Days out, Hitlisted

Edinburgh's festival season kicks off with the Meadows Festival, which offers the best local bands, dance groups, quirky performers and workshops amidst lots of family-friendly activities.

Taking over the West End of Glasgow each year, the festival treats the ears to a great musical line-up, tantalises all the senses with a carnival and delves into the creative depths of local studios and exhibitions with the Hidden Lane Festival.

A weekly event for those who like to do their chillaxing outside of the home. There's papers, a brunch menu, coffee, tea and beer, table football and DJs David Barbarossa and James Pole in the evening to help with your pursuit of Sunday bliss.

It was Bill Shankly, perhaps the greatest football manager ever to come out of Scotland, who summed up the appeal of football to the fan. 'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death,' he mused. 'I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.' This exhibition looks at the history of football in…

An exhibition of images and objects connecting books to nature.

Get the whole family out for this veggie BBQ, complete with kebabs and kids' activities. There's also a bicycle-powered smoothie maker on hand, which right there is reason enough to attend. Of course, it's all free, so there's that, too.

New market with a tantalising selection of vintage, craft and design vendors – including clothes, jewellery, handmade, up-cycled furniture, accessories, homewares, food, cakes, millinery, stationery, art and lots more.

A monthly boutique craft and design market held on the first Saturday of every month with artists, crafters and designers offering ceramics, jewellery, glassware, photography, textiles and art.

A life drawing workshop with a difference: they're selling beer too. A relaxing way to unwind and exercise your creativity at the same time. (Warning: alcohol consumption can damage your rendering of the human figure.) Spaces are limited. Booking is essential.

Avant-garde spoken word, film and music fusion night describing itself as 'playing host to the sinister and the sanguine'.

A unique underwater music experience at Britain’s oldest surviving swimming club. With two sound systems playing different content, each are heard separately, except while floating on the surface of the water. Featuring an electro-acoustic sound collage by Joel Cahen with vocals by La Horrox.

The ringside entertainment for Glasgow East's 5K Fun Run is an all-encompassing festival of music, drama, activities, storytelling, art and more.

Taking place in the National Trust's Georgian Harmony Garden, in the heart of Melrose, the Borders Book Festival attracts world-class writers and personalities and also hosts the £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction awards. For its tenth year, the festival sees Joanna Lumley and Phyllida Law talk…

The hardworking staff at Edinburgh's universities are let out for the night to share their tales about the weird, wonderful, and often very funny, world of research.

An evening of comedy, film and hard zombie science. The resident Zombiologist delivers an interactive survivor’s guide to a Zombie apocalypse, followed by a Q&A and a screening of The Evil Dead.

The Edinburgh Book Fringe takes place in Word Power Books and brings together writers and activists from around the world for a host of daily events of readings and discussions, all of which are free.

Free admission to see inside some of Glasgow's finest buildings, old and new, and enjoy various guided walks throughout the city in the annual festival that involves more than 100 buildings and last year boasted nearly 81,000 visits.

Another day of free activities and workshops for the whole family. Exploring our wild instincts, the day features performances, music, interactive activities and loads of treats for ages 0–12 (and above).