Opportunities in Edinburgh
The combination of Edinburgh’s manageable size, history, the grandeur of its ancient streets and the vibrant buzz of its cultural life, adds up to what many people believe to be the best city in Britain.
Certainly a lot of famous people think so. In 1989 HRH Prince Charles said the city is, “the most beautiful in Britain”. While some modern Scottish writers, such as Irvine Welsh, have made a living by chronicling the city’s depressed housing estates and heroin problems, other English writers, including George Eliot and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, also proclaimed its beauty.
That Edinburgh should be the subject of so many writers’ praise and ire is probably unsurprising given its literary heritage, both past and present. Former residents include Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In addition to Welsh, the city is currently home to Ian Rankin, Muriel Spark and Harry Potter creator JK Rowling amongst others. Perhaps appropriately, Edinburgh was named as the first “world city of literature” by UNESCO in 2004.
Aside from the history and heritage associated with being Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh is, nonetheless, a modern city. Despite all the tourists who flock to the festivals and the ever-visible castle, it also has a gritty and compelling bar and club scene to rival even its harder, cooler Glasgow rival.
It is this mix of old and new, bagpipe festivals with dance clubs, posh restaurants with kebab houses, Royal Pageants with pretty rough suburbs, which makes Edinburgh what it is: the cosmopolitan capital of Scotland.
A great example of this is the annual Hogmanay New Year party. Events to mark the start of 2005 included a torchlight procession through the ancient lanes, French street theatre, massive amounts of fireworks and a top-billing rock gig featuring the Scissor Sisters and Blondie playing in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle.
Mention must be made of the famous Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe Festival which has come to dominate the original festival which spawned it. Performers’ and writers’ careers can be made at these events and the streets echo with American voices when the festivals are on, such is their draw.
Aside from Edinburgh’s 11 official major festivals every year there are plenty of opportunities to party all the other nights of the year too. The city has an excellent nightlife in the shape of Po Na Na in the New Town – the venue starts as an after work drinkers den and slowly becomes a serious dance venue as the night moves on. The Bongo Club in the Old Town is an arts centre with bite which offers clubbing from jungle to mainstream.
The city also boasts all the kinds of off-beat clubs you would find in London, such as The Carwash, a 70s retro club with a purple interior and a fun-loving atmosphere. Or there is the Liquid Room, a grungier rock and roll sort of place than most, which also features Scots rock bands and occasionally a major name.
There are more pubs than any man with a beer gut and a kilt can mention but the city is not all boozing and dancing. The city beloved by Royals and writers also boasts some top eateries.
Quality places in the centre of town include the Spanish and tapas-focused Iggy’s - this is well recommended and is on Jeffrey Street. The Witchery by the Castle along the Royal Mile has an air of Victorian grandeur and a menu to match. The Atrium lists Mick Jagger and Jack Nicholson as past patrons. The cuisine here is modern and mixes traditional Scottish fare with Italian and French cooking.
After the food and drink you will be pleasantly surprised that, despite the Scots reputation for being the most unfit people in Britain, there is a wealth of sporting facilities.
Unsurprisingly, golf features highly on the list of most popular local sports and the city boasts 7 golf courses within easy reach of the centre of town.
The only real blot on Edinburgh’s horizon usually comes in the form of the weather, which is often cold and wet. Edinburgh has invested in plenty of sports centres despite its relatively small population of around half a million. Swimming is especially well catered for with more than a dozen large pools in the city’s sports centres.
On top of all of this there are the museums and art galleries which bear testament to both the ancient and modern culture of the region. The crowning glory is the Medieval Royal Mile and the Castle – factors which have lead to the city being declared a World Heritage Site.
However, there are plenty of galleries to visit too, such as the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art or the City Art Centre which hosts many touring exhibitions.
When all of the fixed exhibitions are added to the massive seasonal festivals like the Fringe, those seeking cultural sustenance may begin to think that down South is actually a touch culturally barren.
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