THE GREAT OUTDOORS FEATURE
plus a fair-ground. an indoor games room. a BMX course and go-karting. Fourmt'les out of A yr. 35 miles south-east of Glasgo w.
TRANSPORT
I Train For details of all Strathclyde Transport and ScotRaiI services. call the following numbers: Glasgow: 204 2844. Greenock: 0475 892247. Kilmarnock: 056341136. The Day Tripper ticket Details on 226 4826. Got a good reason for taking the easy way out? Two adults and up to fourchildren under sixteen get unlimited travel in most of Strathclyde by train. underground. bus and some ferry services. Prices start at a staggeringly generous £2 per person. I Bus For details of bus services call the following numbers: Anderston Bus Station: 248 7432. Buchanan Bus Station: 332 9191. Rural Daycatd Details on 226 4826. £2.50 (£1.50) per zone. Unlimited travel all day on 44 participating bus services. ferries and postbuses in your chosen zone in the Strathclyde countryside. Kelvin Central Charter Day Tours Details 248 7432. Running buses which pick up passengers in Glasgow. Cumbernauld. Airdric. llamilton. East Kilbride and Motherwell for special day trips to destinations such as Wonderwest World (£9.50/£7) and Blair Drummond Safari Park (£9.50/£7). at which yourentrance money will be paid by the bus company. Charles Rennie Mackintosh Tour Departs St Enoch Square 10.30am. Returns 5pm approx. 22 July/26 August. £12.50(£9). Details on 636 3190/2226 4826. Coach tour to Scotland Street School. Glasgow School of Art. Mackintosh llousc. Queen‘s Cross Church and then out to Hill House. Ilelcnsburgh. I Ferry For details of ferry crossings to Rothesay. Cumbrae and Arran call Caledonian MacBrayne. 0475 37607.
EAST COAST
| PAHAGLIDING
f I Cloudbusters Paragliding School 9
5 Lynedoch Place. Glasgow. 04] 634 6688. j The phrase ‘Away and jump off acliff‘
! assumes a literal meaning with
I Cloudbusters Paragliding School. Thrill-seekers keen to take their pleasure : out on the hills and into the skiesarc
; invited to join the Cloudbusters weekend i and fun days out in the wilds ofBiggar.
I The exhilarating sport involves strapping I yourself into a nappy-like structure and dangling from a multi—coloured canopy
j while being towed along by a car or boat.
A new innovation is the self-launching method. which involves running off a mountain-top. sea-cliffs or hills and soaring offinto the great unknown. Ifthe joys of solo-flight appeal then contact Cloudbusters at 041 634 6688 to find out more about their fun days and two-day starter courses. Recognised by the British Association of Parachuting Clubs. 24
miles from the city centre.
FLYING
I Edinburgh Air Centre Building 58A. Edinburgh Airport 33‘) 405‘). A negligible £100 burning a hole in your pocket? Well don’t despair as help is close to hand with the Edinburgh Air Centre. In return fora
Paint power
e" ‘ a» r
x .i ‘ .afi i w J .
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‘Everyone I know went crazy before I went,‘ says 21-year-old Carol Henderson from Giftnock remembering her decision to go on a weekend paintball trip with some bank colleagues. ‘They said, “You’re maaaad!" However, it didn’tturn out to be all “lads” and, once you got into the teamwork, it turned out to be good fun. They put ourwhole branch in one team and, although we spent halt the time missing the opposition with our paint pellets, often shooting our own team, ' we told ourselves, it’s only a game.’ Twenty-two-year-old Ian lrom Newlands, Glasgow, was in Carol’s team that day. 'II was a good job they employ marshalls to watch over these
it, the adrenalin tends to get going. Some of the regulars, who'd brought their own camouflage and gear, had to be reminded that they weren't in the army.’
So, would it be beneiicial to workplace relations to send bank managers along with their stall? Carol
game tor a laugh. Ilthey were going through a second childhood, or hadn’t escaped from their lirst, I’m sure the managers would enjoy themselves. Anyway, I was able to tell everyone tha I had no regets about having been. We did all compare bruises at work on Monday, though.’ (Michael Paterson)
In Sight Photography
games,‘ he says. ‘Once you get good at
smiles. ‘It would only work it they were '
i t l i l
one-hour pleasure flight they will be pleased to relieve you of your precious greenies. A variety ofset routes around the Lothian and Fife area is available; for instance. £50 will buy you a 30-minute return flight to Dunfermline. (No Duty Free). If that whets your appetite for a life among the clouds then perhaps a trial flying lesson at the knockdown price of £32 may be the beginning of a noveland exhilarating new hobby. SLr milesfrom the city centre.
ADVENTURE
I SPICE See panel. SPICE is an all-action Adventure/Social Club which sees itselfas offering ‘the Martini life-style for the pint of '80drinker‘.
( ’f'f‘
.. Q!
If you are interested in going alongto any of the above events or want a copy of the full SPICE programme contact Morna at 19” South West Cumberland Street Lane. Edinburgh El I3 6RB. Membership costs £45 and events vary in price from free to £800 for a holiday in India.
PAINTBALL
I Bedlam! Paintball Games Ltd 87 Lcith Walk. Edinburgh 555 1945. A standard full day costs £12 with a £10 deposit. A strange phenomenon is occurring within the tranquil and beautiful groundsof Melville Castle; an increasing number of grown men and women in fullcamouflage gear have been sighted splattering each other with paint pellets. Bedlam paintball is one of the fastest growing and most exciting sports around. The basic game pits teams against one another in surroundings such as woods. ditches and hills with the basic objective being to capture the opposing team’s base or flag. Fashion accessories include a full safety mask , snood and armbands. Additional pellets. smoke bombs. paint grenades and thunder flashes are available throughout the day. Players should be eighteen years or over. The consumption of alcohol is forbidden.
I Beaches North or south. there are numerous beaches along the East Coast used regularly by windsurfers. South of Edinburgh is generally more popular. First stop is Portobello which is fairly
‘ dirty. but has good waves and wind. asdo
the generally cleaner beaches at
Musselburgh. Longniddry. Gullane and North Berwick. Anstruther. Elie and St Andrews are good beaches to head north for. Not to be forgotten (although again it is fairly polluted) is the Firth of Forth.
I Mach Lady Lawson Street. 2295887. Edinburgh‘s windsurfing specialists hire out boards at £30 per weekend (wetsuit included).
I Teaching venues Dotted along the coast near Edinburgh are numerous safe and sheltered teaching venues where the qualified instructors will have even the most timid landlubbers speeding overthe surfin no time. A two-hour session at the following RYA centres costs around £10: Loch Ore Meadows Fife. 0592 860264.
Port Edgar Sailing Centre South Queensferry, 03] 331 3330.
Elie Watersports Fife. 0333 330962.
Dave Smith, Spice UK
I Yellowcraig Only two miles from the village of Dirleton, Yellowcraig is on the site of a now extinct volcano, which may explain why it is such a paradise for geology, shellfish, flora and birdlife boffins who come he re in their droves. The miles of super-clean and beautiful beaches stretch right round the coast to North Berwick. playing host to hordes of school parties who descend on the area in June to take advantage of the outdoor pursuits. Weekends should be a safe bet though. Given that Yellowcraig is but a hop. step and a jump away from North Berwick, the same sludge is still Iurkingin the flotsam so it‘s advisable to keep your mouth firmly shut when swimming. 22 miles from city centre. I Gullane One of the few beaches to meet with EC beach standards. Gullane is also famed for being the training ground ofthe Hibs and Hearts football squads who regularly run up and down its grassy dunes. Once a favourite watering-spot of the Victorian gentry, Gullane has retained its tranquil, mile-long beach in perfect sun-worshipping condition. Twenty miles from city centre. I North Berwick With the arrival ofthe railway in the 19th century, North Berwick became increasingly popular with Edinburgh day-trippcrs. Fortunately, the town has resisted any crass commercialism and retained its sandy bays in prime condition. If a dip in the heated outdoor-swimming pool doesn‘t fill you full of glee then head for Lodge Grounds which boasts a putting green, aviary, trampolines and perfect picnic spots. A rather worrying water cleanliness problem exists so, as they say in Hill Street Blues. ‘be careful out there‘. 24 milesfrom city centre. I While Sands Further down the coast past Dunbar are two of the cleanest stretches of sand in the south of Scotland. White Sands and Thornton Loch both come with the highest recommendation from the Forth River Purification Board. Said to exceed any EC standards. the water is excellent and the short stretches of sand very secluded. away from the rock-chomping, splashing crowds of seaside resorts. In order to preserve this tranquil and clean idyII. the Keep Scotland Beautiful Campaign urges beach-bums to leave only their footprints on the sands. 35 milesfrom city centre.
I Aberdour Broaden your beach horizons and get some Forth Valley sand between your toes at one of Scotland‘s more attractive smaller resorts. The famous Silver Sands mean that the windbreakers and deck chairs can get rather close together on hot days, so if the sand getsin your sandwiches you can always move onto the nearby trampolines or putting greens or explore the caves in true Secret Seven style. On the water cleanliness score, Aberdour gets a dubious borderline placing. Seventeen miles from city centre.
The List3-161ulyl99213