Went to watch the second match of their home season today, and had a ton of fun! Lots of action,…read moresome intrigue and some fancy footwork made for a fun first Roller Derby game for yours truly. I had seen Whip It and that was about it as far as my roller derby experience goes, so I was incredibly fuzzy on the rules since I hadn't checked them beforehand. As I watched, though, the chaos started to turn into order and I figured out how it worked and I started getting really into it. I might have accidentally let out a cry of "OH!" as one of my favourite Jammers narrowly avoided being pushed out of bounds. Outside the gym itself, there was a room where people were selling merch and nibbles, all of which looked good and tasty! I've been wanting to check out Roller Derby for years, but never knew when it was happening, if it even WAS happening in Edinburgh, etc. I'm glad I came today with Paula, and I hope lots more people will take notice of the many joys of Roller Derby. I'll see you there!

Edinburghs first Roller Derby Team, this is ideal for women 18+ to join. They train on a monday at…read morethe Crags Sports Centre from 20:00-22:00 and this sport will get you fit whilst you have so much fun you don't even notice the time passing! In fact you'll be disappointed when practice ends. Rollerskates (quad skates) are a must, as is full protective gear. The girls are all friendly and women of all ages, shapes and backgrounds are involved. Each practice costs £4 and the girls try to promote a good social aspect to the team aswell. Quite often they can be found behind the bar, or drinking in Bannermans. ARRG!

A day at the races has never been on my list of fun days out. But I am a changed man…read more Ventured along here the other week on the opening day for a mate's stag do, and had an absolute blast. And that had nothing to do with the fact I walked away in profit... Okay perhaps 1 star had soemthing to do with that. Bt all my pre-conceptions of what to expect from a day at Musselburgh Racecourse were quashed within an hour. I expected over-priced, watered-down drinks. After all where else could you get your refreshments from? For the day we belonged to them. But no, the proces at MRC are no more expensive than a city centre bar or a night in Stockbridge. And there are plenty of bars and tents to get your beverages from, even Hamilton's of (the aformentioned) Stockbridge provide a cocktail tent here for those not after a pint or voddy and coke. Food is provided by way of a number of stands, the like of which you might find at a festival or football match. One in particular provided the crispiest, best takeaway chips I've tried in a long long time. And of course there's the racing itself. 7 races throughout the day, often intermingled with races from other parts of the country fed to us by way of some massive screens about the place. Whether you indulge in a flutter or not, it's a good laugh. But I defy anyone who puts on one wee bet, not to put on another. Good fun if you don't take it too seriously. Admittedly we got lucky with the weather. The day was awesomely sunny, with only a few minutes rain which did little to hamper our mood, and attracted a large crowd, many of whom were familiar faces to me, so that was another plus point to the experience. The whole day carried a festival atmosphere about it, largely down to the presence of the sun. The only thing I found lacking throughout the day was a bit of music. MRC would improve massively if they had a live band on hand, either out in the sun or within the confines of a tent. Or a DJ or even just a jukebox, the introduction of music - between races of course - would go a long way to increasing the draw of the MRC. Go now before the sun's gone.

I've been to a few race courses in the UK and abroad and I have to say that this is genuinely my…read morefavourite so far. I went to a family day here for the first time only a few weeks ago and man was I impressed... MRC has a lovely atmosphere as soon as you walk through the turnstile. It seems almost serene, even when it's buzzing with race-goers in between each race. I've now been to MRC twice, once at a day event and then again for a carnival evening. The only bug bear of the place being the long queues at the cash machine as it takes at least 5 minutes per person to get money out...I think they may be running on 3G or wifi with a router that's miles away! Anyway, the short of it is that it needs sorting. I think it depends on what kind of race day it is with regards to the food stalls that are there. The fish & chip van is worth a mention for the chips as they were the best ones I've had from a van. Very tasty! The last meet I went to they had a sushi van which was actually quite delicious and made a great change to the usual eateries you would find at any race track. Oh and there's a S. Luca ice cream van...really quaint and yummy! Surprisingly the majority of the place is buggy friendly and the fact that there are so many family days on during the race season is a testament to that welcoming quality it has. I'm happy to say I live around the corner from here and will definitely be inviting friends and family in the future to MRC.

The middle of The Royal Mile is a strange location for a Ladbrokes store, but it goes to show just…read morehow much the great British public like a bet. Be it horses, dogs football or politics. Ladbrokes is one of the UK's biggest operaters in this scene so prices are always as competitive as you could hope for. As much as it does it's job perfectly well, this particular branch does feel particularly sad for me, as usually a couple of days a week on the way to work, I pass an old guy outside waiting for it to open. He doesn't look drunk, he doesn't look rough, he just looks very sad, lonely and down on his luck, and if he's that desperate for a bet at 8:45 am, he's at a very dark stage in his life indeed. I often snicker at the misfortune of others and am in general a very unsympathetic, twisted and resentful person, but for some reason or other, this poor old guy really strikes a nerve with me.

I have been to Peffermill a good few times to play football for the football supporters club…read more Although never really joining the team properly, I came along whenever they were a player short or needed some depth in the squad. I normally played in a five a side team that was not actually part of the uni and played at the Corn Exchange. I normally played on the astroturf pitches here and this means that you can never get a game to be abandoned throughout the year. The pitches were good quality and the changing room facilities were good too. The worst thing about Peffermill is that it is a bit of a mission to get to, but this can't really be helped as there really isn't many other sports facilities more central than this.

If you play sports with the university then the chance is that you will play here at some point…read more The main centre has some fabulous dressing rooms - though for my small Wednesday league team the small hut on the other side tends to be where our dressing rooms are to be found. Even these, though, are reasonable enough, although you will still be a little envious of those in the main centre. As for the pitches you have some Astroturf pitches, generally used for hockey games. I have played football on these and though I might be biased by that fact that we have never won on these, I'm not a great fan. I will, however, concede that as Astroturf pitches go, these are some of the best. Moving onto the grass, and this is always a move I am keen to make, the pitches are all good. That said, bar one small pitch on the other side of the railway that I like to refer to as Highbury, the wind can really drive across these pitches; on a cold and wet day you are really going to notice this.

Nice place, more quiet than the bowling in fountainpark It…read morealso has a pool table, air hockey table and more. The good: Nice staff, £1 per game promotion between 4pm and 7pm, but as it is a special please check in advance. Renting of shoes adds another £1. So we each had two games and shoes for £3, bargain!! The bad: So many things went wrong with the Bowling computer.. Ok, things happen. But maybe once. We at least had 5 issues. Several times somebody only had 1 throw instead of two. Also the 'arm' that picks up the pins and puts them back for the second throw knocked pins over several times (we were on on lane 5). Especially frustrating if someone almost throws a Spare and then there is no last pin! Also only 3 seats per lane which is way too few! Because of the wonderful price when the special is on, I am still giving it 3 stars, although I would give 2.5 if it was possible. But I would be not happy if I had paid full!

Better value for money than the Fountain Park bowling. If…read moreyou book on line, you can get £13 for 1 hour lane hire for up to 6 people plus £1 for shoe hire. Free parking is always good. It is a little less fancy than the other bowling, but does the job and we always have a nice time here.

Noah's arc is a soft play barn which accommodates children up to the age of 12. There are separate…read moreplay areas depending on the age of the children I'm not sure of the exact age categories as my wee on is only a year but it seems to be a fair split which each area having activities catering for the age bracket. You are charged for a two hour session starting around 4 pounds then increases as they children get older. I and under are free though so this is a bonus. There is a reasonable coffee shop which offers the usual types of refreshments and some hot food. So as long as your children are old enough to play by themselves you can have a cuppa, read the paper and relax while they play. It used to be my friends favourite Saturday or Sunday morning haunt when she had a hangover as she could recover while the kids had fun. It is very busy at the weekends as you might expect and the noise level can be quite high during these times. I believe they do special party packages for the kids. There is also a ceramic painting place and go-carting on site so maybe older children can be entertained too. Well worth a visit and very good value for the little tots as it's free!!!

I seem to be the naysayer amongst the reviews, but perhaps it was because I visited on a busy…read moreSaturday afternoon (we were the last to get straight in with no waiting). I found the place very claustrophobic with low ceilings and what might have been a bright decor originally but has descended into dinginess. The low ceilings probably contributed to the rather overwhelming noise levels - I've been in other, busier play barns before without so much noise, simply because high ceilings absorbed at least some of it. The food I found disappointed - my macaroni tasted odd and I couldn't finish it. The drinks were bargain branded but the prices were what you would pay for branded. 10 quid for a plate of macaroni, some extra chips, a nasty diluted drink and a non-branded cola is simply ridiculous. The play areas seemed more cramped than others I have been to and the older bit was quite dark. The 3-5 section was perhaps a bit tame for the almost 5s and whilst the gated entry is a good idea, the teenage staff member posted to it was often not there at all and seemed to have no ability to prevent bigger kids getting in, both of which rather defeated the point of the gate. Not impressed, there's plenty of other places around which are better value, newer, cleaner and better equiped.

I went to this place with low expectation's, the low resolution logo, the cringy name. When I…read morewalked in, I was greeted with really good service! The prices aren't bad, and the track had the perfect layout. They have three activities (plenty to choose), go karting, escape room and laser tag. As I said the service was really good. Don't buy snacks here though! The snacks are expensive, low quality, garbage. I recommend this place highly for anybody, tourists and locals alike!

Go karting review: friendly staff, nice environment, well maintained karts. Each heat/10minutes…read moresession is tracking your personal time. There are other types of events you can attend as well, depending on the number of people in your group. Worth having a look also at the Unlimited karting night, once per month. I have been in this venue for quite a few times during last year and I keep coming back. If you will be regular it's worth taking the membership deal.

Sport soccer is a budget sport shop which has been on Kirkcaldy high street for some time now. It…read moreocassionaly has some great bargains but if truth be told it is mostly made stocked with cheap products such as Lonsdale and Everest rather than the usual Addidas and Nike. It does sports equipment too and some of this can be found at very good prices, as well as all the sports gear it stocks a small amount of clothing for men, women and kids but this tends to be last season stock at knocked down prices. In short it is shop worth browsing but dont expect high end sports gear at knock down prices because you will be disappointed.