The Bridge Inn at Ratho Shortlist*

Beside a bridge over the Union Canal, Graham and Rachel Bucknall’s genial pub-with-rooms is conveniently sited for Edinburgh airport. Fires burn in a bar popular with locals; in the ‘inviting’ dining room, local produce influences the menu of pub classics (fish and chips; Mull Cheddar macaroni) and more elaborate dishes (glazed duck breast, confit duck leg pancakes, creamed kale). ‘Snug’, modestly furnished bedrooms are ‘warm and clean’; all four have a canal view. Breakfast brings sausages from rare-breed pigs, and freshly laid chicken and duck eggs from Ratho Hall, just across the canal – fuel for the seven-mile walk down the towpath to Edinburgh. Sister hotel 
The Ship Inn is in Elie (see main entry).