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Gay Travel Breaks: Now is the perfect time to visit Edinburgh
By: Cate Langmuir

Channings Hotel

Pride Life gets in the mood for cultural adventure in Edinburgh

 

 
 
 
 
With the Edinburgh Festival just around the corner, this is the perfect time for a trip to the Scottish capital.
 
To get in the mood for adventure - albeit cultural - Cate Langmuir cosied up in the Georgian townhouse that was once home to an heroic explorer.
 
I’m having a post-sightseeing soak in a freestanding bath, looking up at a floor-to-ceiling print of Endurance, the ship that explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton saw become trapped, and then crushed, in the ice during his Trans-Antarctic expedition in 1914.
 
More than a year later, and in a final bid to save his men, the courageous leader set off by open boat to South Georgia.
 
Astonishingly, his rescue mission succeeded and despite being marooned for some two years, not one of his team perished.
 
I’m not about to do anything quite so daring, but the reason my hotel suite is named Endurance, is because Channings Hotel is located at the famous adventurer’s Edinburgh address, where he lived from 1904 to 1910.
 
My top floor suite has views down to the hotel’s rear garden and terrace and the hall outside is lined with black and white images of the ill-fated expedition.
 
The atmosphere throughout the hotel is one of contemporary country club with enormous leather sofas piled high with plump tweedy cushions and an exclusive book-lined library where you feel you’ve just stepped back a hundred years.
 
With its location among the handsome, leafy terraces of Edinburgh’s West End Channings makes a peaceful retreat from the city’s hustle and bustle, which reaches fever pitch during the Festival months of August and September.
 
Even outside the Festival, there can’t be many cities more stunning, or with as much to offer, as Edinburgh. With its dramatic vista of castle and ancient monuments, its well-placed shopping streets, a thriving year-round arts scene and a mind-boggling choice of evening venues, from cosy pubs to elegant dining, this “Athens of the North” is a city everyone should visit at least once.
 
There’s plenty for the energetic to see just a stone’s throw from Channings.
 
Take an early morning stroll along the Water of Leith, from Dean Village to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. In Shackleton’s day this was a school, but now the impressive Georgian building hosts one-off exhibitions, as well as a permanent collection and a stunning sculpture park.
 
Another option is to wander down to Stockbridge, one of Edinburgh’s most popular “urban villages” from where you can easily reach the Royal Botanic Gardens, with its stylish new visitor centre and restaurant, just opened this year by the Queen.
 
The shopping has come on leaps and bounds in Edinburgh. Trust me, as one who lived through her teens in Edinburgh, I should know.
 
And whether you splash out on George Street elegance or Royal Mile tourist trivia, one place you can be sure of taking the weight off your slingbacks in style, and with a cocktail, is Harvey Nichols’ top floor bar.
 
Sights aside, one of the notable features of Edinburgh life is, of course, its vibrant and long-established gay credentials. In fact, the city is so entirely at ease with its diversity that there’s no specific area to head for, as such.
 
However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a scene and the city has no end of pubs and clubs, from one of the oldest, Frenchies, in Rose Street, to CC Blooms. Check out edinburghgayscene.com for ideas.
 
And at the end of the night, a breezy ride back to Channings in a rickshaw taxi – yes, they do have them in the frozen north and given the city’s hills, these guys have thighs of iron – rounds off the evening in great giggly fashion.
 
Mind your glutes, though – Edinburgh is a city of cobbles!
 
 
Way to go
Cate travelled from London to Edinburgh by rail with East Coast Trains: advance returns, booked online, start from £33, Standard Class, or £106 First Class: book via www.eastcoast.co.uk, call 08457 225225 or visit any staffed station.
She stayed at Channings, 12-16 South Learmonth Gardens.
 
For information call 0131 274 7401, email reserve@channings.co.uk or to to channings.co.uk
-          Channings is part of the Town House Collection, for information go to thetownhousecollection.com
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Hot Summer Deal...
Enjoy a city break in Edinburgh this summer with Channings. At only £99 per room, based on two adults sharing, this is going to be one of the best summer deals in Edinburgh this year.
Rate includes: Luxury accommodation in an individually designed standard bedroom; Bottle of wine in your room on arrival; two-course dinner in Channings Restaurant (all-day menu only)l-full Scottish breakfast; service and VAT

To book your Edinburgh summer city break contact Channings reservations team: on 0131 274 7401 or at reserve@channings.co.uk

For more information see www.townhousecompany.com