Edinburgh Christmas Market 2025 dates revealed ahead of festive season
The traditional Christmas Market will return to the East Princes Street Gardens with a multitude of market stall holders offering locally made crafts from wooden cabins.
Visitors can enjoy mulled wine, big bratwurst sausages, strawberries and marshmallows dipped in chocolate with food and drink stalls placed throughout the market.
More than 75% of the market was made up of local and Scottish traders last year, selling everything from hand-made Christmas ornaments to festive fare and organisers have opened applications for this year already.
Councillor Margaret Graham, Culture and Communities Convener, said: 'This year Edinburgh's Christmas looks set to light up the city centre once again with an exciting programme of events for everyone to enjoy.
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'I'm really pleased that the Edinburgh community will be a focus too, with discounted tickets, offers for local groups and fund-raising for local charities taking place. The Capital truly is a magical place to be at this time of year and there's so much on offer throughout the city.'
Lawrence Thorburn, owner of Edinburgh's Nutcracker Christmas Shop said: "As local business owners, we are thrilled to see the return of Edinburgh's Christmas Market this winter.
'We have already submitted an application for what will be our 12th season at the Edinburgh's Christmas Market. As a local, family business, with permanent premises in the city we welcome the opportunity to showcase our products and provide Christmas gifts to such a large audience.
'Working with Unique Assembly over the past three years, we have seen the Market go from strength to strength and we are keen to return, looking forward to welcoming locals and visitors from around the world. The event has become imperative for our small family business and our team look forward to taking part each year."
The LNER big wheel and the 80M Around the World star flyer both offer incredible views of the city at the markets, while other rides are available for those who prefer to stay closer to the ground.
Other favourites making a return include the opportunity to meet Santa and his elves at Santa's Stories, with children able to write the all important letter and drop it straight into the Santa post-box while the outdoor ice rink also makes a comeback.
The EH residents discount will return and offer locals more than 100,000 tickets at 20% off.
Tickets will also be given to local community groups for people to enjoy the festivities.
Roddy Smith, Chief Executive of Essential Edinburgh said: 'Edinburgh's Christmas is always a highlight of the year within our city centre. The attractions welcome thousands of residents and visitors to enjoy the most magical time of the year.
'With Edinburgh's city centre home to high class retail and hospitality businesses to suit everyone's tastes, this Christmas promises to be another fantastic time to visit and enjoy the best of Edinburgh.'
Unique Assembly, producers of Edinburgh's Christmas said: 'We are thrilled to share this year's dates for Edinburgh's Christmas celebrations, with a seven-week programme packed full of family favourites, plus new events and attractions to be announced.
'This year's event promises to be one of the best ever and we look forward to welcoming everyone to enjoy some sparkle as the nights close in.'
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The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh Christmas Market 2025 dates revealed ahead of festive season
The traditional Christmas Market will return to the East Princes Street Gardens with a multitude of market stall holders offering locally made crafts from wooden cabins. Visitors can enjoy mulled wine, big bratwurst sausages, strawberries and marshmallows dipped in chocolate with food and drink stalls placed throughout the market. More than 75% of the market was made up of local and Scottish traders last year, selling everything from hand-made Christmas ornaments to festive fare and organisers have opened applications for this year already. Councillor Margaret Graham, Culture and Communities Convener, said: 'This year Edinburgh's Christmas looks set to light up the city centre once again with an exciting programme of events for everyone to enjoy. Read More 'I'm really pleased that the Edinburgh community will be a focus too, with discounted tickets, offers for local groups and fund-raising for local charities taking place. The Capital truly is a magical place to be at this time of year and there's so much on offer throughout the city.' Lawrence Thorburn, owner of Edinburgh's Nutcracker Christmas Shop said: "As local business owners, we are thrilled to see the return of Edinburgh's Christmas Market this winter. 'We have already submitted an application for what will be our 12th season at the Edinburgh's Christmas Market. As a local, family business, with permanent premises in the city we welcome the opportunity to showcase our products and provide Christmas gifts to such a large audience. 'Working with Unique Assembly over the past three years, we have seen the Market go from strength to strength and we are keen to return, looking forward to welcoming locals and visitors from around the world. The event has become imperative for our small family business and our team look forward to taking part each year." The LNER big wheel and the 80M Around the World star flyer both offer incredible views of the city at the markets, while other rides are available for those who prefer to stay closer to the ground. Other favourites making a return include the opportunity to meet Santa and his elves at Santa's Stories, with children able to write the all important letter and drop it straight into the Santa post-box while the outdoor ice rink also makes a comeback. The EH residents discount will return and offer locals more than 100,000 tickets at 20% off. Tickets will also be given to local community groups for people to enjoy the festivities. Roddy Smith, Chief Executive of Essential Edinburgh said: 'Edinburgh's Christmas is always a highlight of the year within our city centre. The attractions welcome thousands of residents and visitors to enjoy the most magical time of the year. 'With Edinburgh's city centre home to high class retail and hospitality businesses to suit everyone's tastes, this Christmas promises to be another fantastic time to visit and enjoy the best of Edinburgh.' Unique Assembly, producers of Edinburgh's Christmas said: 'We are thrilled to share this year's dates for Edinburgh's Christmas celebrations, with a seven-week programme packed full of family favourites, plus new events and attractions to be announced. 'This year's event promises to be one of the best ever and we look forward to welcoming everyone to enjoy some sparkle as the nights close in.'
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Sir David Murray's biggest Rangers regret is giving keys to Craig Whyte
The former Rangers chairman will release his autobiography on July 3. Regrets? Sir David Murray has a few. Selling up after 23 years as chairman of Rangers isn't one of them - but giving the keys to Craig Whyte most certainly is. Millionaire metals tycoon Murray was the man who bankrolled an era of glitter and gold at Ibrox. Over the course of his two-decade run as Rangers owner and chairman, he estimates that sums close to £80million were invested by himself and his businesses. That hefty wedge of notes brought an array of international stars to Govan and with it a haul of trophies. Fifteen league crowns, 20 domestic cup wins and a European final. These were the best of times to be a Rangers fan. And yet Murray now stands accused of being the person responsible for setting the club on a course to wrack and ruin. The man who famously vowed to spend a tenner for every fiver slapped down by Celtic has been left with the legacy of being remembered chiefly for the EBT gamble that has cost the club so dearly. When he bought Rangers from Lawrence Marlborough for £6m in 1988, the Ibrox outfit had a spending power that allowed it to compete with the richest clubs in England and across Europe. But by the time mysterious Scottish businessman Whyte offered to take the club off his hands for a solitary pound coin, Murray's Rangers were struggling to keep up with city neighbours Celtic, never mind competing with the continent's biggest clubs. Faced with difficulties in his metals empire, a global economic recession and a disastrous early Champions League exit at the hands of Lithuanian minnows FBK Kaunus, Rangers were already operating under close scrutiny from their bankers at Lloyds Banking Group. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! 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With an investigation brewing into the controversial £47million EBT tax scheme Murray had deployed in order to continue signing big names, he decided the time had come to escape the suffocating pressures of the Ibrox boardroom too. But by handing the keys to the club to Whyte in May 2011, he had sealed the club's fate. Within nine months the club's operating company would lurch into administration and then liquidation. What's followed has been decade and a half of torture for a Rangers faithful forced to watch as Celtic have lifted 13 of the last 14 league titles. The club continues to battle against the fallout from that astonishing collapse to this very day. Now in his new book Mettle - which is being serialised in today's Daily Record - Sir David apologies for the role he played in the demise of the Ibrox institution. He writes: 'More than a decade after the event, the question I still frequently get asked is: 'Do you regret selling Rangers?' The answer is always: ' time was up.' 'Honestly, 23 years was too long. We had enjoyed the greatest success in the club's entire history but it was time for change. But do I regret the sale to Craig Whyte? Absolutely. I apologise. It was a huge error of judgement in the middle of a financial crisis. Looking back, I had made a huge mistake.' During discussions with Murray, Whyte gave assurances he had the cash to not only wipe out the club's debts but also further funds to upgrade Walter Smith's squad and Ibrox itself. As it turns our, this Walter Mitty character had neither. It was the Daily Record that revealed he had struck a deal to mortgage off future season-ticket sales with finance firm Ticketus just to raise the readies required to complete the transaction - a fact that was kept from Murray, along with the fact Whyte had previously been barred from acting as a company director. The former chairman later claimed he'd been duped by White - a line he sticks to in the book, 'As it happened, Rangers went into administration in 2012 after failing to pay a multimillion pound HMRC tax and VAT bill,' Murray, now 73, explains. On the Rangers tax case he is clear that the factual amounts charged by HMRC assisted in restricting others parties in acquiring the club. They chose to gross up the payments through the trusts, increasing a non grossed up claim of £23.5 million to £37 million. Interest of £10.4million was then applied. A penalty of £23.5 million was then added which is virtually the maximum allowed with HMRC citing the illegal nature of the schemes. In effect, a base claim of £23.5 million became more than £70 million. The penalty was appealed by the liquidators then ultimately withdrawn in full by HMRC, who belatedly agreed the allegation of illegality was unfounded. He added: "Administrators described their 'widespread' concern at the Ticketus arrangement, where the club were paid money upfront for season tickets sold for multiple seasons to help cashflow. 'I deeply regretted and still regret selling the club to Whyte. And I freely admit that if the information had been available to me at the time I would not have gone through with it. My decision was taken in good faith. There is only so much information out there. 'After someone has been disqualified for seven years it is not that easy to carry out checks. But I was in a situation where we had been endeavouring to sell the club for four years. We had received proof of funds. We had a legal document confirming he was going to spend money on players, eventually, once he had paid back the loan. 'He met the criteria that were in his offer document. What we wanted to do was get debt out of the club. 'The phrase 'debt-ridden club' was being used a lot. Whyte made a statement that the club was never in better financial state when he took it over. I thought: 'I hope to God I have done the right thing. I've passed it on. This is a guy saying he is going to spend money on players, on health and safety and do Ibrox up.' 'That was a legal offer document which you were entitled to feel would be honoured. I know others had doubts. Paul Murray was keen to buy the club. I had nothing but respect for him. He's a Rangers fan and wanted what was best for the club. 'But at that time he was not able to make a satisfactory offer. He wanted debt left in and the tax case put to one side. There have always been suggestions that I was under ferocious pressure from the bank to do the deal but that was not the case. 'The bank wanted their money back, of course, and I had made it clear that I wanted out of Rangers. At that time we were going into recession and people were not exactly queueing up to buy football clubs. Lloyds wanted out of the football industry. 'I wanted out but if we had known about the Ticketus issue we would never have done the deal. If I could turn back the clock, I would.' Whyte would later be cleared at a High Court trial of buying the by fraudulent means. But Murray remains unhappy about the way the case was handled. Looking back on his first interactions with the Motherwell -born businessman, he said "Whyte seemed quite affable and plausible. I remember someone asking at the time: 'Does this pass the sniff test?' and yes it did. He was Scottish, supposedly a Rangers supporter, he had the money and of course there was a Stock Exchange document there. 'If you can't believe that, then what the hell can you believe? A journalist asked me at the time if our due diligence should have been more thorough. It's easy to look back and say: 'Yes, of course it should' but anyone typing Whyte's name into Google back in 2011 would have found one article from years before. Nothing else. 'It seemed strange. There was even a rumour that everything about him had been removed from the internet. I've no idea how true that was. What Whyte had that other potential bids did not was the backing of a reputable legal firm. 'The fact he was clearing money into their clients' account and the fact that they confirmed they had sufficient funds to complete the transaction that was being negotiated goes a long way to being positive confirmation. 'So many aspects of the Whyte trial still rankle with me today. For starters, I believe it should have taken place in Edinburgh or another town. 'I've had it recently confirmed that prior to the trial, it was stated that anyone with knowledge of the case, with shares, bonds or a season ticket at Ibrox at the time of the indictment could not be a juror. 'Now Donald Findlay [Whyte's defence lawyer and former Gers vice-chairman] was a prominent season ticket holder, shareholder and club director. I understand that as a defence counsel, he wasn't subject to the same strict criteria as those on the jury. 'But I wish he had been, and it still doesn't sit well with me to this day.' The bitterness felt by the Rangers faithful shows no sign of relenting either. Murray understands that - but he hopes they will take on board the situation he and the club found themselves in as the world economy suffered its biggest downturn since the Great Depression. Against the financial crisis, the businessman was faced with a life-threatening medial procedure to fix an aortic aneurysm, something he reveals in the book for the first time. 'It has now been 14 years since I relinquished control of the club and there is no doubt that my legacy was tarnished,' he writes. 'The first 15 or 16 years of my tenure were outstanding from both a sporting point of view and a business perspective but the final few years were tricky and took a lot out of me. 'When we were in that tight period I ploughed a lot of money into the club. I worked out that our company had put just short of £80million into Rangers during my time at the club. Others, including Dave King, invested seriously as well. 'But ultimately, when the crash came, I took the fall. No one else. I was captain of the ship. It was undoubtedly a low point in the club's history and even now, more than a decade later, I still feel responsible. 'It's still difficult to believe that it got as far as it did but I will never try to hide. Thankfully for the fans, Rangers have survived and across the past few years have remained competitive, even reaching another European final. 'I hope, in hindsight, Rangers fans will understand that there were a number of key factors going on in business and my life that they were simply not aware of at the time. I was caught in the perfect storm of a bank collapsing, a shocking result in Europe against Kaunas that cost us millions, a club essentially in financial difficulty and a medical condition that I couldn't announce publicly but put my life sharply into focus.' Preorder on Amazon HERE
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Scotland's 'best wine bars with great food' named as two city venues singled out
Aberdeen and Edinburgh wine bars have been included on a prestigious list. Scotland's top wine bars have been named in a prestigious new list. Two venues in the country were included in the UK-wide roundup. On Tuesday, June 24, The Good Food Guide shared a list of "19 of Britain's best wine bars and bottle shops with great food". Both of the Scottish wine bars featured on the list are located in cities. The first wine bar in Scotland named among the best in the UK for food according to The Good Food Guide is Spry Wines in Edinburgh. The venue is situated on Haddington Place, a short walk from the city centre. Spry Wines is a bar and bottle shop that specialises in naturally made wines. It also has both a la carte and five-course tasting food menus to choose from. The Spry Wines website includes a sample menu showcasing many of its dishes. These include smoked aubergine dip with radishes and rhubarb vinaigrette, charred hispi cabbage with hazelnut ajo blanco and chive oil, and oat panna cotta with cherry blossom and candied walnuts. In addition to being named among the top wine bars with food in the UK by The Good Food Guide, Spry Wines is very popular with customers. It has an average rating of 4.7 out of five on Google based on 247 reviews. One recent visitor stated: "Amazing experience at Spry Wines. The food was amazing and had such interesting flavour combinations! The camembert basque cheesecake was so delicious and so interesting. "The place is very minimalistic and the staff are all very friendly. The prices are quite expensive for the portion sizes but we were happy to pay the amount for the experience." Elsewhere, the other Scottish wine bar that was named among the best for food is Mara in Aberdeen. It can be found on Thistle Street in the Granite City. Mara is a wine bar and bottle shop that serves up Italian-influenced small plates. In addition to its wide selection of wines, it also offers gins and spritzes. Among the dishes on Mara's menu are caramelised white onion and sage crostino, garlic and rosemary flat bread with white bean hummus, and hand dived scallop with double chicken sauce and cavolo nero pesto. It also includes desserts such as tiramisu and affogato. Like Spry, Mara has received very positive reviews from members of the public. On Google, it has an overall rating of 4.9 out of five based on 47 reviews. One customer posted: "Favourite spot for Saturday afternoon food and drinks. Good selection of food and the staff are very knowledgeable (including dealing with allergies). "Wines have always been excellent (and they do some excellent spritzers)." Elsewhere, other wine bars and bottle shops named on The Good Food Guide's list include 40 Maltby Street and Bar Crispin in London. Other venues singled out include Friends of Ham in Leeds and Wright's Food Emporium in Carmarthen. The full list of "19 of Britain's best wine bars and bottle shops with great food" can be found on The Good Food Guide website.
