If you ever find yourself wandering the beaches of North Berwick lusting for a pint in a pub from simpler times, then I’d recommend seeking out The Auld Hoose on Forth Street which, as luck would have it, is literally across the road from the beach. It’s a classic smalltown Scottish pub, just not one where you’d get your head kicked in by over-territorial locals. Instead, the old stalwarts who prop up the bar here are happy to ignore any incomers; they've seen it all in the 40 years they’ve been sitting there while, the young regulars are happy to chat and get beaten by you on the scuzzy pool table through the back (they take the darts a bit more seriously though).

There’s a blazing log fire to warm yourself by and the bar has a couple of cask ales to accompany the usual Scottish pub offerings. The jukebox is full of the usual pub shite but if you’re lucky you may stumble in and catch some live music which, when it happens, is not the usual pub shite. I once saw the local RNLI crew perform a rescue on the floor of the bar and then, after the ambulance had left, return to their stools and their (non-alcoholic) drinks. Anywhere good enough for those legends is good enough for everyone else.

Idlewild play the Night Afore Concert at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Monday 30 December; main picture: Donald Milne.