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GARETH DEIGHAN takes the high road to Edinburgh and finds it is a city full of charm.
EDINBURGH has always been a popular place for weekend breaks. And this particular weekend break proved why.
Electing to drive because of the train fare, the wife and I chose to take the car for the 120-mile journey.
Not far, you think. And in terms of mileage, you’d be right. But in terms of time, it is very, very far away.
I should have known to be honest with you. As a youngster, mainly because my mother is a Scot, we would often travel north of the border for weekends and weeks away with family members; and it always took ages to get there. Admittedly we were travelling to Wick.
I had suspected, though, that the roads leading to the Scottish capital would have got faster. I was wrong.
It’s a lovely route up with lots of see but, be warned, when you are travelling from the North East it takes a long, long time. Especially as we were trying to get up there for a footie kick-off at 12.45pm.
We arrived at the hotel with little fuss. Our directions, courtesy of route finder, worked rather well.
Ten Hill Place has car parking but not much, and we were directed to a local NCP car park which, incidentally, was cheaper than leaving the car at the hotel.
The hotel is fairly small, with no restaurant; but there is a bar and the rooms are spacious and well appointed. It is also around five minutes’ walk from the Royal Mile, which puts it in perfect position for the tourist.
After the longer than expected car journey we were late and went straight out to watch the match in a bar.
The receptionist in the hotel was very helpful and seemed to know exactly where we could find the kind of place we were looking for.
Following the game (a disappointing draw) we took the chance to explore a bit of Edinburgh and hopped on a tour bus. Yes, it was red and people pointed and laughed as we were upstairs in its open-top part in November, but it was interesting.
And, being of an ever-so-slightly lazy disposition, the bus helped us see more of the city than we would have done on foot.
That evening the hotel staff again proved helpful as another polite and knowledgeable receptionist booked us a taxi and wished us a lovely time for our night ahead.
We weren’t disappointed. After finding a lovely restaurant on George Street in the city, we went to the Opal Lounge (an alleged haunt of Prince William) and found many Prince William types: boys with floppy hair in shirts and jumpers, girls in super short skirts who loved to dance.
It made for an interesting night.
Back to the hotel and the comfortable room with the large bed made for a welcome sight and a very good night’s sleep.
The breakfast in the morning was a choice of full Scottish (like a full English except in Scotland) and continental. Or both.
We went for cooked and thoroughly enjoyed it. We wandered into Edinburgh city again to have one more look round.
All-in-all, Ten Hill Place offers good, reasonably priced accommodation.
source:http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/lifestyle/travel-and-tourism/2008/01/26/ten-hill-place-hotel-edinburgh-72703-20396091/