EDINBURGH (UK)
Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, is without doubt a beautiful city with a great atmosphere and a great sense of history. Best time of course to visit is during the Edinburgh festival which takes place from around the middle of August to the first week in September every year. David Clark from London checked out the must see attractions, the gay scene and the festival and here is his report.
Getting There
Plane or Train from London, either wise there’s not much difference price-wise. The train journey from London takes about 4 hours. If coming from Dublin BMI, Aer Lingus and Ryanair all fly the route. The cost on Ryanair comes to about €70.00 return including taxes and fees and the journey takes less than an hour.
Public Transport
Buses, mostly operated by Lothian Buses, require a flat fare of £1.20 for one journey any distance, no change given. Tip: always carry £1.20 in change in case you need to catch a bus! Alternatively save on the need to carry change by buying a book of 20 tickets for £24.00 and then punch one of the tickets each time you board a bus or buy a one day travel pass for £3.00. Tickets can be purchased online on the Lothian buses website at Travel Shops or on the buses themselves.
Accomodation
I stayed at the Dene Guest House, 7 Eyre Place in the ‘New Town’ of Edinburgh’s city centre. The Dean is an attractive Georgian three storey townhouse with a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Located half a mile from Princes Street, Edinburgh’s main thoroughfare, it’ll only take you 10 minutes on foot to get there. Single room about £30 per night. Breakfast served 8-9am on weekdays, 9-10am at weekends.
Shopping / Music Shops
Main shops are along Princes Street. Being a lover of music I headed straight for what Edinburgh had to offer in the line of music stores. Virgin Megastore and HMV are located at the west end of the street. The smaller HMV is at the entrance to St James Shopping Centre at the east end of the street. Fopp has branches in Cockburn Street and Rose St (between Hanover St and St David St). Also, Avalanche, an indie music shop can be found in Cockburn St.
Gay Scene
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Blue Moon Cafe, 1 Barony Street. Entrances on Broughton Street and Barony St. Popular cafe/restaurant. Serves food until 22:00.
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Solas Cafe & LGBT Information Centre, 58/60 Broughton St. Good home cooking is their speciality. .
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Café Habana, 22 Greenside Place. Popular bar, young crowd. .
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Planet Out, 6 Baxters Place. Noisy bar, young crowd. .
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New Town Bar, 26b Dublin Street. Traditional pub male oriented with male only nights once a month. .
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The Regent, 2 Montrose Terrace, a quieter pub serving Real ales. .
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Although I didn’t get to it, The Street at 2 Picardy Place is reputed to be a very trendy bar with a lower club area with food served till 9.00pm. A great venue for girls. .
Sex Shops
Q Store, at 5 Barony St. Next to Blue Moon Cafe. Selling Videos, magazines, toys.
Gay Saunas
Steamworks, Broughton Market
Entrance £10, Lockers £5 before 2pm (all day for under 25s). Cabins £5.00 extra. Attracts younger crowd. Two levels include steamroom, dry sauna, jacuzzi, cruise area including video rooms, bar.
Swimming Pools
Edinburgh Council operates a “no nude showering” policy at pools. But if that hasn’t put you off, try the Royal Commonwealth Pool, Dalkeith Rd (Buses 14, 30, 33 from North Bridge), £3.70 admission, lockers require 50p (returnable).
Touristy things
Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile (a succession of four streets leading east from the castle esplanade), Calton Hill (home to various 19th century monuments), Arthur’s Mound (high ridge above city).
Festival Tips
It would take a week to provide you with a review of the performances I saw so I shall just leave you with one tip; allow at least half an hour between performances!