Hogmanay Edinburgh

Christmas Tea at Edinburgh Castle: A Festive Treat or Just Regular Afternoon Tea?

wareontheglobe Leave a comment

When we visited Edinburgh for Hogmanay, I could not resist booking a “Christmas Tea” at Edinburgh Castle. It sounded magical. We reserved and paid for the tea in advance, excited for a festive afternoon surrounded by holiday cheer. The experience turned out to be fun and fine—though not quite as Christmasy as I’d hoped or imagined. It ended up being more of a regular tea, just taking place during the Christmas season. In this post, I’ll share all the details of our Edinburgh Castle Christmas Tea and what to expect if you’re planning to go yourself! And side note, I am pretty sure the Edinburgh Castle Tea is very similar to the Christmas Tea year round, so read this before booking any Edinburgh Castle Tea experience.

In front of Edinburgh Castle. You cannot get past the entrance gate without a ticket.

Continue reading →

New Years Dinner at Cannonball Restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland!

wareontheglobe 1 Comment

As you may know, Dan and I spent last New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh, Scotland for Hogmanay – Scotland’s New Year holiday. Despite Hogmanay being a huge overnight street party with food, drinks, and vendors, we opted to book a formal sit down New Year’s Eve dinner in Edinburgh for actual New Year’s Eve dinner, as we were concerned about the cold and the weather. Turns out, booking that dinner was a GREAT idea, as Hogmanay was largely cancelled two days before the holiday due to high winds (note – we booked over a month in advance of the cancellation). This posts details our New Year’s Eve tasting menu at Cannonball Restaurant in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dan & I on Hogmanay in Edinburgh. This was at a pub before dinner.

Located in Edinburgh’s Old Town, literally steps down from Edinburgh Castle’s main entrance, Cannonball Restaurant is set inside a 17th century building called the Cannonball House. It’s quite easy to locate.  According to the restaurant, it is the former townhome of the First Duke Gordon and is also home to Scotland’s oldest door knocker. For most tourists purposes, however, it boasts a cosy cocktail and whiskey bar and a formal restaurant serving local fare.

Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: Dinner at Dishoom, Edinbough

wareontheglobe Leave a comment

I absolutely love, nay, LOVE, Indian food. Dan doesn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I do but luckily for me, someone recommended Dishoom to Dan before our trip to Scotland (and London), so I had an excuse to reserve a table. In sum, and while Dishoom has been written about many, many, many times, our meal was fantastic and it is absolutely worth the hype.

Dishoom – the UK’s most famous Indian restaurant

Dishoom is a chain of 13 (currently) Indian restaurants in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2010, Dishoom is often described as “Indian street food” and was designed to feel like “an Irani cafe popular in Mumbai in the 1960s”. The founders left the business in 2017, but Dishoom is still incredibly popular and totally delicious. And, rumor has it that Dishoom is opening a location in New York in 2026…

Edinburgh’s Dishoom.

Continue reading →

Spending A Long Weekend in Edinburgh During Hogmanay!

wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Dan, me and our friends flew to Edinburgh just after Christmas this year for Hogmanay. And what is Hogmanay you may ask and why did we spend it in cold, rainy Edinburgh? Hogmanay is the Scottish word for the last day of the year and its, practically speaking for tourists, a New Years Eve celebration, albeit with a lot of Scottish flair. I had wanted to do this for years, so we finally booked flights for the 2024 – 2025 new year.

Flying into Edinburgh in the early morning.

DAY 1: AN EARLY WALK AROUND EDINBURGH, A PUB DINNER & DELICIOUS COCKTAILS

We flew out from Newark on a Friday evening and after a 5.5 hour, rough winter flight, we arrived in Edinburgh in the wee hours of the morning. We taxied directly to our hotel which, unfortunately, could not get us into our rooms until right at 3:00 PM (the official checkin time). Due to Edinburgh’s popularity during this time of the year, checking in to a hotel early is probably not really feasible.

Victoria Street, Edinburgh.

Victoria Street. The pink building sells ridiculous pork sandwiches that sell out frequently and the brown (actually purple) building is a “wand” store, a la Harry Potter, and there would later be a line down the street.

Continue reading →

How to Celebrate Hogmanay in Edinburgh!

wareontheglobe Leave a comment

I spent New Year’s Eve 2024/2025 in Edinburgh, Scotland for its grand, internationally renowned Hogmanay festival! Hogmanay in Edinburgh had long been on my “bucket list” and I was super pumped for all of the Hogmanay events. Unfortunately for me, most  Hogmanay events were cancelled in 2024/2025 at the last minute due to “extreme” winds… which did not really pan out. Regardless, I still had a wonderful time in Edinburgh celebrating Hogmanay.  And, I did A LOT of advance research on Hogmanay events available for the foreign public to attend. This post compiles my research for those attending Hogmanay next year. And full disclosure, I am no expert nor am I Scottish – I am simply sharing my research.

A Happy Hogmanay Cocktail from Edinburgh! This is at Cannonball Restaurant near the Castle.

HOGMANAY IN SCOTLAND!

Hogmanay is the Scottish word for New Year’s Eve, and Hogmanay is a BIG holiday in Scotland. Having been celebrated since at least the early 1600s, Hogmanay is now synonymous with festive merrymaking on December 31st in Scotland (not just Edinburgh). Scottish celebrate the arrival of the new year with family, parties, music and good fun. Trust me when I say this is more than a big New Years Eve celebration or party, Hogmanay is a legitimate holiday, similar to Christmas in my opinion, and its incredibly important to the Scottish people. We learned from our local tour guides that one important Hogmanay custom is “First Footing”, where family and friends celebrate the New Year at midnight and the following day by visiting each other’s homes with gifts of Scottish whisky and coal.

Edinburgh dressed festively for Hogmanay.

Hogmanay is celebrated across Scotland, but the largest celebration, and the most accessible to non-Scottish visitors, is in Edinburgh, Scotland’s gorgeous capital. Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebration generally lasts four days, with the biggest celebration being a grand street party on December 31st.  Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is welcoming and accessible to foreigners, but it requires advance planning, and most events require a ticket.

Continue reading →