South Queensferry

Friday, midday

Check into Orocco Pier (doubles from £119, www.oroccopier.co.uk). Book a room with views of the trio of bridges.

1pm

Enjoy lunch at Manna House. Vegetarian curries and heaped salad bowls tempt.

2pm

Pop next door to the Little Parlour. Already serving the best ice cream in town (Stewart Tower), the new owners offer edible cookie dough and Cookie Pop Shop biscuits – their bridge-themed ones make ideal souvenirs.

2:30pm

Find out that the Battle of Britain’s first dogfight was fought here at the free Queensferry Museum.

3:30pm

Stroll along the cobbled, deeply historic high street exploring its wee shops and the Black House, the Royal burgh’s oldest dwelling.

6pm

Enjoy a sundowner in Antico with floor to ceiling Forth views, dreaming of the Viking longships and German battleships that once cruised by.

7:30pm

It’s Samphire for Scottish seafood and steaks, with yet more epic estuary views. The now UNESCO World Heritage-listed Forth Bridge looks especially fine floodlit.

Saturday, 9am

Wake up with the long waterfront stroll to Hopetoun House, a star of the ITV series Belgravia.

10am

A guided tour of Hopetoun reveals its silver screen credentials and the sweeping swathe of history that ripples through its Adams family (the Scottish one) refashioned architectural drama.

1:30pm

Savour a regal lunch in the grand setting of the old stables at Hopetoun.

3pm

Wander around the grounds looking out for deer and buzzards before catching a taxi back to town.

7pm

Award-winning Queen’s Spice may well be the best Indian restaurant in the Lothians outside Edinburgh. The lamb Rogan Josh is the stuff of local legend.

Sunday, 9am

Chill on the wee beach below Orocco Pier waving goodbye to the Vikings as you scoff that Cookie Pop Shop biscuit you were meant to take home. ■

Robin Mckelvie