Category: city centre

Three Cheers for 30 Years of The Scotch Whisky Experience

The Scotch Whisky Experience is toasting 30 years as Edinburgh’s finest whisky visitor attraction with the creation of a new and exclusive bottled blend and some special events. Since opening in 1988, the five-star Royal Mile attraction has welcomed 6.8 million whisky fans through its doors, who have sampled a whopping 8 million drams!

Now, it has released the unique 30 year old Scotch to commemorate three decades of whisky tourism in the capital. The blend is limited to only 550 bottles, each individually numbered and visitors undertaking the Platinum Whisky Tour over the coming months will have the exclusive opportunity to sample it.

In addition to the celebratory bottling, a series of events will also be running throughout the month of May. These kick off this Saturday 5th – the official anniversary of the attraction’s opening – when visitors who were also born on May 5th will be treated to a free Silver whisky tour.

During May, the bar within the Amber restaurant will be offering a unique flight of four whiskies, including one from each decade over the last 30 years.  This will include Cu Bocan 1988, Balblair 1991, Glenrothes 2001 and Benromach Organic 2010.

At the end of May, two special members of the team will be hiding a time capsule in the attics of the building which was originally built as Edinburgh’s Castlehill Primary School. This will include a photo of the 90-strong team and a commemorative message in an empty bottle of the new blend. The team members are general manager, Susan Morrison and head of technical, Dave Wilson who have worked at the attraction since it opened 30 years ago.

Local MSP Ruth Davidson will also be visiting later this month.

Susan Morrison, director and general manager at The Scotch Whisky Experience, said: “This is a huge milestone for us at SWE and we wanted to do something truly special to commemorate – so what better way than doing what we do best and creating an exclusive new Scotch Whisky?

“We pride ourselves on providing a unique experience for all our guests, whether it’s a whisky tasting or blending session, or an intimate private dining experience and we have had a huge amount of success over the past three decades.

“It’s incredible to think that we have shared some of world’s best whiskies with 6.8 million visitors from all around the globe in the past thirty years and we are very excited to see what the next thirty will bring.”

Since 2009, the Scotch Whisky Experience has undergone £8m worth of upgrades across all departments, which has included incorporating the priceless Diageo Claive Vidiz Scotch Whisky Collection –  3,384 historic bottles of whisky glowing within a marble and glass vault.

At the beginning of this year, the attraction launched tours in British and American Sign Languages – the first attraction in Edinburgh to do so. The addition means SWE now offers whisky tours in a total of 20 languages.

For more information, log-on to www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk or call 0131 220 0441.

Scurry down to the Edinburgh Dungeon Pop-Up RAT CAFÉ!

The Edinburgh Dungeon is celeb-rat-ing the opening of its Rat Café in the new Edinburgh Dungeon Tavern. The pop up café will be open for a limited time only over the Early May Bank Holiday weekend and will give guests a chance to enjoy a Rattucino with real rodents. Continue reading Scurry down to the Edinburgh Dungeon Pop-Up RAT CAFÉ!

Save our Serenity: time’s running out for small local charity

Comas, a small local charity which supports the recovery community in Edinburgh & The Lothians, is urgently appealing for help to find new premises to enable it to continue its vital work. With less than three months until the end of the tenancy agreement on its current premises at Jackson’s Entry, in the city centre, Comas faces the closure of its Serenity Café and other facilities unless it can find a new home for them. Continue reading Save our Serenity: time’s running out for small local charity

McVey urges city councillors to attend two-child limit demo

“This treatment is cruel and it is inexcusable” – City of Edinburgh Council Leader Adam McVey

SNP Council leader, Adam McVey, has called on all City of Edinburgh councillors to attend a demonstration, on Thursday and show their opposition to the UK Government’s Two Child Cap and associated “Rape Clause”. Continue reading McVey urges city councillors to attend two-child limit demo

Rally on the Mound: Activists urge UK Government to axe two-child cap and rape clause

One year on since its implementation, activists are stepping up the pressure on the Department of Work and Pensions to scrap the now infamous family cap and associated rape clause. A demonstration will be held on Thursday (19 April) at 5.30pm on The Mound. Continue reading Rally on the Mound: Activists urge UK Government to axe two-child cap and rape clause

Bumper Birthday Bonanza: Jurys Inn to give away 300 free overnight stays

Jurys Inn marks 25th birthday

Celebrating a birthday in Scotland wouldn’t be the same without receiving the dreaded ‘birthday bumps’, however the Jurys Inn birthday festivities promise to be something you’ll want to get involved in! Continue reading Bumper Birthday Bonanza: Jurys Inn to give away 300 free overnight stays

Transport Convener: aiming to make our city centre “a better place to be”

Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes writes on the aims and ambitions of ‘Central Edinburgh Transformation’:

I think it’s safe to say that we boast a world class city centre, in terms of architecture, culture, education and a raft of other qualities. Time and again I meet people struck by its beauty, compelled to visit or who never want to leave this place they call home.

But with this success comes added pressure. With an ever-growing population – a mixture of residents, commuters and visitors from far and wide – occupying a compact centre, we face a real challenge when it comes to moving people around the city.

I’m sure anyone waiting for a bus on the Bridges, navigating advertising boards on the Lawnmarket or cycling through the city centre would agree – we could do better.

Under Central Edinburgh Transformation, we want to bring issues like congestion, street clutter and poor air quality to the fore, working with residents, communities and businesses to rethink transport priorities, in turn unlocking the potential of our historic streets.

While we’re famous for our built heritage, it’s clear that some of our key places and spaces don’t work well enough. In line with the Management Plan for the World Heritage Site, our vision is to enhance the city’s public realm while supporting liveability within its centre. We must not forget that, while we’re proud of Edinburgh’s status as a thriving cultural hub, it’s also home to a great many residents, and their needs must be central to our vision.

By making it easier to walk and cycle around the city centre, improving the public realm while also increasing public transport efficiency, we want to create an environment that is sustainable, healthy and safe for our future generations. In this, the Year of Young People, it is more apparent than ever that we need to leave this legacy for the citizens of tomorrow.

Just as importantly, our aim is to make our city centre a better place to be, whether it’s for business, socialising or just strolling from east to west.

And though we ultimately hope to create a change in behaviour and a shift away from private cars, this is not a case of ‘driver vs pedestrian’ or ‘tourist vs resident’.

We are absolutely committed to creating a safer and more enjoyable experience for everyone. But we simply can’t ignore the fact that we need to make significant changes in order to protect our environment, ensure the safety of the public, providing access to people of all abilities and improving the quality of life here.

We are still at the very early stages of this project but as we move forward we will be engaging closely with citizens, transport operators and stakeholders, gathering information and seeking ideas to ensure that any progress takes full cognisance of the habits and requirements of the very people our city serves. We very much intend to take a people and evidence-led approach to the design process.

Under the expert guidance of lead officer Daisy Narayanan, who brings to the role years of experience as Deputy Director at Sustrans Scotland, I am confident that the Central Edinburgh Transformation project will make great strides toward achieving our vision.

We can, and will, be a modern, accessible and environmental capital, worthy of its status as one of Scotland’s most iconic and important locations.

This article first appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News on Wednesday 11 April