Edinburgh Sports & Outdoors

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Murrayfield is the HQ of the Scotland Rugby Union. Tickets for games are available for most games and the SRU website is quite informative. Get there early and enjoy the atmosphere (and a beer or two) by the famous old clock.

Last match was seeing us beat the Barbarians 19-66. Champagne rugby at it's best.

Murrayfield is home to Scottish Rugby and always provides a great atmosphere with its capacity to hold 67,500 fans. During the six nations championships the flag waving & flag painted faces of the ever friendly rival supporters are a sheer pleasure to behold. Rugby Union is a great spectator sport with sportsmanship amongs the players and the supporters being the top priority and this contributes to the games enjoyment & excitement.

Equipment: A ticket & the National flag of your choice

Murrayfield is one of the venues for the Six Nations Rugby tournament. Thousands of rugby fans land here in Spring to watch Scotland play against Ireland, England, France, Wales and Italy (and get their asses beaten to a pulp, hehehe)

If you are into rugby check out an international at Murrayfield Stadium. The best time is during the Six nations tournament but there are friendly games at other times of the year. The tickets can be quite cheap too. The picture was taken at Murrayfield when I went to see Scotland play Italy in March this year as part of the Six Nations tournament. The atmosphere is brilliant and its almost worth it just to hear the crowd sing 'Flower of Scotland', the unofficial Scottish anthem.

Equipment: A Scotland shirt/kilt/scarf!

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Ice hockey. Last night (13.1.7) went to see Capitals play Sheffield. David v Goliath in UK ice hockey.

Fantastic game. Teams neck & neck throughout. 3-2 for Sheffield with 5 minutes left. Edinburgh equalise with minutes left. No score in overtime, but lots of chances. Capitals win in penalty shoot-out.

Tremendous entertainment. Only £20 for me and son.

Capitals play a fast, open, European style of hockey (compared with the Canadian "muscular" version) so its great stuff!

More often than not Caps play their home games on Sunday - check their website for details.

Equipment: Warm clothing. Its cold in there, and colder when you come out.

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This really is a wonderful afternoon/evening out. Fresh air & excitement in a pleasant atmosphere.

I usually put a small bet on each race, after studying the form guide and looking at the horses in the parade ring. And I usually lose, but its cheap to get in (£13). So a few pounds lost on betting is just part of the cost of the event. You could bet just £2 on each race (6 or 7 per meeting).

The Musselburgh course is excellent. Modern facilities, but its been there since 1812! So its historical as well.

Meetings all year, but not much in the winter (its mostly flat racing), some afternoon and some in the evening.

You can have a full lunch/dinner as part of the experience, you can bring a picnic, or you can just get drinks and sandwiches.

Equipment: Plenty cash for bets, food & drink!

Warm clothing - depending on time of year + weather forecast.

Worth buying the Racing Post in the morning to give you time to look up the form etc, but you'll get a free programme/race card on admission.

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Rugby internationals at Murrayfield - always a big occasion, but especially for world cup games.
People descend on the city from all over the country to meet up with old friends and support the national team.
I haven't been for years, but before the family commitments came along, I was a "hard core" regular!

Equipment: tickets (often a sell out);
beer tokens;
homing device to get you back to railway station at right time;
warm clothing

The civic sports centres were extremely well maintained in Edinburgh and I have used the Pulse Centres in Glenogle swim centre, Dalry swim centre & Meadowbank in the past. This was a good way to get a cheap workout (£3.80 per session) without having to fork out on expensive monthly fees, having not been for a while I thought I'd better update this page.

Most sporting venues in Edinburgh are now "managed" by Edinburgh Leisure who have almost doubled the price of a workout to £6.60. I should find this shocking but sadly do not, seeing it as yet another example of incompetence by council officials. A monthly pass costs £38 which is nearly as much as the cost of the more upmarket Leisure Club within the city.

Equipment: Running machines, free weights, steppers, striders, multigyms, etc