142 Accessible Edinburgh: A Festival Guide Live Music 143

Edinburgh has a small – but perfectly formed – gay and lesbian
scene, centred on the area around Broughton St (known affec-
tionately as the ‘Pink Triangle’) at the eastern end of New Town.
Scotsgay (www.scotsgay.co.uk) is the local monthly magazine
covering gay and lesbian issues, with listings of gay-friendly pubs
and clubs. See also http://www.edinburghgayscene. com for online
listings. Useful contacts include Edinburgh LGBT Centre (www.
lgbthealth.org.uk; 9 Howe St) and Lothian LGBT Helpline
(0300-123 2523; http://www.lgbt-helpline-scotland.org.uk; noon-9pm
Tue & Wed).

Pubs & Clubs

CC Blooms
http://www.ccbloomsedinburgh.com; 23 Greenside Pl; 11am-3am Mon-
Sat, 12.30pm-3am Sun

New owners have given the raddled old queen of Edinburgh’s gay
scene a shot in the arm, with two floors of deafening dance and
disco every night. It’s overcrowded and the drinks are a bit over-
priced but it’s worth a visit – go early, or sample the wild karaoke
on Sunday nights. Sadly, management inform us that it is not
wheelchair-accessible, nor do they have an accessible toilet.

Regent
2 Montrose Tce; noon-1am Mon-Sat, 12.30pm-1am Sun

This is a pleasant gay local with a relaxed atmosphere (no loud
music), serving coffee and croissants as well as excellent real
ales, including Deuchars IPA and Caledonian 80/-. It’s the meet-
ing place for the Lesbian and Gay Real Ale Drinkers club (first
Monday of month at 9pm). It’s listed as wheelchair-accessible on
Yelp, but we have no first-hand testimonial.

Live Music

Edinburgh is a great place to hear traditional Scottish (and Irish)

folk music, with a mix of regular spots and impromptu sessions.

The Gig Guide (www.gigguide.co.uk) is a free email newsletter

and listing website covering live music in Edinburgh and Scotland.

Edinburgh is home to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO;

http://www.sco.org.uk), one of Europe’s finest and well worth hearing.

Their performances are usually held at Queen’s Hall (p137) or

Usher Hall (p140).

Scottish Opera (www.scottishopera.org.uk) and the Royal

Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO; http://www.rsno.org.uk) are based

in Glasgow but regularly perform in Edinburgh, at the Edinburgh

Festival Theatre (p136) and Usher Hall (p140), respectively.

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Accessible Edinburgh: A Festival Guide