The Dagda Bar, Lauriston, Edinburgh

Compact yet comfortable bar, with a small 'U'-shaped counter and traditional furniture / decor. As you would expect from the area, the clientele is mostly students; but, as a well-known ale-house, there were several other people obviously doing a similar trip round the local hostelries too. Four handpumps on the counter, offering the 'house' Dagda's Ale of undisclosed origin (£3.40), Hit the Lip from Cromarty Brewing plus Pennine Pale and American Brown Ale from Allendale. Also has five craft keg beers too. Well worth seeking out.

A small square low ceilinged room with a square counter on the back wall, the remaining space is taken up with bench seating at a variety of cast iron based tables and two barrels. A few Scots landscape pictures plus a frieze of pump clips from all over. Four handpumps with nice beers from Scotland and Northern England with a selection of interesting kegs noted as "craft beer" on the obligatory blackboard. There's a good range of malts too. There seems to be some sort of tie up with Black Isle but none of their beers were on sale except a couple of kegs, unless the house ale is one of theirs. Plain but interesting I could easily spend a few happy hours here and it's GBG listed.