Badjao B&B

Badjao B&B Founded in 2000, Badjao Bed & Breakfast is a friendly, family run business open all year round.

Located 15 minutes by bus, or 10 minutes by car, from Edinburgh City Centre, Badjao Bed & Breakfast boasts a large family room, a double room and a single room all with access to two shared bathrooms. For more information - check out our website out:

www.badjao.co.uk

Whether you're visiting Edinburgh for your holidays, business or just passing through, there's always something going on, from vi

siting the historic Edinburgh Castle and taking in a ghost tour to skiing and hiking in the Pentland hills, Edinburgh has it all! If you prefer to kick back and relax, Badjao has numerous small bars and restaurants within walking distance where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Within our walls we have free WiFi for guests and a choice of cold or cooked breakfasts available on request. In addition to this, we also have free on street parking next to Badjao should you be travelling by car. Alternatively, we are located on a direct bus route from Edinburgh Airport and also from the city centre itself, full details of which can be found in our 'Public Transport' section below.

28/05/2026

THE Court, in the Caledonian Hotel is the latest incarnation of the waiting room and ticket office of Princes Street railway station, which closed in 1965 and demolished in 1970.

The Court restaurant is in the area previously known as Peacock Alley. When we ate there the service was good, the food was delicious and the prices reasonable for a 5 star restaurant. The drinks menu is not spectacular though there was one dark beer on the list that was as strong as the better Belgian beers.

The original station clock, set 5 minutes fast to ensure travellers did not miss their train, used to be in Peacock Alley but was not seen on a recent visit.

The original hotel, which was called the Caledonian Station Hotel was built on top of the stoneV-Shaped station building that replaced the wooden station building destroyed by fire in 1890. The name was later shortened to The Caledonian Hotel.

After several changes of owner the hotel was renamed the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - Caledonian Hotel in 2011

In 2024 after even more changes of ownership, the hotel being transferred to various owners as in a game of pass the parcel. the hotel was renamed again as The Caledonian Edinburgh, Curio Collection by Hilton. Hilton still manage the hotel but it is, as of 2024, owned by private investors.

Locals still refer to it as the Caledonian or the Caley.

19/05/2026

St Giles Cathedral sits on the Royal Mile a few yards away from George IV Bridge. This imposing gothic building was founded in the 12th Century by King David on what was then the Eastern Edge of Edinburgh. The original Romanesque building has almost entirely vanished having been replaced by a gothic building some 300 years later.

Next to the Cathedral is the Luck of Midlothian, a heart formed in the cobblestones of the Royal Mile. The Luck is said to mark where the Edinburgh Tolbooth used to stand. The local custom of spitting in the heart for good luck seems to have died out.

Strictly speaking Scotland has no cathedrals as it is not a catholic country but the name persists.

The building has been home to businesses and courts for a large part of its history. The interior partitions marking of the religious, legal and commercial parts of the building have long since vanished.

In 1737 a woman called Jenny Geddes allegedly throw a stool at the minister delivering the service as here objection to a new prayer book imposed by the king. She may never have existed but there is a plaque to her.

In 2022 the body of Queen Elizabeth II lay in state here, the coffin guarded by the Royal Company of Archers. The queues to view the coffin stretched for over a mile, down to the Meadows and the wait was over 5 hours.

Entry to the cathedral is free during its opening hours.

A picture at end of day taken from the foot of the mound. looking East. Now it is nearly summer Princes St Gardens ar...
10/05/2026

A picture at end of day taken from the foot of the mound. looking East. Now it is nearly summer Princes St Gardens are worth vsiting. Bahind you is the art gallery and the National Academot of Scotlland. Look up and you can see the sphinxes on the roof, guarding the place.

At the top of the mound is the Museum On The Mound which is about the city's relationship with currency, and a little further on the New Steps, where workers used to carry paper down to The Scotsman's printing presses. From there you can find and walk up the Scotsman Steps, which are no longer malodurous, and emerge on George IV Bridge.

If by this time you need a coffee adna rest there are plenty of places here, including The National Library of Scotland. or further up, The National Museum of Scotland.

02/05/2026

Edinburgh was once renowned for its breweries. At one time over 40 Breweries operated in the city.

In the 18th Century one old people’s home allowed the residents 12 Scottish pints of beer a day. The Scottish pint was equivalent to three of the later imperial pints.

Two of Edinburgh’s most successful alcohol manufacturers were responsible for two of the city’s most prominent public buildings. In 1894, William McEwan paid £115,000 of his own money to construct a new graduation hall for Edinburgh University the McEwan Hall in Bristo Square:. Not to be outdone, distiller Andrew Usher (whose father ‑ also Andrew - was a famous local brewer) followed suit by gifting a similar amount for the creation of a new concert hall. Sadly, the Usher Hall would not be completed until long after his death,

Edinburgh was known as Auld Reekie from around 1700. The world Reek then referred to the smoke above a city trapped inside its defensive walls. The word later came to mean a strong or unpleasant smell something which would have been true in Edinburgh in the 19th century when the the city had 40 breweries and a number of distilleries each contributing the smell of malt and hops to the personality of the city. And then there were the horses...
The smell has now vanished along with the horses, breweries and distilleries that created it. In the west of Edinburgh McEwan’s fountain brewery vanished around 2000,, along with the distinctive clock that protruded over the road. The Caledonian Brewery on Slateford Road closed in 2022 when the the owners, Heineken, decided to cease production and sell the buildings. The buildings remain unsold. It is a shame the owners do not refurbish the equipment and rent machinery to the various microbreweries in the city.
Before the fire around 1996 the brewery advertised it was using the original Victorian equipment. Once rebuilt it advertised it was using the latest technology. Marketing genius.
Innis and Gunn in Lothian Road have closed permanently, along with their parent company. It is getting harder to find good beer in Edinburgh but a search for Real Ale Bars Edinburgh should reveal a few.

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27/04/2026

Now the clocks have changed Edinburgh’s Botanical Gardens will be closing the greenhouses later.

The gardens were founded in 1670 as a physic garden near Holyrood Palace (There is a modern, if small, physic garden in Saughton Park. The garden outgrow its pace rapidly and in 1676 moved to a site east of the Nor Loch and down from the High street. In 1689 military considerations led to the draining of the Nor Loch and the flooding of the garden, destroying many plants. The garden relocated to the Holyrood site in 1695. A map in 1804 shows “The Old Physick Garden” to the east of North Bridge, an area that is today almost totally devoid of interest except to trainspotters. The site was then occupied by railway tracks and a plaque on platform 11 marks where the garden once lay.

In 1763 the garden moved to a site in what is now called Bellevue, west of Leith Walk and is shown on the 1804 map.

In 2008 a cottage from the garden's original site that had remained on Leith Walk for over a century. was moved brick by brick to a site within the current gardens.

In the early 1820s the garden moved west to its present location (adjacent to Inverleith Row.

The garden covers 70 Acres and includes green houses open to the public and the botanics are a popular family friendly attraction with a rock garden, a Chinese Garden and a cafe. The best entrance seems to be on Inverleith Row near the bus stop. Parking is very expensive so driving is not recommended.

16/04/2026

Edinburgh’s Royal Mile starts by the Castle, near the repurposed church that now holds The HUB, the administrative centre for the Edinburg International Festival. On one side are a set of stairs leading down to West Bow which may be the only reminder of the steep track up which some say animals were driven into Edinburgh long ago. The stairs are next to the Quaker Meeting House, whose men’s toilet may be a reconstruction of the house in which Major Weir, the Wizard of West Bow lived with his sister, Grizel, who was also his lover and, like Weir, probably insane.
William Burke the anatomy murderer was hung in the Lawnmarket, dead ahead if the castle is to your back. Today it is a cobbled tourist trap that included Gladstone’s Land, a 17th Century building that is contemporary with Weir. On the way down the Mile you pass the Camera Obscura, founded by a woman driven from her observatory on Calton by ruthless businessmen and a corrupt council. The observatories there are long gone but the Camera Obscura is still there. You also pass the Witchery, possible the most expensive restaurant in Edinburgh: the menu is nothing to write home about, though the décor is good especially in the Secret Garden.
Other things to note here are the Ensign Stewart pub, the Whisky Heritage Centre which as been slightly overshadowed by the JohnnyWalker Centre in Princes Street. On the cornerAt the junction with George IV Bridge is Deacon Brodies Tavern which opened long after the eponymous hard drinking, hard gambling councillor with a wife, two mistresses and a taste for low life had been hanged on the Gallows he improved, and laid to rest.

Crossing George IV Bridge Blackfriars Street is on the right, leading to the Cowgate past the Banshee Labyrinth, probably the most haunted pub in Edinburgh.
Continuing down The Mile you pass several interesting museums and John Knox’s House, allegedly the residence of the fiery preacher who opposed women being in power but enjoyed their company.

A little further bronze tiles in the road outside the Worlds End pub mark where the Netherbow Port used to stand. “port”, by the way is an old Scots word for a gate and “gate” means where people used to walk – a gait. Past here you are outside Old Edinburgh and in the Canongate where monks used to walk to Edinburgh, perhaps to sell the beer they brewed.
At the foot of the Mile are the ruins of Holyrood Abbey and the palace of Holyrood House. There is also the Scottish Parliament whose acclaimed architecture looks, seen from above on the heights of Holyrood Park, like a gigantic cockroach. The building itself is sited where a brewery used to stand and is almost opposite the house where a lunatic killed and ate a kitchen boy. The pools outside the parliament are a reminder of the Loch that used to be there.

At this stage it is a good idea to catch the 35 bus back at least to South Bridge, if not Chambers Street where you can explore the museum.

08/04/2026

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle stands on the crag that resisted a glacier millions of years ago. The tail of debris that sheltered behind the crag became The Royal Mile. The closes and wynds of the Royal Mile spread out from it like the ribs of the dragon that legend says sleeps under it

Todays castle is not the original which was demolished to prevent the English using it. It has become a a supremely popular tourist attraction to the extent that it is expensive to visit and visits have to be booked online in advance.

The site has been inhabited on and off since the Iron Age when a hilll fort was built there. The Castle became a royal residence in the 11th century and its ownership changed hands several times in the wars of Scottish Independence.

In its long life the Castle has played many roles including a mint and a prison. There is another entrance to the castle used solely by the military, though tales of tunnels under the castle are probably just tales.

Naturally the castle is said to be haunted, though the number of tourists and the military presence in the castle may have driven them away.

If you visit the caslte around 1pm you may see the firing of the One O’Clock Gun but remember the wind there can be bitingly cold even in summer.

31/03/2026

2026_03_31 Brown Square

In 2021 a major fire destroyed several shops on George IV Bridge and spread down to Candlemaker Row where it put the OZ Bar out of action. Ironically candlemakers had been banished from the centre of Edinburgh centuries ago because of the risk of fire from their businesses.

While renovating the OZ Bar builders found a hidden entrance to to Brown Square, which no longer exists. The Square was in the area next to the bridge bounded by the bridge, Chambers Street and Merchant Street. There was an area next to it called “Society. The Square had been an enclave for professionals, probably the same people who would walk up to George IV Bridge to look down, literally and figuratively to the slum that was Cowgate and be entertained by the poor people in the area they called Little Ireland because it was occupied by people fleeing Ireland. The people of Cowgate were considered as not much better than animals and by walking up to the bridge their “betters” could watch without the risk of entering the cage.

Today the area where Brown Square used to be is accessible from Chambers Street or Merchant Street. Thirty years ago this area included a school and a nursery. Chambers St is now occupied by The Sheriff Court and other important buildings, though hardly anyone knows what goes on in them.

22/03/2026

In the late 18th Century Riots were not uncommon in Edinburgh. Joseph Smith, a cobbler who lived in the Cowgate in Edinburgh, was able to raise and calm The Beast as the rioting mob was called.

Smith stood under four feet tall and was stooped over by Rickets. He was, however, very strong in the upper body. When he walked through the town with his wife she had to walk well behind him and he would whistle if he wanted her to come to him.

Smith aroused The Beast by walking through the streets of the old town banging his drum. He only used this power to combat what he considered injustice. More than once he confronted the council, which, then as now did not really care about the poorer classes, and when he had come to an agreement that satisfied him asked for a hogshead of ale, about 420 pints, which he gave to the mob, telling them to go home.

Smith died, drunk, after travelling home from Leith when he fell off the coach. His skeleton is presently in the Anatomy Museum.

In the 20th century during a protest against the way the council were treating the unemployed some demonstrators saw a small man banging a drum in their midst.

Was this General Joseph Smith coming back to plague the council again?

12/03/2026

Tucked along the historic Royal Mile, the Museum of Childhood opened in 1955 and holds a special distinction: it was the first museum in the world devoted entirely to exploring childhood and how it has changed over time. Rather than focusing on kings, battles, or grand events, it tells the quieter story of growing up.

One gallery presents a colourful journey through toys from the 18th century to the present day. Dolls, teddy bears, toy soldiers, model trains, and board games reveal how play has evolved across generations. Some toys are simple and handmade, while others reflect the rise of mass production.

Another highlight is the museum’s collection of dolls’ houses and miniature rooms. These carefully detailed models show how homes were decorated in different periods and provide a glimpse into everyday domestic life.

The museum also explores education. Old wooden desks, blackboards, and early textbooks demonstrate how children once learned and how teaching methods have changed over time.

Not all childhoods, however, were carefree. Exhibits also examine the reality that many children worked from a young age during the Industrial Revolution, often in factories, mines, or as servants.

Free to enter, the museum attracts families, school groups, and visitors interested in social history. For many adults, it also offers a moment of nostalgia—perhaps even the rediscovery of toys they once cherished as children.

Address

21 Moat Place
Edinburgh
EH141PP

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