Edinburgh Rocks Returns! - 2018

It's been 5 long years, but Scotland's premier CouchSurfing event is emerging back into the light, scratching itself and looking for a bottle of Irn Bru... Spurred on by two long-time fans of the event (and one former organiser who really should know better by now...), saddened by its passing in summer of 2013, the aim is to have a fun-filled but casual weekend with travelling friends old and new, taking in the beauty of Scotland's capital, from the peak of Arthur's Seat to the comfort of some of its pubs - and of course, no Edinburgh Rocks would be complete without a Ceilidh! The plan is as follows: Friday - From 5:30pm (1730) - Meet up and get to know each other at Monboddo, on Bread St - From 7:30pm (1930) - Prepare groups (of 4-6 people) for pub crawling - start point is Monboddo, and there will be a few different options. Departure at 8:00 (2000) - From 11:00pm (2300) - Final stop for the night at the Banshee Labyrinth, on Niddry St (be aware that the later you turn up, the higher the chance that there will be a queue to get in!) Saturday - From 10:30am (1030) - Picnic brunch on Calton Hill (weather permitting - in case of bad weather, an alternative will be announced closer to the time, via the CS event) - From 2:00pm (1400) - Meet up on Calton Hill and select teams (of 4-6 people) for the scavenger hunt. Departure at 2:30 (1430) - At 5:00pm (1700) - Finish of the scavenger hunt at the west end of Princes St Gardens, by the bandstand - [Free time for dinner/drinks with friends/hosts] - At 8:45pm (2045) - Meet up at Ghillie Dhu, on Rutland Place, ready for the Ceilidh. Doors open around 9:00pm (2100) and the band starts playing at 9:30pm (2130). DJs take over from around midnight. Numbers are strictly limited by capacity on the night, and it's first-come-first-served - the guest list serves to get you a cheaper price but does not guarantee you entry if they have reached their maximum numbers, so don't leave it too late! Sunday - From 10:30am (1030) - Recovery fry-up (cooked breakfast) at the Standing Order, on George St - From 1:30pm (1330) - Meet up outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, to make the hike up Arthur's Seat (weather permitting - in case of bad weather, an alternative will be announced closer to the time, via the CS event) - [For those not into climbing hills, Edinburgh has a wealth of museums, as well as a Castle and a Royal Palace, so plenty of other options!] - From 4:30pm (1630) - Final picnic and meet-up on the Meadows (weather permitting - in case of bad weather, an alternative will be announced closer to the time, via the CS event) (The more observant will have noticed lots of "weather dependent" on there - this is Scotland, the weather can be very unpredictable, even in Summer, so we may have to go to backup plans at short notice if the weather is really bad - we'll aim to make a decision by the night before in all cases) Map of meeting points for the various activities: https://goo.gl/F6JMHv Be there, or be a numpty! For those who love to chatter, Whatsapp group chat: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DK5JCiyyuyhKp6cugjghUx (this is for group chat, but is *not* the official communications channel - anything vital will go out via the event page on CS)