This Scottish City and Its Castle Are Fit for King

Looking up over the brilliant blooms of Princess Street Gardens toward the brooding gray battlements of Edinburgh Castle, a visitor finds it difficult to imagine the tumultuous beginnings of this now-tranquil city and its friendly people.

Fierce and bloody battles, tenuous truces, devastating raids, rebellions, plots and counterplots, hangings and beheadings, internecine forays between clansmen--it seems the early reign of intrigue, death and destruction was endless.

The castle’s cast of characters was no less dramatic: Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, Henry VIII, Oliver Cromwell, Bonnie Prince Charlie and four Stuart Kings of the 15th Century, none of whom died in bed. Indeed, Scot-born John Paul Jones sailed into the Firth of Forth just to lob a few cannon balls at the castle during the American Revolution.

Yet Edinburgh Castle has always been the stalwart symbol of Scotland, particularly during the interminable wars with England. Another symbol, the Scottish lion, was once kept there in pairs and, according to our jovial castle guide, fed a daily ration of two Englishmen.

Once one of Britain’s most elegant shopping thoroughfares, Princes Street is only now beginning to emerge from a decade or so when its smart stores gave way to fast-food emporiums and tacky souvenir stalls. Today it is once again becoming worthy of this lovely old city of formal Georgian houses, innumerable heroic monuments and convivial citizens no more dour than their lively forebears.

Here to there: British Caledonian and British Airways will get you there with a change in London, several U.S. carriers and Air New Zealand to London for a change to either of the first two or British Midland. Take an airport bus to the center of town for $2.50 or a cab for about $10.

How long/how much? Give it at least two days, another for a short trip across the firth for a taste of the Highlands. Lodging costs are high moderate to expensive, dining costs moderate and less.

A few fast facts: The British pound was recently valued at $1.48, a dollar buying you about 67 pence. Late spring until mid-fall are best times for a visit. Raw winters are hardly the weather for kilts.

Getting settled in: Old Waverly Hotel (43 Princes St.; $92 double, full Scottish breakfast) was built in 1748 just opposite the castle, gardens and monument to Sir Walter Scott. Waverly Station and air terminal are nearby. Recently renovated but still rather formal, the dining room with its lavender draperies seemed rather flouncy to us. Still, it’s improved measurably since a previous visit, and the location is difficult to beat.

Mount Royal (53 Princes St.; $80 B&B;) is modern, top to bottom: large rooms with views of castle, a coffee-tea-bar lounge combined with dining room into an absolutely huge room that didn’t exactly overwhelm us with its ambiance. But, thanks to our shaky dollar, Mount Royal is a good value in today’s Edinburgh.

Clarendon (12 Grosvenor St.; $83 double with full breakfast) was the trip’s find for us, two houses combined within a Georgian block, large rooms and baths, a staff that goes well beyond the usual Scot friendliness. A quiet place in a neighborhood that’s pure Edinburgh, good dining, each room with TV and video system, tea/coffee-making facilities for slow-to-get-moving types.

Regional food and drink: Let’s throw a bit of light on the haggis mystery, first by saying it’s all the less-choice parts of a sheep made into a choice dish that we look forward to on our trips here. Ground, stuffed and cooked in a sheep’s stomach, it is often served ceremoniously with pipes, drums and a few lines of praise from Robert Burns’ “Address to the Haggis.” The paunch is then lanced with a dirk a clansman carries in his stocking. All very impressive, but we’ll take our haggis in a patty beside breakfast eggs.

Aberdeen Angus beef has few equals on this planet, and lamb is prepared well here in a number of ways. The flavor and delicacy of Scotland’s salmon needs no fanfare, but the country’s bakers deserve accolades for the variety of breads, scones and shortbreads they turn out.

Scotch whisky may be suffering a decline elsewhere in the world, but here it still goes down in one gulp with a hearty slange gevar toast at every bar and pub, of which Edinburgh has more than its fair share.

Moderate-cost dining: Rose Street between Princes and George is awash in good pubs and small restaurants, our favorite of many years the Abbotsford at the east end. Dine here on the likes of shepherd’s pie, fillet of haddock, haggis and turnips or a fine mixed grill, the last being most expensive at less than $6, the same for a grilled sirloin. The wooden race-track bar at room center is a work of art, a favorite gathering place for business types at lunchtime.

Down the street at No. 55, you’ll find like fare at the Rose Street Brewery, its name coming from an upstairs room where they run off and cask Auld Reekie Ale to liven your meal. The George Hotel on George Street has a fine buffet of soups, salads and sandwiches at very friendly prices, one of our usual stops.

Going first-class: The George above ($130-$147 double) has just turned its first century as a hotel, a most regal 18th-Century house albeit on a small scale. Charm and luxury throughout, its Le Chambertin restaurant setting the city’s best French table. The buffet holds forth in a room that reels the senses with Georgian splendor.

Restaurant Howtowdie (25a Stafford St.) is named for a traditional chicken dish of Scotland, a basement place to head for when you want the best of the country’s typical food. Plan on $14 per person at lunch, $30 for dinner, neither including wine.

On your own: Start with the castle, a crash course in Scot history and one of the best places for an overview of the city and firth, perhaps taking in one of the numerous parades as tartaned pipers come skirling down Princes Street below. Then walk the Royal Mile from the castle down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the residence of Queen Elizabeth II when she’s in town.

Along the way, stop in St. Giles’ Cathedral and its Thistle Chapel where 16 Knights of the Thistle, honored for their service to Scotland, hold meetings. Also a must along the Royal Mile’s High Street is Gladstones Land at No. 479, a 1617 merchant’s home now a museum, with rooms and furnishings of the period.

An entertainment highlight for many visitors is a night of Scottish dining, music, dances, pipers, drums and the Scotsman’s celebrated humor. We were delighted with Jamie’s Scottish Evening at the King James Thistle Hotel (St. James Centre; $96-$140 double), a smashing and fairly recent addition to the Edinburgh hotel scene. Prepare for a lively and colorful evening of everything from haggis to Robert Burns to Sir Harry Lauder, much laughter and good spirits throughout the show.

For additional information: Call the British Tourist Authority at (213) 623-8196, or write (612 S. Flower St., Los Angeles 90017) for a brochure on Edinburgh with sights and accommodations, another on all of Scotland, plus the booklet “Britain for All Seasons.” Ask for the Edinburgh package.