Radisson Blu -Edinburgh

Well we are back from Edinburgh and we just had the most amazing time! *amazing* -very overused word on here…but it’s true! 

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I’ve worked with Radisson Blu on little collaborations for a couple of years now and when they asked if I wanted to work together again, I jumped to it. I’ll be doing little mini break guides on three wonderful places close to the majority of my followers- Edinburgh, Cork and Jersey. For Edinburgh and Cork, I’ll be featuring places and experiences which I think are family friendly and for Jersey, I’ll be focusing more on a weekend break for couples (even though we’ll be bringing the crew with us! Ha!) Overall, I’ll just be heading to places which I think people need to know about! 

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh

I’ve never been to Scotland and i know I didn’t experience everything it has to offer, but Edinburgh definitely made me want to go back and explore the Highlands/Islands up north. 

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe

It was just me and the girls which I know sounds mad but honestly, travelling with them on my own is getting easier and easier. Remember when I had that absolute breakdown last year on my way back from Ireland when Harper had colic… I just bawled my eyes out with them both at level 10 down the back of the plane. Mortifying. I am a lot calmer these days and I’ve found just accepting THEY’RE KIDS and that life was going to be FULL ON with more than one child helped me a lot.I want to take them on so many more adventures like this too!

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe

So we flew from Heathrow and got a taxi to the Radisson Blu. Where can I just add- kids U-16 stay for free if they’re with a parent and kids U-12 get to eat their kids menu for FREEEE which I think is pretty amazing considering how much a kids stay/flight can rack up without you even really thinking it would. (More details about their family stays can be seen here

Staff greeted us with open arms and took the luggage to our room as we ate lunch in the lobby. There was a little kids art area in reception and they gave Saoirse and Harper little welcome bags with lots of fun stuff inside. 

After lunch, we ventured out into the city and the minute we came out the door, the girls fell asleep. We had been up since 5.30am, so they were wrecked. I headed to Brew Lab (to the good coffee!) before I went up to see the castle!! 

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

On my way down the hill from the castle, I had planned on going into Camera Obscura, but when I went in, the lovely staff told me I couldn’t take the pram around it. It looks fantastic though and something I would definitely have done if I was with one child or if the girls were old enough to walk around for a lengthy time! 

I explored some of the beautiful side streets and I literally felt like I was in a Harry Potter set. No wonder JK Rowling wrote some of the books here. Completely enchanting architecture. They whole place is packed with small, independent businesses, full of character, which made me love the city even more. The people are super friendly and everyone kept offering to help me with the kids. So hospitable! 

Speaking of small businesses, on our way to the Royal Museum of Scotland, this store stopped me in my tracks (as I was puffing from pushing the pram up the hill!!) Pieute is owned by Bobby who has his own clothing line. How epic is this location for a store! 

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Another epic location is the The Royal Museum of Scotland. Look at this building! The Natural History area and the kids area upstairs are brilliant. There’s a whole section on teaching kids about Archaeology and so many hands on things for them to get stuck into. (Harper being her mad self in the photo below! Ha!!)

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

We came home to the hotel, up to our room and was greeted with this little play area for the girls. So so thoughtful! Saoirse LOVED the hopscotch rug.

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We ate dinner in the restaurant downstairs and took some up to the room with us because Harper was just NOT wanting to be there. You know yourself!! 

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The next morning we walked down to the Scottish Parliament building (woah woah the architecture here is sick) and next door to Dynamic Earth. It was 9am. Super quiet and peaceful. Coincidentally, IGERS Edinburgh were having an Instameet there! it was so nice to chat with some of them! 

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

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Photo 08-04-2017, 08 41 33 (1)

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH

Next we got a taxi to the Sculpture Workshop, north of the city…

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It’s a centre for artist sculpture courses, production, research and learning. They do awesome children and young people’s workshops, which I would love to have sent Saoirse to, but there was nothing on the morning we were there. To top it off, MILK cafe was stunning. You know what i’m like with the cafe interior! It’s small, but spacious if you know what I mean. There were 4 prams there that morning. We got a muffin and a cup of tea! 

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Next we got another cab to a really cool area of the city- Stockbridge. We visited Kris’s store, Bon Tot. I collaborated with her two years ago and have loved her Instagram ever since! It is the most beautiful kids store I have ever seen!

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She sells a lot of my fave labels and it’s not all just for kids, they have awesome stuff for parents too- how good is this bag!

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radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH

Bon Tot isn’t just a store- it’s a place for kids to play (like in this adorable teepee!) and for parents to hang out too. Kris walked us down to a few of her local favourites, including The Method and Maxi’s cafe.

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The food here was unbelievable!!! You have to order the grilled cheese. This was definitely my favourite food spot out of the whole trip. I didn’t get a picture of the food because the girls were kicking off, so I kind of just wanted to get them fed and get out of there. Lol. BUT in saying that, the staff were lovely and again, kept asking me if I needed help. The brickwork on the walls i LOVED.

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh

After that, we strolled down to the Royal Botanic Garden. It was warm and the perfect day to go. We went in the main entrance and there was a whole science education section for kids, which was super impressive. Saoirse loved the microscope!

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radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh

The greenhouses were beautiful and we just had such a special (barefoot) time here! Haha! 

Photo 08-04-2017, 13 47 37

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh

We came back to the hotel and I ordered dinner to the room as I was wrecked after a packed day. 

The next morning we dug into this and afterwards, walked across to Urban Angel cafe which lived up to its good reviews. They take their Babychino’s very seriously- as does Saoirse!! 

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radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh , urban angel caferadisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh , urban angel cafe ,

Next was somewhere I had read about the night before and I felt like we simply had to go to! Not gonna lie, I don’t have the best of patience when it comes to playgrounds, but this was different. 

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The Yard creates havens of adventure, fun and friendship for disabled children during the week. They are open to the public on Sundays, to fund the amazing work they do during the week.

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Saoirse loved the traffic lights (yes actual traffic lights and a zebra crossing in the middle of the play area!) and we stayed the whole two hours. After running the feet of Saoirse (Harper slept through the lot!) we got a cab (and M8 cab btw, so I just popped in the whole pram)  to Hemma. One of the parents I met at the Yard told me about it. It’s a great family friendly restaurant about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The food was good and there was a little play area for the kids next to the communal tables at the back. Ideal! 

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh , urban angel cafe

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh , urban angel cafe

We walked back up the hotel to collect our luggage and head to the airport. I was a bit sad leaving as I really FELT this city, if you get my drift. There are some places I go to and I don’t get really attached to them but Edinburgh was just brilliant. Somewhere I would definitely recommend for couples (I passed a tonne of pubs/ whiskey and wine bars which I would love to have tried!) families (you know why now!) and hey, if you love travelling on your own like I do, then it’s definitely one to experience. 

It’s not very spread out (like London!) so you can do a lot of it by foot and the public transport system is great. They have a tonne of trams and I hopped on the bus with the pram for a short trip the first day and all was fine!

Oh! I almost forgot! There’s a pizza restaurant right around the corner from the hotel called Civerinos (see pic below) which you have to go to if you’re going to Edinburgh! Again, no picture because I was with two crazy children on my own.Ha!! But trust me- it was such good pizza!)This is it…

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh , urban angel cafe

radisson blu, eimear varian barry, travelling with kids, family holiday uk, family friendly holiday, staycation, edinburgh, scotland holiday, stockbridge, fly be, sculpture workshop edinburgh, bon tot, the yard, royal botanic gardens, maxis cafe brew lab, DYNAMIC EARTH, the method edinburgh , urban angel cafe

So that’s it! I’ll be heading to my hometown Cork next Tuesday for a few nights with the girls, staying at the Radisson Blu, which I can’t wait for! I was thinking about it earlier…last time I was there was  actually 9 years ago when I went for lunch with my Mom before I left for New York. 

I hope you found this informative and enjoyed my IG Stories and Snapchats while I was there!! 

x

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