Summer 2012 has so far been a damp squib for most parts of the UK – especially in Scotland!
Heavy rain over the course of the last three months has caused flooding in parts of Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Borders as the rivers such as the Esk and Tyne have burst their banks.
This in turn has caused travel disruption via road and rail as passengers travelling through major stations like Haymarket in the heart of Edinburgh have been hampered in their efforts to get in and out of the Scottish capital.
Adverse weather earlier this week prompted the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to issue 13 flood warnings across Scotland at a peak time for tourism.
It’s so far unclear what impact – if any – the wet summer has had visitor numbers in Scotland, but tourists are being urged not to stay away as the weather is expected to improve over the next few weeks.
And with events like the Edinburgh Fringe Festival now in full swing, there’s certainly plenty of interesting things going on in Scotland to keep holidaymakers happy come rain or shine.
The streets of the city come live during the Fringe, which is the world’s largest art festival, and there’s still time to book a trip with scottish-cottages.co.uk to stay nearby and get involved in it all. Tickets are still available for many of the shows and a lot of the events are free.
This year’s line-up includes performances from high-profile comedians such as Stewart Lee and Rhod Gilbert. There’s even an art exhibition from Harry Hill!
“I have been painting in secret for about 20 years,” revealed Hill to the BBC.
“Basically what I do is I watch TV all day for TV Burp then I go to the kitchen and I get a piece of wood and I start painting.
“It is just a way of winding down really.
“People have said to me ‘maybe you should have an exhibition’ but I always kind of thought this was a little private thing I had going. It wasn’t like I was going to sell them.”
In total, 2,695 shows will be performed at 279 different venues across the city throughout the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
