I'm not sure how I feel about the Edinburgh Zoo; I don't think it's a destination spot if you're…read morevisiting for the first time. If you live locally or come to the city often, sure, make your way to the zoo eventually. They have some great events: social for new parents to meet other new parents, afternoon teas, photography workshops, and more. They are home to more than 2,500 animals including: camels, monkeys, pelicans, zebras, highland cows (...obviously), giraffes (a four back of bachelors named Arrow, Gerald, Fennessy, and Gilbert), a red panda, tigers, meerkats, a bear, a very large penguin pool with LOTS of gentoo, king, and rockhopper penguins (you can watch them live on the zoo's website!), flamingos (their oldest one was born in 1961!), and more. Unfortunately, you won't see all of them when you visit: I would say about 30% of them weren't there (for various reasons: rehoming, new structures being built, vet visits, it was the wrong time of day, etc.) when I came. There is, however - and this won't make sense unless you've seen it - an unexpectedly LARGE dinosaur presence here. IYKYK. Thankful for the conservation work they do here and in the protection of endangered species around the world, but I'm not sure this is a spot I need to have repeat visit at.

This is one of my favorite zoos. Was disappointed on how they have let it decline since our last…read morevisit Oct of 2023. The landscaping used to be perfect but now there are lots of weeds. Staff is always friendly here. Animals here are always great. Wish it was easier to find a drink here while walking around. Hoping they find a way to fix this zoo back up I miss the old zoo.

My wife and I are seasoned Escape Room players, playing approximately 20 rooms over the past 2…read moreyears. Upon arrival the staff was extremely friendly and everything was ready to go, even though we arrived 30 minutes early. We picked, "The Asylum" for this event,". Our host did a great job explaining things, giving the backstory and providing general info on the room. I would have given the the room four or five stars, however, we had one large hiccup. About 2/3rd of the way through the room, we got trapped in a self-locking room. There was a "exit room" button, however, it looked identical to the real "emergency exit" buttons. My wife and I even discussed pressing it to get out, however, for fear of the game being cancelled from hitting the unlock button, we didn't hit it. Based on this, we were stuck in a room with no possible way out. After trying several guesses and searching the room, we basically gave up and sat there waiting for our time to expire. While we waited for time to expire, we discussed that there is a camera in the room and someone was watching us. We then assumed the host wouldn't let us sit in the room for 20 minutes with no possible way out....Based on that, we continued searching the room and looking for any possible clues. When time expired, the host came down to greet us and show us the puzzles that we did not complete. I asked how we were supposed to get out of the room that we had been locked into for 1/3rd of the game, only then did he realize what had happened. Not sure if it is his job to watch the cameras or his co-workers, but it led to a disappointing experience. Overall the room was decorated great, the theme was good and the vibe of everything was good....however, that doesn't make up for the issue we experienced. Without giving anything away, if you find yourself entering, and being locked into a room, via the press a big blue button, understand that you can exit by pressing the switch inside the locked room, that looks like an emergency exit button. With that being said, there are 2 of these switches in the room, press the wrong one and the hosts will expect that you have a true emergency. My advice is either: A: Warn people about this situation ahead of time or... B: Have a similar style blue button to unlock the door The only reason we didn't push the unlock button was because we wanted to play by the rules. Based on the issue we had, we were giving a 10% off discount if we were to rebook, however, it appears they give that discount to everyone. It is unfortunate as we planned on booking 2 of their rooms that day, this experience left us soured. Edited: Management reached out to make things right, moving from 2 to 4.

Escape Reality Edinburgh is ESCAPETHEROOMers second stop in Edinburgh, Scotland. They are a…read morefranchise that's currently located in 12 different cities all over the world. The Edinburgh location is quite spacious. There's plenty of seating to rest in the lobby area and we love their 3D looking backdrop poster that they use for victory poses. They currently have 6 different escape rooms at this location and a pop-up VR experience that was recently added! We only had time to try one of their rooms and of course it had to be... "The Asylum". This is the first time we've used a hint system like this, but they are quite technologically advanced. Each puzzle has a QR code next to it so that if you do get stuck you can scan it and a clue will pop up on the iPad. But you cannot continuously use it as you do get locked out for a period of time. The "pros" are that there's never a delay in getting hints from the game master. The "cons" are that you'll be seeing these QR codes throughout the room which kind of takes a little bit away from the immersive atmosphere. Speaking of which, they did an amazing job with the room design! It was also quite fitting for us that the storyline of this Rolling Hills Asylum is an actual asylum with a haunting history in New York. As tourists from NY, we found a deeper connection with this haunted room. Right when we entered, I felt a chill down my spine and of course my first question was: "Are there any live actors? You should just tell me now as I've been tricked many times before". The game master said "No" with a smirk as sometimes they do go in and give the "victims" a little scare, but they stayed true to their word this time probably just to save themselves from my high-pitched screams. A lot of the props and décor stayed very true to what an asylum would have. The room was pretty linear in terms of puzzles although there were a few moments where we were able to split up and tackle different puzzles or find items. It was a very straightforward gameplay with no red herrings. We got out with two people and plenty of time to spare. I do want to remind the players that you do have to scan that final QR code outside the room in order to stop the time for your game as we forgot to do so and that probably added an extra minute to our clock (Hey! Every second counts!). Escape Reality Edinburgh is probably the largest escape room location we've been to in Edinburgh. With that said, you know they have a lot of different surprises in their rooms since they have the space to create them. They can easily host corporate and large party events. The other 5 escape room games currently at this location are "Jungala", "Tortuga Pirates", "Machina", "Nosferatu" and "Alcatraz". We can't wait to return one day to try their other games as they all sound and look amazing! *For more info, check out my Yelp profile.

Great big park with lots to do. There is a sand pit, spiders web, flying fox, swings and lots of…read moreother fun things for the kids to play on. There is benches and picnic tables which I think there should be more of as it's usually quite busy but there is a grassy area if you can't get a table or bench. There is toilets, a small shop to get a tea or coffee and an ice cream van nearby!

Kids these days don't know how lucky they are. This is such a middle class playground it is…read moreunbelievable: not content with just swings, you have race car chair swings. There's a zip wire, a climbing wall, some form of big swinging disk thing and numerous other structures bringing unadulterated joy to me...and probably little kids as well. During the day this playground is absolutely rammed with screaming children as mothers discuss the latest issue of glamour or yesterday's tea party. This is the time to avoid, mainly because you'll look a bit weird swinging with a load of 5 year olds (careful those of you with innuendo based minds). In the evening though, or better in the small hours of the morning, this is a drunkard's paradise. Everything becomes so much more amazing...and more difficult. Whether it be the swings, the climbing frame or simply the spinning disk then it is a joy. Also the playground is one of the best places to meet fellow boozehounds, there's a real community of idiots there. A word of warning though, when on the swings, make sure you don't look at the hypno-disk, it will definitely make you feel queasy at the least. An amazing park with brilliant features for all kids, both little and large

I would say this soft play is better for older children as there isn't much for the babies, mainly…read morea ball pit and not much else but yeah great for bigger kids as there is a huge apparatus and lots to do for them. There is also loads of seating but can get pretty busy and the cafe offers things like tea coffee, smoothies, cakes, hot food (which can be really salty sometimes)as well as children's snacks and pretty low cost so not bad but the baby area could be more imaginative.

Big. Well-lit. Expensive and it's 90 minutes maximum stay. It can also get very busy at times so…read morecall ahead. It is very good in terms of equipment and the little kid-big kid areas are well-appointed. The cafe is expensive and the seating is such that you cannot use the tables until your paid-for session begins. There are only a few tables in the waiting area so it's kind of lame that way. It could have been better thought out. Still, not bad and brand-spankin-new.

This farm was right next to our Airbnb and so we just had to visit! It's not too big so this is…read moregreat if you want to squeeze in a visit while you're exploring. There is a cafe but it was closed when we were there. Entry is free, and there are stations to wash your hands. I didn't see any employees while I was there though, just a couple of other tourists. It was pretty empty so I felt like I had everything to myself. I saw some cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, lambs, and they were all adorable! You can't feed them but they are so friendly they sometimes let you pet them.

was a lovely warm sunny day visiting Gorgie City Farm &…read moreCafe 8/8/19. I think I came here a very long time ago so it was great to see all again. Walking around seeing all the animals was great and taking some photos of my experience. The weather was so hot, it felt like my head was burning a bit. Very impressive what I saw from goats, chickens, pigs, birds and many more. The young goats where so cute, I wanted to fit one in my pocket lol. I would recommend this place to anyone, if you love the outdoors and animals. You can get a Lothian Buses number 25 from Princess Street in Edinburgh and it will take you straight there also Gorgie City Farm is free to anyone too. Check out my article on Gorgie City Farm on my Blog below https://socialsandi1.com/2019/08/08/gorgie-city-farm/

We so enjoyed our visit to Edinburgh Scotland. Walking through the park on our way to see several…read moreof the sites there's so many beautiful statues, well kept landscape, and paths to meander. They were having a musical festival while we were there and over lunch, all of the locals were there having lunch, listening to music and just enjoying the day. Take your umbrella because storms come and go, but we were fortunate to have a short 30 minute rainstorm and then absolutely beautiful weather beyond. This was one of my favorite stops on our cruise. Edinburgh is beautiful and this park is a relaxing respite from the craziness of the day.

The gardens were created in the 1820s. We walked briefly around the gardens. It is comprised of two…read morepublic parks along Princes Street with Scott Monument at one end and Ross Fountain on the other. There fountain is a picture perfect spot with the Edinburgh Castle in the background looming above. There were many benches for you to sit and relax.

I used to attend Craiglockhart Tennis & Sports Centre as a young, fit individual full of tennis…read morepromise. Ok, well maybe the majority of that sentence was slightly exaggerated, but I did used to be young. I do know this place very well though, having taken tennis lessons here while I was at school, and also having played in recent years in a few of the morning group sessions, for which you have to phone up in advance to book your place. I've never met a coach I didn't like in the years I've come along here to try and improve my mediocre tennis skills. Everyone working at the centre has always been really friendly and keen to make games and coaching fun, and not like a fitness obligation. The centre has 6 indoor courts, open all year, and 8 outdoor courts, open April to September. You can sign up for a coaching course, attend individual classes, book a lesson, or hire one of the courts and play a casual game with mates.

Great for all the budding Andy Murrays out there , has numerous indoor and outdoor courts along…read morewith a gym which has fittness classes as well. Run by Edinburgh council so well run and reasonably priced.

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.