Accessible Edinburgh 1 - Full PDF eBook

112 Accessible Edinburgh: A Festival Guide Drinking & Nightlife 113

Holyrood & Arthurs Seat

Being mainly devoted to tourist sights, offices and the parlia-
ment building, this area gets pretty quiet after 6pm, with only a
handful of scattered drinking dens.

Hemma

0131-629 3327; http://www.bodabar.com/hemma; 75 Holyrood Rd;
11am-midnight Mon-Thu, to 1am Fri & Sat, 10am-10pm Sun;
buses 6, 60

Set among the glass-and-steel architecture of the redeveloped
Holyrood district, Hemma (Swedish for ‘at home’) is one of a
stable of Scandinavian bars, a funky fish-tank of a place furn ished
with comfy armchairs and sofas and brightly coloured wooden
chairs. Good coffee and cakes during the day, real ale and cock-
tails in the evening. There is level access to the bar and restaurant
on the ground floor, where there is also an accessible toilet; there’s
also wheelchair-accessible alfresco dining. Helpful staff will move
furniture and open the large double doors at the entrance if re-
quired. There is no access to the mezzanine level for wheelchairs.

Kilderkin

0131-556 2101; http://www.kilderkin.co.uk; 67 Canongate, Royal Mile;
11am-midnight Mon-Fri, to 1am Sat, 12.30-8pm Sun; bus 35

A successful attempt at reinventing the local neighbourhood
pub, complete with polished mahogany, stained glass and snug
booths, the Kilderkin stages regular community-building events
such as quizzes, open-mic evenings, ukulele nights and whisky-
tasting sessions. The bar serves hand-pulled pints of cask ale,
more than 100 varieties of rum, and decent food (pizza for £1 on
Mondays!). It’s listed as wheelchair-accessible on Yelp, but we
have no first-hand testimonial.

Regent
0131-661 8198; http://www.theregentbar.co.uk; 2 Montrose Tce; noon-
1am Mon-Sat, 12.30pm-1am Sun

This is a pleasant gay local with a relaxed atmosphere (no loud
music), serving coffee and croissants as well as excellent real
ales, including Deuchars IPA and Caledonian 80/-. It’s the meet-
ing place for the Lesbian and Gay Real Ale Drinkers club (first
Monday of the month at 9pm). There is level access via a double
door from the street and also once inside; unfortunately, there is
no accessible toilet.

Sheep Heid Inn

0131-661 7974; http://www.thesheepheidedinburgh.co.uk; 43-45 The

Causeway; 11am-11pm Mon-Thu, to midnight Fri & Sat, noon-

11pm Sun; bus 42

Possibly the oldest inn in Edinburgh (with a licence dating back

to 1360) the Sheep Heid feels more like a country pub than an

Edinburgh bar. Set in the semirural shadow of Arthur’s Seat,

it’s famous for its 19th-century skittles alley and the lovely little

beer garden. It’s wheelchair-accessible, including the beer gar-

den. However, groups larger than 12 that include one or more

wheelchair users would not be able to be accommodated as

they would need to be seated upstairs, which is not accessible.

There’s also an accessible bathroom.

Studio

0131-558 3758; http://www.studio24club.co.uk; 24 Calton Rd; buses

35, 36

Studio 24 is the dark heart of Edinburgh’s underground music

scene, with a program that covers all bases, from house to nu

metal via punk, ska, reggae, crossover, tribal, electro, techno and

dance. The main room downstairs is wheelchair-accessible and

has an accessible toilet.

Leith

With its long history as a dockyard neighbourhood, it’s not sur-

prising that Leith has more than its fair share of historic pubs,

many concentrated in and around The Shore. Plenty of modern

bars have sprung up as well, catering to inhabitants of newly

developed apartment blocks and offices.

Lioness of Leith

0131-629 0580; http://www.facebook.com/Thelionessofleith;

21-25 Duke St; noon-midnight Mon-Thu, 11am-1am Fri & Sat,

12.30pm-midnight Sun; buses 21, 25, 34, 35, 49

Duke St was always one of the rougher corners of Leith, but the

emergence of pubs like the Lioness is a sure sign of creeping

gentrification. Distressed timber and battered leather benches

are surrounded by vintage objets trouvés, from chandeliers and

glitterballs to mounted animal heads, a pinball machine and a

pop-art print of Allen Ginsberg. Good beers and cocktails. It’s

wheelchair-accessible, but the entrance to the toilet is very nar-

row and may not be accessible for all wheelchair users.