Day 2: I needed something to clear the fug of a late night sleeping on a hotel floor, so when Mark, Matt & Andy said they were going for a run around Arthur's Seat I was interested.   However, Mark & Matt are accomplished runners who enter proper races & Andy is just generally fit.   I was worried about slowing the party down until I heard that Matt had had a "full Scottish breakfast" (identical in every way to a full English breakfast) & I was encouraged to run by Andy so he didn't come last.

Arthur's Seat is more than just the suicide spot you can see from the city side of the hill, its 4 miles around.   After just over a mile I had to let Mark & Matt go ahead whilst I slowed to a jog-walk-jog pace.   Andy stayed behind with me.   Once over the 2 mile stage it was walk-jog-walk pace & finally the last mile was only jogging when young ladies were jogging towards us so we didn't look like complete wimps.

A quick shower & change of clothes & we were on to the beer;

The Regent was a short walk under the railway line & up a steep hill - my legs are starting to "feel the burn" after this morning's run.   Into a very nice, welcoming, open plan, wooden interior pub.   There is a stuffed puffer fish above the bar.   I had a very nice cheese & pickle sandwich for breakfast with my St Austel Tribute.   St Austel beers - I find - are ordinary apart from the Tribute which is really rather good.   A very pale ale with a citrussy, delicate hop flavour.   Whilst some drank fruit juice due to the heavy session yesterday, plenty of others didn't.   The ubiquitous Caledonian Deuchars IPAⁱ was had too (see Day 1 for taste notes).   The pub had loads of board games on a high shelf, but we weren't around long enough to play any of them.   In the evening this is apparently a pub for spotting bears* in, but at 11.45 in the morning there was no sign of wildlife or Wilde life.

*I'm struggling to find a description that distinguishes between the Ursa arctos kind of bear & the big gay man type.   I think I just did.

Moving towards the city centre, Barony Bar is on a busy street & a pub with an olde worlde wooden & large mirrors theme.   Batemans Eggs-B was a dark brown beer brewed for Easter.   As you would expect (no puns here), a malty, chewy beer.   Wickwar Rite Flanker was another beer not even remotely Scottish, but a pleasant amber bitter.

Still near the city centre, the Cask & Barrel is a large pub on a busy corner with yet another wooden interior (dark wood this time for variation).   The ever refreshing Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted (see Day 1 for tasting).   Matt gave Orkney Dragonhead Stout a try - a proper roasty, rounded, full stout.

The Cumberland Bar is on a much quieter street than any of the pubs visited so far today.   All wooden floorboards, bar & walls, but with a more natural feel to it.   Eight real ales on the bar - most from Scottish brewers - so we were happy.   We ate here too.   They do simple food, but done well - Matt wasn't too keen on the sausage & mash though.   Edinburgh Brewing Edinburgh Pale Aleⁱ is not like the New World style Scottish pale ales, but more of an English Pale Ale in style: A pale coloured bitter beer.   Fyne Ales are one of those breweries that cannot put a foot wrong & I love all of them, particularly Avalanche.   So when I saw their Vital Spark, I had to try it.   A ruby red style beer much maltier & full bodied than anything I've tried from this brewery before, but still with a light fresh hoppiness.   Almost as universal in Edinburgh as Deuchars IPA is Caledonian 80/- (see Day 1 for descriptors).   Another Caledonian beer but this time a never seen before Rasberry Fool: in an ale style - rather than a Belgian Lambic or Berlinerweisse - this beer is not too sweet (& not at all girly) at all but still tastes very much of rasberries.   Not the best beer on the bar, but the most intersting.

The only notes for Clarks Bar I can find is that we had 70/- here.   Who it was brewed by & what we thought of both it & the pub are lost in inebriaty.   Unfortunately there are no pictures of the pub from reliable sources to jog my memory.

Kay's Bar is a busy pub on a quiet residential street & found via a GPS phone with the day's pubs programmed into it.   Another all-wood pub.   Several ales on the bar, but more of a national selection that you would find in England like Theakstons.   Still I can't knock it.   Amongst others were Arran Arran Ale, a more traditional ale but smooth & gently bitter.   Stewart Brewing Pentlang IPA was another beer mascerading as an IPA. but in reality just a good, hoppy pale ale.

The Oxford Bar is on another quiet residential street, with a tiny bar but a much larger back room.   Seemingly very local, but friendly enough.   Stewart Brewing No.3 was a more malty beer than the pale ales we've had but still a good one.

The Kenilworth is back in amongst the bustle of the city goers & businesses.   A very busy pub made to look even more so by the lack of barstaff to be found serving.   Clearly this is a pub for the circuit drinkers, but still we had some Haviestoun Bitter & Twisted, so not so terrible.   Bitter & Twisted is a very light, drinkable beer with a lovely floral hoppy nose & flavour.

Milnes is another busy pub right in the centre of a busy pedestrian street.   Caledonian Deuchars IPA & 80/- (see Day 1 for tasting) make for a fairly tame beer selection in Edinburgh, but we would welcome them in most towns.

As 13 of us maneouvered through the rotating doors, we discovered that it was a restuarant, not a pub.   We filled up the space at the ends of tables as 1 by 1 we about-faced & went out to the next door along on the street to The Cafe Royal.   Same place, but with a partition between the two.   A busy city centre pub with a mixed crowd & a modern feel.   Kelburn Brewing Misty Law was a good throwback to the day before when we found so many American inspired Pale Ales.   A good dry & hoppy pale beer.   Also by Kelburn, Dark Moor - a dark, malty beer with a sweetish full flavour & Ca'Canny - another dark beer with more body & coffee-chocolate flavour.

The Guildford Arms is a large open plan, traditional style pub right near the main railway station & underground shopping centre.   which had a West Country beer festival on (I think the whole street might have been in on it).   Luckily the West Country is as far away from most of us as Edinburgh is, so we still got to drink some novel beers.   Summerskills Best was a good ordinary bitter.   This was late at night after drinking since before noon, so to not remember any more is - I feel - forgivable.   We came back the next day for food, but got a sandwich from Boots round the corner as it was a little pricey.

The Tass is the only pub we drank in twice over the two days on the ale - see Day 1 for my thoughts although, again, this was all after a whole day's drinking so the memory is a little hazy.

On the Sunday we did our usual post pub tourism ritual: Long lie in, mooch around for a few hours, have lunch (some gluttons for punishment have a pint or two) then depart for home in the afternoon.   No runs round the park this morning.

Al is still deciding on the venue for next years pub crawl - but as ever, it will need plenty of real ale pubs within walking distance of each other in a town where we can get new beers to try.