly Rooms building, a 19th Century giant which was once the hub of the community and is now home to offices and flats.

After a ten-minute ride from the city’s shopping area, we tumbled out of our taxi at the building near Leith waterfront, rang a buzzer to gain entry to a cavernous tiled hallway which housed a couple of bicycles, and hauled our suitcases up four flights of stairs, a climb that’s not for the faint-hearted. At the top waiting to greet us was Wallace, and within minutes we found ourselves sitting on a stylish orange felt sofa in the guests’ sitting room sipping Prosecco and listening to his many anecdotes.

A Glaswegian and graduate of the city’s Charles Rennie Macintosh School of Art, Wallace was once design director of knitwear label Pringle of Scotland, before moving to New York, working in Asia, being head-hunted by top designer Donna Karan and then ending up in Italy, where he started a bed and breakfast and creative centre in a very small corner of the Bishop of Spoletto’s palace. “I also ran some arts-related courses and decided to do the same here in Leith,” says Wallace.

“Through my past experiences of working and travelling worldwide, I have learned what I like and dislike. I like some sense of individuality, as opposed to the impersonality of many tedious hostelries, and I want my guests to feel welcome and wanted.”

The “threepenny tour” of Wallace’s Arthouse starts in the large hallway, which is full of artworks and family photographs, moves on the kitchen, the guests’ sitting room, and the two ensuite guest rooms, before ending up in Wallace’s end of the house. It’s a bright minimalist space, a world of white walls, smooth floors and acoustic jazz.

For supper we took a short taxi drive back into the city, heading for The Stockbridge Restaurant at 54 St Stephen Street. After being deposited in a downpour outside number 55, we were surprised that the next door number was 51, and that number 54 didn’t appear to exist. As my husband took the “I’ll look it up on my iPhone” option, I wandered off on my preferred course of action to “ask a local” and won hands-down as she immediately solved the strange street numbering conundrum and directed us to a basement level restaurant across the road.

Beautifully lit, elegant and comfortable, The Stockbridge is run by head chef Jason Gallagher and his partner and proprietor Jane Walker. The family-run eatery has been serving up their informal take on fine dining for the past nine years and it’s obviously a huge success judging by the number of regulars the attentive staff were welcoming on the night we visited. The menu is mouth-watering, the ingredients all carefully and locally sourced, the suppliers name-checked – Mrs Jack, the egg egg lady from Fife; Danny of Neptune’s Larder at Port Seton; Carroll’s heritage potatoes from Tiptoe Farm in England (which, incidentally, won most beautiful farm in Britain in 2006).

Home-made bread with delicious chervil and chive dip was greedily consumed, before excellent starters of rabbit wrapped in prosciutto, and langoustine bisque with scallop and crab tortellini. Fish for the mains – hake and haddock – was succulent and perfectly cooked, and the dessert, a trio of passion fruit dishes, was scrumptious. The only puzzle was the asparagus ice cream served with the haddock and risotto. While it tasted good on its own, unusual and quite sweet, it was an odd accompaniment to a hot main.

That said, The Stockbridge is well worth a visit, as is the buzzy Stockbridge area in which it sits. Next door to the restaurant was a cocktail bar, at the end of the street The Bailie, a busy pub with live music. The area was recently voted third coolest place to live in the UK by The Times and it’s awash with quirky boutiques and cosy coffee shops.

Back at Wallace’s we slept well, despite the odd desperate screech in the night from insomniac Scottish seagulls. Next morning, a convivial breakfast was shared with two Italian guests in Wallace’s kitchen before we said our farewells to the Arthouse and ventured outside to take a look at what Leith – Edinburgh’s earthy side, with docks and noisy street life – had to offer.

Leith was Scotland’s first port for several centuries, and though it sank under a wave of general neglect, the tide is definitely on the turn. The grand classical buildings, the fine Georgian terraces and the Victorian warehouses have been restored and enterprising restaurants and bars have brought back bright lights to The Shore. There are now three Michelin star places, several Scottish seafood bistros, a wide choice of other international cuisines and Chop Chop, a finalist in Gordon Ramsay’s Best Restaurant of the Year competition.

If you prefer to stay more centrally, the Nira Caledonia is a luxurious option only five minutes’ walk away from the main shopping area – George Street and Princes Street – and ten minutes from the castle. It sits on one of the broad, peaceful streets of New Town, the gentile quarter of Edinburgh with four-storey Georgian homes and garden squares, and comprises numbers 6 and 10 Gloucester Place, in a Grade A-listed terrace.

The hotel notes claim the aim was to create a “hedonistic haven” and they’ve succeeded magnificently. It has a cool vibe, with plush fabrics, rich textures and elegant trompe l’oeil wallpapers. Service is polite and efficient without being overbearing. We were shown to the Moray suite in the basement, which was elegantly decorated in browns, silvers, and dark woods, with slightly decadent overtones. Modern facilities are all available and the bathroom featured a whirlpool bath and a shower stem with enough control knobs for the star ship Enterprise.

The building has an illustrious history. In the early 19th century it was known Blackwoods and owned by John Wilson, a major contributor to Blackwood’s magazine. Writing under the pseudonym Christopher North – no relation to our own John North – he wrote satirical articles and critical reviews.

Supper in the atmospheric dining room also majored on local and regional cuisine: “our diners are often well travelled... our dishes are more stay-at-home,” says the hotel blurb. Meat is from animals that have grazed on Scottish pastures, other suppliers are small independent companies, the cheese and ales are Scottish and there are more than 30 Scotch singles malts and blends to choose from.

The hotel uses a Josper chargrill oven to cook its meat and salmon steaks, and explains that this cooks at a higher temperature to retain moisture and flavour. It was melt-in-your mouth stuff, our steaks charred on the outside, super succulent inside. Preceded by Isle of Mull scallops, black pudding and pea puree and crispy West Coast prawns with wasabi mayo, and followed by a shared sweet, the meal was delicious, just what was needed after a long morning of retail excess in George Street and a stiff, calorie-crunching climb up to the castle which dominates this intriguing city of outsized buildings.

Factfile

• The Stockbridge Restaurant, 54 St Stephen Street, Edinburgh EH3 5AL. W: thestockbridgerestaurant.co.uk
• Wallace’s Arthouse creative centre and B&B, 41/44 Constitution Street, Edinburgh EH6 7BG. T: 07941-343-714; W: wallacesarthousescotland.com
• Nira Caledonia, 10 Gloucester Place, Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH3 6EF. T: 0131-225- 2720; W: niracaledonia.com. Rates start from £109 per room per night including breakfast. Visit niracaledonia.com or call 0131-225-2720.
• Members of English Heritage receive half price admission to Edinburgh Castle and other Scottish Heritage venues in the first year after joining, and free admission thereafter.
• East Coast trains link York, Northallerton, Darlington and Durham directly with Edinburgh Waverley station in the heart of Scotland’s capital. Standard advance returns, booked online at eastcoast.co.uk, start from £18. Times and fares also on 08457-225225 or from staffed stations and agents.