I used to live a stick’s throw from Inverleith Terrace in Edinburgh’s northern quarter. It’s my old stomping – or dog-walking – ground. In one direction is Inverleith Park, with its wide views over the city, the castle crowning the craggy skyline, in the other the ivy-tangled graves of Warriston Cemetery. The Water of Leith tumbles through here, and a rural ramble along its wildflower-fringed bank takes you to the sea via the revamped dock. It’s here, in a lush genteel corner of the city, that the Garden Rooms, a little home from minimalist home, opened at the beginning of the year.
A cross between B&B and self-catering, this bijoux bolthole is in an elegant Georgian building across the park from posh public school Fettes. Sally Weatherly was head of physics at the school before giving it all up to juggle a young family and a B&B with a difference. The Weatherlys live upstairs, and the garden room is an unconnected studio flat downstairs. An architect friend helped with the conversion, which melds solid stonework with uncompromising modernity in a glass box-like extension.
The result is a tiny designer hideaway. The slate floor is warmed by underfloor heating, there’s a chic turquoise sofa, and the bed folds up into a black and white photographic cityscape of Edinburgh. The shower room is slick and shiny, and the little kitchen is kitted out with Siemens appliances, boiling water tap and Dualit toaster. But the USP is the private courtyard garden. The glass walls of the bedroom concertina open onto the garden with its pristine lawn, outdoor seating area and barbecue.
The little pad offers the best of both worlds – your own entrance through a gate in the garden wall, a kitchen if you want to rustle up a quick meal or snack, and a garden to relax in (when the weather allows – this is Scotland). But your breakfast is delivered in a hamper each morning, along with a cheery smile.
Feeling instantly at home, I made myself a cup of tea, curled up on the bed and rang a couple of friends round the corner to make supper plans. We decided to go to The Dogs in the New Town, perennially popular for its quirky take on traditional staples, such as rabbit and brandy casserole with offal toast and rosemary and garlic roast potatoes (£13.50), or Arbroath smokie fishcakes with vanilla sauce, soft boiled egg and spinach (£12.50).
Slightly bleary-eyed the next morning, I had just got the coffee on when there was a knock at the door. Sally’s husband handed me my hamper on his way to work. I gulped down freshly squeezed orange juice, before tucking into granola, yoghurt and fresh fruit, and tearing off chunks of warm pain au chocolat. Batteries recharged, it was time to blow away some of the cobwebs with a brisk walk – even though I no had a dog in tow.
• Accommodation was provided by The Garden Rooms, 1A Inverleith Terrace, Edinburgh (07980 660815, gardenrooms-edinburgh.com), B&B from £120
