🚀 go-pugleaf

Previously known as the Adventure Centre, renamed the Edinburgh
International Climbing Arena after the takeover by Edinburgh Leisure,
this is finally opening to the public after sundry delays on Friday
25th May. It has in fact been open to climbers with restricted
facilities and hours for several weeks, and is now closed pending the
final official opening.

Their official web site also seems to be afflicted with delays, since
it doesn't yet know about this opening :-)

http://www.edinburghleisure.info/

The details can be found in this Edinburgh Leisure newsletter, which
seems to be accurate apart from the spelling of "renovations: :-)

http://www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/list-291

Note that that this opening weekend of 25-28 May features all sorts of
special fun events for kids, which some grown ups may prefer to avoid
:-)

As a great enthusiast for this project I'm doing my bit to improve the
publicity for this opening by advertising their Aerial Assault Course,
previously known before Edinburgh Leisure's takeover as the Skyride of
the Adventure Centre. Although it tends to be seen by parents as
something for the kids, I've taken several older adults round it, all
of whom have been surprised and impressed by how much they enjoyed it.

So here you go, a photographic tour of the Aerial Assault:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_malcolm/sets/72157600232754720/

(It should be noted that although some of these photographs were taken
on the Skyride itself (as it then was), taking a camera on the Aerial
Assault would require special permission and prior arrangement which
would probably require some attestation of both photographic and rope
access skills, and the new "improved safety facilities" probably means
is no longer possible anyway :-)

Apart from the generally poor publicity which this place has always
suffered from, it has also suffered from poor public service
access. The nearest bus for example is the Lothian Busses X48 which
runs from Waverley to Ratho. You have to get off at Ratho Bridge and
take a twenty minute walk along the unsignposted north side canal path
to the place. It is to be hoped that by the time they re-open on the
25th May the stairs up from the canal path to the Arena will have a
more encouraging signpost than the "Construction Site! Keep Out!
Danger!  Falling Rocks!" with which they have been encouraging canal
path entrants to date :-)

Bus access will improve, because they have surfaced the car park and
built a bus stop in it, and have got agreement for the X48 service to
be extended to it, but AFAIK there isn't yet a date for when that will
start operating.

Cyclists may like to know that you can cycle out to it on the Union
Canal path from Fountainbridge in Edinburgh.

-- 
Chris Malcolm        cam@infirmatics.ed.ac.uk              DoD #205
IPAB,  Informatics,  JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]