Edinburgh Leisure

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SPORT

Edinburgh has many excellent sporting facilities from rock climbing to tennis, fishing to bowling. The City council owned Edinburgh Leisure run a lot of facilities so a good place to start is their website:
http://www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/index.asp

There is a long established ice rink in Murrayfield :
http://www.murrayfieldicerinkltd.co.uk/
 
and the Hillend Ski slope (just over the border in Midlothian) is one of the longest artificial slopes in Europe :
http://www.midlothian.gov.uk/topic.aspx?topicid=86

For fishing there is the Water of Leith, the canal and also the reservoirs in the Pentlands
There is also the sea!

There are many walkways that can be used for cycling and also cycle lanes on many main roads but this is not Denmark or The Netherlands!

Murrayfield is the home of Scottish rugby and the largest in Scotland. It has a capacity for over 67,000 in the all seater stadium. As well as rugby it hosts the occasional rock concert. There are many other rubgy grounds for example Boroughmuir Rugby Club in Craiglockhart.
http://www.scottishrugby.org/

There are two professional football teams in Edinburgh:

Heart of Midlothian the city's oldest was formally established in 1874 and initially played their games at The Meadows. They moved to Gorgie in 1881 on a site near Wardlaw Place but moved along the road to Tynecastle in 1886 where they remain to this day.
http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10289,00.html

Hibernian was founded in 1875 by Irish immigrants, the name being the Roman name for Ireland. They too played their initial games in The Meadows as well as various parks around the city. In 1880 they took over a lease on a site called Hibernian Park on the site of the present Bothwell Street. In 1892 they moved nearby to a site known as Easter Road where they play to this day
http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10290,00.html

SHOPPING

There are various shopping centres around the city. Princes Street has all the big names and Multrees Walk just off St Andrew Sq has many designer shops such as Harvey Nichols, Luis Vuitton and Armani. George Street also has many stylish shops. William Street and Stafford Street at the West End offer many independent retailers and The Royal Mile is the place for tourist shops. South Bridge, Nicholson Street, Morningside Road and Leith Walk also have a large variety of different shops but there are many more shopping streets throughout the city.
Shopping Centres and Retail Parks

Ocean Terminal – Leith Harbour
As well as High Street stores Ocean Terminal offers restaurants and cafes, a cinema, an urban freesports facility and the Royal Yacht Britannia
http://www.oceanterminal.com/home.asp

St James Centre – Leith Street (East End of Princes Street)
A selection of High Street stores including John Lewis. There are fast food outlets and juice bars and coffee shops.
http://www.stjamesshopping.com/index.php

Gyle Shopping Centre – Gyle Avenue in the west of the city
High Street Stores and also Marks & Spencers and Morrisons. There is a food court on the first floor
http://www.gyleshopping.co.uk/index.shtml

Princes Mall – East End of Princes Street
A large food court, a tourist information centre and a variety of smaller shops not big High Street names.
http://www.princesmall-edinburgh.co.uk/

Cameron Toll – 1.5 miles south of city centre
Many High Street stores and also Sainsburys as well as a small food court
http://www.camerontoll.co.uk/

Fort Kinnaird – Off A1 at Newcraighall Road
A large shopping park, therefore not under cover, with many High Street names. Lots of parking available
http://www.fortkinnaird.co.uk/index.html

Meadowbank Retail Park – London Road
A small retail park which includes an M&S outlet, Gala Bingo, TK Max, Peacocks, Sainsburys and Poundstretchers. There is also a KFC.
No Website

Westside Plaza – Wester Hailes Road
A shopping centre with local type shops but also a pub, bookies, bank and bingo hall. It’s like a high street under a roof. There is also an Odeon cinema.
http://www.westsideplaza.co.uk/

Craigleith Retail Park – South Groathill Road
Retail park with The Quarry, Boots, Argos, Marks & Spencers, Homebase among others and a few fast food outlets.
No Website

Hermiston Gate – Off Bypass at Sighthill and Edinburgh Park Train Station
A retail park with B&Q, Tescos, Rosebys, Staples, Halfords among others. Plenty parking available.
http://www.hermistongait.co.uk/

NIGHTLIFE

Edinburgh has a large and varied nightlife and is constantly changing. A very good site for the latest places to eat, drink, dance, watch theatre/movies is The List below:
http://www.list.co.uk/
just type in Edinburgh to the search engine on the main page. Also check out the sites below:
http://www.edinburghtheatreguide.com/
http://eatscotland.visitscotland.com/default.html

For Gay and Lesbian Edinburgh check out the listings below
http://www.scotsgay.co.uk/listings/venues.html#Edi

For Alternative Edinburgh this website is fairly accurate but hasn’t been updated for some time
http://www.nightnews.net/Club2k.htm

There are two entertainment complexes:
The Omni Centre on Greenside Place has bars, restaurants and cinemas as well as a nightclub and comedy club
 http://www.omniedinburgh.co.uk/index.html

Fountainpark on Dundee Street  has a cinema, casino, childrens adventure area, bowling, fitness, bingo,food & drink
http://www.fountainparkcentre.co.uk/

OTHER

The Forest – Bristo Place
A non profit art collective centre. They host events and help artists in the city. There is a vegetarian café in the centre and a hairdressers where you get vodka – Sip n Snip. Also massage and a record collective. Unfortunately The Forest has been closed down as the building went up for sale. The website below is still active so maybe another place can be found.
http://forestcafe.tumblr.com/