Best Activity Weekends

Located in Scotland, Edinburgh is famous for its history and beautiful landscape. Also, in recent years it has became famous for hosting the Edinburgh International Festival, with its world class list of cultural events. Enveloped by rolling hills, lakes and forests, Edinburgh is a city made for adventure. There is plenty to see and do with the perfect balance between all things traditional and contemporary.

What Activities?

Trekking, Cycling, Dry-Slope Skiing, Sailing, Paintballing, Surfing, Windsurfing, Paragliding, Skydiving, Canoeing, Diving, Water Skiing, Snow Sports and loads more.

Where To Go

YellowCraigs Beach (Broad Sands Bay)

A sandy beach with great views to Fife and the lighthouse on Fidra Island. Yellowcraigs is a popular family beach with a barbecue site, nature trail and footpath through the nearby wood and grassland. This is a nice place to go for a walk and enjoy the scenery.

Port Edgar Marina and Sailing School

http://www.portedgar.co.uk/

Port Edgar Marina & Sailing School is major watersports complex and marina situated on the Forth just west of the famous Forth Bridge in South Queensferry, just 10 miles north of Edinburgh. The Marina has 300 serviced berths and is well located for exploring the islands and fishing Harbours of the Firth of Forth under the backdrop of Scotland’s Capital. South Queensferry Bay offers an excellent area for dinghy sailing and the Watersports Centre, offering all kinds of tuition including canoeing, kayaking and dinghy sailing. Also, the nearby Port Edgar Yacht Club has a race every Monday so you can rent a dinghy from the sailing school and join in. So, if you’re interested in watersports there’s plenty for you to do at Port Edgar.

Edinburgh Diving Centre

http://www.edinburghdiving.co.uk/

Edinburgh Diving School (EDC) is Edinburgh’s oldest, most established diving centre and has been running for over 20 years. The Centre has grown in size and reputation and now has a retail outlet, an equipment servicing and testing centre and a training facility. The scuba courses include all equipment hire and all course materials, so there are no hidden costs.

The Edinburgh University Skydiving Club

http://eusdc.eusu.ed.ac.uk/

If you want to throw yourself from a perfectly good plane then this is the club for you. Whether you want to do it as a one off experience or on a regular basis, the club has the course. Firstly, you could choose to take the Tandem course. You have half an hours training and then do a 12000 metre jump attached to an instructor. Freefall lasts around 40 seconds and then there’s a 5 minute canopy ride. Also, you could choose to take the Static Line Square, you’re given a day’s training and then jump alone from 3500 feet. The parachute automatically opens when you exit the plane and then you fly the parachute back to the landing area. Or finally, you could choose to take the Accelerated Freefall course where after several hours of tuition and 8 jumps you are a fully qualified sky diver.

Midlothian Snowsports Centre

Midlothian Snowsports Centre at Hillend, Edinburgh boasts of being Europe’s longest artificial snowsports facility. It is made up of two main slopes, a 20 m learning slope and a jump slope; the slope on the left (made to look like Ireland) is 276 metres and the big slope on the right (made to look like the United Kingdom) is 450 metres. The slopes are used for skiing, snowboarding and snowblading and lessons are available for both adults and children all year round. The runs are made from matting that is available for use all year round; the floodlights allow it to be used in the evenings and a misting system keeps it from getting sticky. Also, the equipment is available to rent in the winter months to use elsewhere. If you like snowsports the Midlothian Snowsports centre is the best place to go in Europe.

Nationwide Paintball – Edinburgh

http://www.nationwidepaintball.co.uk/

Nationwide Paintball’s Edinburgh Paintballing site is located just 15 minutes away from the city centre. The facilities include 6 team huts, changing rooms, toilet facilities and an on site shop. All games are played in a superb woodland setting and there are several different scenarios to act out which are designed to make the experience more exciting. Scenarios include the Pet Rescue, Comms Tower and the Shanty Town. The centre does package deals with lunch included in the price and you’ll play multiple game scenarios throughout the day. This is a great activity to do in groups, so if you and your mates feel like some action packed fun, this is the place to go.

Bonnyrigg Leisure Centre

Bonnyrigg Leisure Centre provides the local community and tourists with an excellent range of facilities including a leisure pool with flume, sauna and spa pool, large multi-use hall, Tonezone, outdoor five-a-side football pitches and soft play area.

Coast 2 Coast Surf School

http://www.c2cadventure.com/

Coast to Coast run 95% of local surf lessons at Belhaven Bay which is about a 40 minute drive away from Edinburgh and is accessible by train from Edinburgh also. They offer a wide range of surfing lessons for adults, children, beginners and professional and the east coast of Scotland provides some fantastic waves. The surf school offer a range of courses including a two hour white water lesson, a sunset course and a surf and yoga course. The lessons can be carried out with a group of up to 15 people, so this would be a nice thing to do with friends.

What You’ll Need

You’ll need to bring swimwear with you and clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Also, organise transportation to get around the city before leaving.

Other Useful Links

Itchy Edinburgh

http://www.itchyedinburgh.co.uk/

The Itchy site is a travel guide to all of the major cities in the UK. Itchy Edinburgh provides the user with loads of information about Edinburgh city including restaurants, bars, entertainment, culture, shopping, events and activities. If you are planning to visit Edinburgh this site will prove to be vary helpful when planning your trip.

Edinburgh Online

http://www.edinburghonline.co.uk/

Edinburgh Online is the online guide to Scotland’s capital city. The website has a street index listing hundreds of local streets and roads and also lists thousands of local shops, accommodation, attractions, venues, pubs and clubs. The site also has a Web directory listing essential local websites. This means that it is easy for you to find not only the contact details of places you’d like to visit in the city, but you can also visit their websites to see what they have to offer.

TouristnetUK.com

http://www.touristnetuk.com/sc/edinburgh/index.htm

To make finding a holiday in the UK easier, Touristnet.com broke it up into 10 main regions and provide information about the relevant tourist areas. Their section about Edinburgh provides loads of information about accommodation, attractions, food and drink and attractions in the city. The site is very useful and easy to use and is worth having a look at when planning your holiday.

Other useful travel links

Scotland visitor information from Holiday Scotland – Your guide to Scotland.

If you have watched any of the Harry Potter series, have you ever wondered where the movie scenes are taken- scenes that involve beautiful and picturesque forests, greenery and woods, of Hogwarts, the Quidditch field and the Shrieking Shack? Well, as we know, the Potter movie series has been filmed in many places in and around England and one place that can be listed as part of the Potter phenomenon is Fort William in Scotland.

The opening scene of the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is taken in Fort William and not only was this movie shot in Fort William but movies such as Highlander, Braveheart, Rob Roy and the TV series RockFace and Monarch of Glen have been filmed here. The fact that many movies have been filmed in this location is proof that Fort William is definitely a must visit place for any tourist especially for Harry Potter fans.

Fort William is the largest town situated in the highlands of Scotland and it is also the largest settlement after the city of Inverness. With Glen Coe to the south and Glenfinnan to the west, Fort William is a major tourist centre that caters to tourists who come here for hill walking and climbing as the town is close to Ben Nevis which is home to the highest mountain in the British Isles and a slew of other Munro mountains.

Outdoor Capital of the UK

Fort William is known by its people and the world over as the ‘Outdoor Capital of the UK’ because it is well known for an abundance of activities such as hill walking, rock climbing, ice climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, white water rafting, canoeing, sailing, quad biking, canyoning – you name it, you can do it here. Fort William is a place for you if you fancy adventure and sight seeing that uses both brain and brawn and if you are not the type to just sit in your hotel room all day.

Not to mention, of course, the many opportunities to take it easy and enjoy a gentle walk, take in a spectacular view or soak up the history and culture. Probably the most well known landmark in Fort Williams is Ben Nevis. Ben Nevis is Britain’s highest mountain and a total of 400 000 people trek this beautiful towering heights annually. Ben Nevis shows off its magnificent presence at the height of 1344 meters to the whole of Britain.

Skiing in Fort William

www.GONEboarding.co.uk – The UK’s leading online snowboarding community

Visit GONEboarding for the latest snowboarding forums, reviews, news, photos, videos. Created by snowboarders for snowboarders.

Fort William may be the premier skiing destination in Scotland, and the UK, and draws crowds during the winter season as well as the wonderful summer season’s outdoor attractions. Snow cover is reliable, and the slopes are as steep and tricky as anything you’d find in the Alps. They’re shorter though, so expect spending more time in ski lifts. Which you might need, after blasting down a tricky technical run at Fort William.

Head up Ben Nevis for a real hiking challenge

If it’s a challenge that you are looking for, then Ben Nevis has it as this is one of the many reasons why people trek to the mountain. Being in good physical condition is a must and plus, a good day of rest and good planning and preparation is vital before climbing Ben Nevis as the mountain path is 16km and rises 1300 meters above sea level. Trekking Ben Nevis shouldn’t be taken lightly as the trekking the mountain calls for planning and climbing know-how. If you are new to the climbing scene, get the help of an experience climber to assist you or you can even join a group of climbers. Apart from climbing Ben Nevis, there are other exciting things to do. Among the many favorites of tourists are mountain sports. In the high mountains of Lochaber, each plain and terrain is used by both visitors and locals to scramble, climb, walk and mount the hill slopes and caves, terrain and rock.

The mountains are not only good for climbing, it also exudes beauty with its rolling hills and cool breeze that makes you forget the worries of the world and just indulge in the beautiful nature of Ben Nevis. Lochaber has 2 of Scotland’s five ski centers which are Glencoe and Nevis Range with both centers having ski schools to help first timers get started as well as to test the skills of advanced skiers. Apart from ski mountaineering, visitors also do paragliding and climbing.

Water sports everywhere

When the weather is sunny and bright, it is an excellent time for water sports. Fort William has numerous lochs, rivers, canals and as well as the beautiful deep, blue sea. If it’s not the mountains of Fort William, it’s the sea and rivers of this beautiful town. Loch Oich makes the perfect location for water skiing and wakeboarding as it is flat water and in a sheltered location. A large pole enables wake boarders to jump and do tricks and stunts. Not the extreme sports kind? Then a ride in a boat on the lock will provide great fun for you or else you can try canoeing and kayaking as well as sailing.

A mecca for cycling

Fort William is also an attraction for cyclists as there are many cycling routes in this town that cater to different types of cycling such as mountain biking, road cycling and touring. It’s no wonder Fort William is the home to the UK round of Mountain Bike World Cup. Some of the famous cycling routes you can try if you are in Fort William are the Great Glen Cycle Route that stretches from Fort William to Inverness covering and approximately 75 miles of scenic splendor. This route is commonly used by cyclists as it provides the exact amount of speed, adventure and safety. Combine all this into one and you have got yourself an exhilarating ride.

Leanachan Forest is where you should head to in order to experience the variety of cycling tracks and trails through the forest ranging from rugged grandeur to meandering stream sides. Clunes to Laggan is for all ages as it is mainly a flat section terrain that covers forest tracks and single track road. On your cycling journey, you will be meeting some steep climbs but this is all good for a little dose of adventure. This path runs along the north shore of Loch Lochy.

Fort Bill and motor sports mix well

Motorsports is also a well known tourist favorite. Fort William is home to 6 days motorbike trials as the area offers spectators a fabulous week of entertainment and fun. From 4X4 driving to motorbike trials and gocarting with quad biking, Fort William is not the place that you will hear or say boring.

If you are planning your next vacation of trip to Fort William some of the nice places where you can live at is Clan MacDuff Hotel. This hotel is a 3 star family run hotel that over looks the Loc Linnhe. Your stay at this hotel will be full of warmth, as the staff and atmosphere is welcoming and friendly.

The Ben Nevis Hotel and Leisure Club is a 2 star hotel that is situated a mile outside Fort William with a 50 foot swimming pool and a choice of 119 bedrooms. If luxury accommodation is your heart’s yearning then head over to the Inverlochy Castle that is nestled in the foothills of Ben Nevis.

Inverlochy Castle

Built ins 1863 by Lord Abinger, Inverlochy is a 13th century fortress that has been a private residence for over a hundred years before being converted to Scotland’s finest country house hotel in 1969. Other luxury accommodations in and around Fort William are such as Glentower Lower Observatory and Ashburn Guest House. Ashburn Guest House is a Victorian villa located by the shore of Loch Linnhe, nearby the centre of Fort William.