~with VisitScotland.com
By Paul Nicholls and Erica Crompton
During a recent luxury stay at the Marine Hotel in North Berwick, Scotland, Paul and I found a wealth of wheelchair-friendly culinary wonders. Whether it’s a cut steak for Paul or neeps and tatties for me, bon bons or oysters to share – this lowland part of Scotland, just a 25 minute drive from Edinburgh hasn’t traded accessibility in for superb cooking! Here are some of our favourites:
The Marine Hotel North Berwick offers plush dining booths in the restaurant which overlooks the coast. Service is super-friendly and we access it via our room in the hotel. There’s plenty of space here to turn a wheelchair in, and we’re not the only wheelchair here! We take haggis bon bons each for a starter, a few wee drams in between (perhaps too many? Then, the main is a little bit blurry!
The Bonnie Badger in Gullane is a warren of different rooms, each with its own menu. There’s a ramp at the front entrance and doors are wides enough to get a chair through. We had the most succulent oysters to share for starters, then Paul had a steak and I continued my succulents with venison loin medallions. Visit bonniebadger.com for menus and booking details.
We took English Breakfast tea and a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam at the Royal Yacht Britannia which was voted Trip Advisors No.1 UK tourist attraction last year. Dine like the Queen once did! There are lifts installed for access (and for the late Queen Mother originally!) so you don’t miss anything.
Paul was inspired to write a poem about our wee scone tea on the yacht:
“I’m having a pot.
A pot, a pot, of tea!
We’re having a scone
the Queen’s on the throne
Bobbing along on the sea!”
www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk.
- For more information about accessible restaurants around Scotland log-on to www.visitscotland.com/inspiration/accessible
