A walk in the park, a man in a van and a tasty bean counter

coffee beans at Eion's — A wide range of beans on offer at Eion’s (pic: Terry Murden)

Rio Recommends: Trinity, Edinburgh

A regular walking guide to dog friendly cafes and pubs

Edinburgh is blessed with some great neighbourhood walks and the Trinity area has just got a new(ish) cafe that also welcomes dogs.

Eion in East Trinity Road was a cafe before being taken over by the said Eion who also has an outlet in Stockbridge. He serves coffees made freshly from beans that you can choose on the counter. The wide selection includes Costa Rica Tarrazu and the curiously sounding Indian Tiger Paws.

The cafe is still being fitted out and needs a bit of a tidy, but the service was good and I was made welcome with a fresh bowl of water and got familiar with some of the other doggy visitors. Ma and Pa enjoyed a vegan blueberry and coconut slice and thought the place well worth a visit.

It was the second stop on a walk that began in Newhaven Road at the entrance to Victoria Park where there’s an imposing statue, not of Queen Vic, but her son Edward VII. Couldn’t see one of his mum anywhere.

The playpark’s popularity has been enhanced by the arrival of Jac’s 2CV Citroen van serving coffee, tea, soft drinks and fresh pastries to parents. The van’s owner paid for a patio and provides tables, chairs, and – nice touch – blankets for the days when it gets a little cool. There were also two bowls of water. A choice!

Jac’s Coffee van: some nice touches (pic: Terry Murden)

We passed the tennis courts, pleasingly busy, and headed down Craighall Road, passing old Dalmuir rail bridge (sadly covered in graffiti) and Newhaven station building (surely someone saw these old rail lines as potential tram routes rather than digging up Leith Walk).

East Trinity Road is one of the city’s des-res locations with its pretty cottages and rows of terraced housing.

We took a turn down Stirling Road, passing more tennis courts and a bowls club, and then into Lennox Row and York Road, down the hill to the seafront and then back up Laverock Road and into the council-managed Starbank Park, one of the city’s lesser known treasures.