STAYING THERE:

DON’T MISS

Take time out from the usual tourist trail to explore the elegant New Town, with its beautiful townhouses, broad avenues and elegant boutiques. Heading further north, you’ll arrive at the buzzy, bohemian quarter of Stockbridge, which is full of posh delis, boutiques and thrift stories – very chi-chi and definitely the place to pick up a less run-of-the-mill memento of your trip.

FOOD AND DRINK

With four Michelin-starred restaurants, Edinburgh really is foodie heaven, and so many of its restaurants are independently owned. One of my favourites is a mid-range Italian, Contini, on George Street, housed inside a former bank – a luxurious Georgian, columned hall (contini.com), owned by an Italian family that has been here for generations. For bars, you’re also spoilt for choice. I recently took my daughter back to my old student haunt– an 18th-century pub called The Pear Tree (peartreeedinburgh.co.uk), with a lovely beer garden – handy for the times we live in! I remember many a rowdy night in there, and I can say, it’s lost none of its charm…

It’s a shame there’s no Edinburgh Festival this year, due to Covid-19 – normally, you can’t walk down the street for performers and buskers come August – it is fabulous. But a weekend in Edinburgh can be expensive – so that might mean not only will there be hotels with rooms this summer, there may even be a few bargains on offer! When I’m in town, I stay at the four-star Hotel du Vin (hotelduvin.com/ locations/edinburgh) near the university. It’s not cheap, but if you don’t want to break the bank, book in advance and you’ll find accommodation to suit pretty much every budget.