Ensign Ewart – Getting close now
This is your two week warning.
Festival season is nearly upon us. You may have already noticed the centre of town slowly getting busier and busier in the past month or so. But in August, it’ll go to another level.
That means popular places such as the Castle’s surrounds will become even more difficult to navigate than usual. So take this as your two-week warning before trying to get the The Ensign Ewart becomes almost impossible. The self-styled “highest pub in the city” – and the closest to the Castle – it surprised me when I visited a while ago.
It’s kept its centuries-old look faithfully without resorting to kitsch, and it also keeps its ale well, alongside an extensive whisky collection.
Plus, the man for whom it’s named after is well worth knowing about. Learn more in my original review from the start of the year.
Ensign Ewart - Finally facing my Waterloo
The Ensign Ewart is a pub I must have walked past a hundred times without paying it a second glance. A pub on the Royal Mile, right next to the castle? Why would I bother with such a tourist trap?
The chaser – A Camra special
I’m late to the most recent Pints of View – the local Camra (Campaign for Real Ale) branch’s newsletter which you can pick up for free in some pubs.
There are some good news tidbits in there, such as the expectation that the Old Town will get a new Wetherspoon’s and the fact that the Cramond Inn has reopened under new management.
But I would really recommend Colin Valentine’s feature in there about tall founts (also called tall fonts). This traditional air-based dispensing method is increasingly rare, and really only seen in parts of Scotland and northern England. But thanks to enthusiast Brian Menagh, who also happens to be an engineer, Edinburgh has had its first new tall fount installed in 40 years. Of course, it’s at one of the best pubs in the city.
Mick Slaughter continues his “Heritage Pubs of the Future” series on newer pubs done in a classic style. In this edition, he covers another of my top pubs in Edinburgh which is somehow still a bit of a hidden gem among many locals.
21st Century Tall Founts by Colin Valentine, p13
Heritage Pubs of the Future in Edinburgh Part 4 by Mick Slaughter, p18