Outdoor

Hogmanay holidays in Perthshire. Scotland

Ideas on how to bring in the New Year in Scotland

28 Oct 2011

You know the drill. It’s a week before Hogmanay and you’re deciding which shindig you don’t really want to go to. The local street party’s not quite doing it for you, and honestly you’d rather be anywhere but here. So where to start? Firstly, don’t…

The best parks and green spaces in Edinburgh

Extinct volcanoes, hidden gardens and urban parks in the capital

16 Feb 2011

Edinburgh is a capital blessed with an abundance of green spaces, from extinct volcanoes to hidden gardens – all ideal spots to take time out and recharge your batteries

Bus trips to the Scottish Highlands from Edinburgh

How to explore the best of the rest of Scotland

16 Feb 2011

Edinburgh has culture, history, shops and sustenance, but there’s a whole country beyond to be explored and it would be a shame to limit a visit to Scotland to the capital alone. If you visit just one other part of the country, make it the Highlands…

Edinburgh's Pentland hills offers great walking and cycling

Routes for walking, cycling, wildlife, fishing and even skiing

16 Feb 2011

Easily accessible by car or public transport, the Pentland hills are enjoyed by thousands of visitors who come every year for the walking, cycling, wildlife, fishing and even skiing. There are information centres providing maps and visitors’ guides…

Ski, Snowboard + Xtreme Show 2010 hits SECC

Winter sports special features stalls, shows and Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards

10 Oct 2010

Yes, yes, we know: we’re bad people. Summer was barely there and autumn’s only just arrived, and off we go, blighters that we are, promoting winter, or more specifically all things snow. We would normally (honest) tell the freeze-friendly SECC to keep…

Othello

11 Jun 2009

OUTDOOR THEATRE You know summer’s finally arrived when the nation’s brave outdoor theatre companies take to the al fresco stage for that all-too-brief window of long days and (hopefully) fine weather. Borders company Shakespeare at Traquair…

Get Healthy, Get Outdoors and Go For It with the VisitScotland Adventure Pass

13 Apr 2009

FREE VisitScotland Adventure Passes for everyone!

Get Healthy, Get Outdoors and Go For It with the VisitScotland Adventure Pass

13 Apr 2009

FREE VisitScotland Adventure Pass for everyone!

Parklife

2 Apr 2009

With a family ticket to the average theme park costing close to £100, it’s worth remembering that a day out at one of Scotland’s country parks can offer just as much fun – for no money at all. None of the parks listed here charges for admission or…

WIN a luxury self-catering adventure break to Perthshire with VisitScotland Adventure Pass

31 Mar 2009

VisitScotland has teamed up with Equazen to give you an action-packed adventure break in Perthshire, Scotland. Equazen produce healthy fish oil products, which will help keep you fighting fit and ready for Scotland’s Great Outdoors. WIN an…

WIN a 4-night adventure break for 4 to the eco-friendly Loch Lomond Waterfront Lodges worth £1,800

16 Mar 2009

Explore a thrilling variety of adventure activities, whilst taking in the awe-inspiring landscapes that Scotland has to offer. With over 10,000kms of coastline, spectacular scenery, and unspoilt countryside, it’s no wonder that Scotland is known as…

Get Active, Get Outdoors & Go For It with VisitScotland Adventure Pass!

9 Mar 2009

Get Active Get active in the New Year and explore some of Scotland’s great variety of adventure activities, whilst taking in the awe-inspiring landscapes that Scotland has to offer. With over 10,000kms of coastline, spectacular scenery, and…

WIN a luxury adventure break for 4 to the sandy beaches of St Andrews, Scotland

20 Feb 2009

Get Healthy, Get Outdoors and Go For It with the VisitScotland Adventure Pass this Spring. Explore Scotland’s great variety of adventure activities, whilst taking in the awe-inspiring landscapes that Scotland has to offer. With over 10,000kms of…

Women-only roller derby: Glasgow Roller Girls

19 Feb 2009

Mistress Malicious meets me, as arranged, in the foyer of the sports centre. She’s easy to spot: she’s tall and elegant, with tattoos and bright scarlet hair. Oh, and she’s on rollerskates. I’m here to train with the Glasgow Rollergirls and learn…

Cool Sports

19 Feb 2009

Baseball It's not just rounders you know. Beyond its similarities, baseball is a game of skill, speed and tactics. Find out how by heading along to the Edinburgh Devils or the Glasgow Baseball Association, where beginners are always welcome. See…

Get on your bikes and ride!

30 Oct 2008

'Cycles,' say the organisers, 'is a musical event. It's also about bicycles.' Good, that's cleared that one up, then. That's about as close as we can come to it too, to be honest. So, there's live and electronic music inspired by - and played on…

Air apparent

2 Oct 2008

I am so stupid. I’m shuffling forward on a bench in a King Air plane above Hollister, California. Only now, at 15,000 feet, after a quarter of an hour of shivery anticipation, and a mere stride from an open door to the sky, do I realise the implications…

Summer wine

2 Oct 2008

‘Authentic Fado tonight!’ the waiter announced, as I peeped inside his restaurant on my first night in the city. I was pulled in and fed with espedatas, huge fish kebabs, just off the chargrill, while serenaded gravely by folk ballads. ‘The Fado songs…

Hydro Connect Festival - Glasvegas

City limits

21 Aug 2008

It’s hard to think of a band that sums up the Glasgow experience as succinctly as Glasvegas. Primal Scream and The Fratellis may have captured the hedonism, Biffy Clyro the anger and Franz Ferdinand the art, but Glasvegas are the streets of Glasgow writ…

Hydro Connect Festival - Eco-friendly

How green is my valley?

21 Aug 2008

Carbon neutral is a precise cocktail. It is a recipe that Geoff Ellis, director of T in the Park and creator of the Hydro Connect Festival, has learned by heart. He committed to making T in the Park carbon neutral in 2006, transforming it into the first…

Gavin Francis

Trekking round the back door of Europe

14 Aug 2008

Edinburgh-based GP-turned-adventurer and travel writer Gavin Francis’ next book – charting an epic motorcycle schlep from Orkney to Sydney – will finish on an ironic endnote. Having survived the mean streets of Beirut and New Delhi on its journey, his…

Big Things on the Beach: Garden Gallery

Public art, right on your doorstep

14 Aug 2008

As far as public art initiatives go, it doesn’t get much more DIY or community-focused than this. Twenty-nine separate works, most of which are hosted in the front gardens of Portobello houses, and all of them part of a scenic walking tour of the…

Norway

31 Jul 2008

Given that Norway is one of the few places in Europe more expensive, and with worse weather than Scotland, it’s not one of the most obvious destinations for a summer holiday. But for those who appreciate quirky historic towns, dramatic scenery and a…

Streets of glory - Edinburgh Rat Race

17 Jul 2008

Edinburgh will be reclaimed by hundreds of scurrying creatures this month. Claire Sawers meets the people behind the Rat Race

Hydro Connect Festival 2008 - lineup in detail

17 Jul 2008

Oyster Stage Kasabian There’s a new album on the way from this swaggering fivesome so expect first plays of recently penned material alongside their by-now trademark electro-rock anthems. Manic Street Preachers Following the return to form of last…