Last updated: Apr 24th, 2024
Simply WOW, simply brilliant, simply electric and an utterly and truly unforgettable, lifetime experience – that’s what we felt having joined our groups at the Edinburgh Fringe this August just gone!
With so much to talk about when it comes to the Fringe (it is the biggest performance arts festival in the world after all), we could get truly lost in the time we had – so we thought we’d focus on our experience as first-time goers.
Trust us, we were totally blown away by it all…
You knew you were at something BIG when we arrived in Edinburgh Friday afternoon. People were buzzing to and thro’, streets were alive, bars and restaurants were bursting, street performers were exciting the crowds, and you could feel the electricity in the air.
We took in the energy of an atmospheric Royal Mile and then the absolutely captivating walk up to the Edinburgh Castle for the Tattoo.
‘Wow, what an experience.’
Mitchell Wood, Rayburn Tours
A complete and banging performance of culture, art, colour, vibrancy, and of course – incredible music, where modern and traditional are smashed together to form an unforgettable experience! We enjoyed it so much we wrote a full blog on our fantastic time at the event. You can find that here!
After we’d come back down to earth from the stunning Tattoo, we got lucky with a restaurant table (restaurants were totally packed!) and sat back and enjoyed the hustle of a Fringe under the night lights.
Saturday: what a day and when you’re in Edinburgh in the month of August, the whole 24 hours takes on a new meaning!
Breakfast done; we knew that would be the calmest moment of the day as our itinerary was bursting with soaking in the Fringe atmosphere. We also had three incredible choirs performing from tours we’d organised. Trust, we were buzzing.
‘And the Fringe festival atmosphere delivered!’
Mitchell Wood, Rayburn Tours
Every type of street performer was out on the Scottish capital’s streets; there’s a ton of people; restaurants, cafes, bars are bursting to the brim – it’s a whirlwind of energy and colour and music.
One of our favourite performers were a violin and cello quartet who played the Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune and a doubles tennis match with their instruments replicating the sound of the racket and ball. Fun and super talented.
Our stand-out times for the day were, of course, being in the ready-made audience for the performances from the choirs with which we organised tours for. Our non-stop, full throttle timetable looked like this:
Each performance from the three types of choirs on tour with us were brilliant and truly unforgettable.
The fun and lively Fab Choir, a ladies pop choral contingent from Glossop, brought the colour and energy. They performed above a bar mid-afternoon at trendy Brewhemia and the place was, quite simply, rocking. Same rules applied at their next venue Le Monde, with another electric and full house lifting the lid!
‘WGC are a gospel community choir welcoming people from all walks of life and left everyone stunned at both their venues. Greyfriars had to stop letting people coming in!
Mitchell Wood, Rayburn Tours
The same energy and ready-made audience were at the Mound too (which Wellingborough organised directly with the Edinburgh Fringe), with people packing the square and some likening the experience to being at Wembley Stadium!
Last, but by no means least, were the Voices City of Derby Girls Choir, with their smaller choir performing at Greyfriars in the evening. Delicate and simply gorgeous singing, we were truly taken back by their quality. A perfect way to end the evening. Absolutely zapped of all our energy, but excited for our next and final day, we took ourselves back to our accommodation.
Once again, street performers and crowds were building, ready for the day. Today, we had performances from WGC at Canongate Kirk and Voices at St Vincent’s Chapel. And when we say both performances provided high quality and unforgettable experiences, we’re not exaggerating.
Canongate Kirk is colourful, vibrant, fun, energetic, historic and also has an outside speaker system. After packing the place out, WGC’s audio performance was broadcast over those same speakers on to the street – with the street being temporarily closed off because of so many people dancing and singing from their singing!
‘Last day for Marketing at the Fringe – but no time to rest on our laurels as we had more performances and even more of Fringe and the Scottish capital to take in!’
Mitchell Wood, Rayburn Tours
The Voices brought beauty and tremendous harmony to St Vincent’s Chapel, with the intimate and historic venue perfect for their quality singing. You were left stunned and captivated by the whole experience. Simply gorgeous vocals.
After those performances, we chatted with the choirs and then got ready to drive home, with it being an almost 5 and half car journey for us to Derby.
To experience all of Fringe though, it was worth every second.
It’s almost a few weeks after our Edinburgh Fringe experience, but what can we say but that when typing this, we were simply full of goosebumps and good feelings.
The Edinburgh Fringe takes culture, crowds, performers, electricity, history, and brings them all together to leave you feeling like you’ve experienced something truly unforgettable.
And trust us, it really is.
If you want the same incredible experience with your group, then call or email us and one of our expert and friendly Tour Consultants can have a good old chinwag about everything great about the event.
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