Glad to see that we can now view the rates for our reviews. Maybe next time Ciao should test the new...
Glad to see that we can now view the rates for our reviews. Maybe next time Ciao should test the new system before installing it?
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As I said in a previous review Dave currently has a contract in Edinburgh and I have come up to stay with him for a fortnight to keep him company and to get a break from my daily routine at home.
Last weekend we decided to go and see the Royal Yacht Britannia which is currently moored in the waters of the Firth of Forth at Leith in Edinburgh.
The last time we were in Edinburgh we drove out to see Britannia but didn't have time to actually go on board. She was moored next to a small building and car park and that was exactly what we expected to find when we got there on Saturday last.
Instead we found the yacht had been moved to the other side of the harbour next to a shopping mall called Ocean Terminal which I must
say looked stunning from the outside, especially as it was all decorated ready for Christmas.
We went by car and parked in the large multi storey car park next to the mall and the parking here was free, which was a nice surprise. It is also possible to get to the Ocean Terminal by bus from Edinburgh City Centre using Lothian Bus number 1, 11, 22, 34 or 35.
Ocean Terminal forms part of the redevelopment of Leith and it is a centre containing over 70 shops, restaurants, leisure facilities and entrance to the Royal Yacht Britannia all under one roof.
On entering the centre I was struck by the bright, clean lines and classic look of the whole place. The Christmas decorations were stunning but understated making the whole area look smart and classy.
The 70 shops include many high street chains such as Marks and Spencer's, Debenhams, Boots, BHS, The Body Shop, Thornton's, Waterstones, Gap, and Lush to name but a few. As you may guess I was well pleased to see Lush as we don't have one in Llandudno so I do love to go in and at least have a mooch and a sniff even if I don't buy!
There is also a branch of Royal Bank of Scotland, a Build-a-Bear Workshop, card shops, phone shops, furniture shops and food shops. So, as you see, there is plenty of choice here and dare I say it, something for everyone.
There are no less than fourteen places to eat with many of them having stunning views out over the Firth of Forth and Britannia. They range from Marks and Spencer's Simply Food for sandwiches, cakes and tea and coffee to full blown restaurants and Chinese, Italian and Bistro dining.
The leisure facilities in the centre comprise of Molly Playcentre for the children, Transgression Park, an 'urban freesports facility' (skate park), Pure Spa for a good pampering, The Royal Yacht Britannia and a 12 screen Vue Cinema.
The Ocean Terminal also has a website at www.oceanterminal.com/home which gives all the details of what is there and also details of what's on at the centre. They have various events such as Farmer's Markets, Mall Walking (a fitness event based on walking round the mall) and special store events.
We began by working our way up the escalators to the third (top) floor in order to take our tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia. The entrance to the tour and the shop stand side by side and the shop is accessible directly from the mall without doing the tour.
After we had visited The Britannia we decided that, although we had bought and eaten fudge on board (tut, tut) we were hungry so we needed to choose somewhere to eat.
We chose Potters Bar and Kitchen. This was busy so we were asked to wait for ten to fifteen minutes but there was a comfy bar area in which to wait and we were given the menus to look at whilst we waited. Within five minutes we were shown to a table, the food was excellent and the service was top notch! Two main meals plus two pots of tea costs us £21 and was well worth the money. Incidentally we were seated right by the window with a lovely view of Britannia and the Forth which added to the experience.
We considered going to see a film but decided we didn't really feel like it so we spent some time having a good mooch around the various shops and then headed back to Swanston where we are staying.
All in all I would recommend the place. You get a clean, safe, classy place with a nice bustling atmosphere. There are all the shops you could wish for, plenty of choice of places to eat and free parking - what more do you want?
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It sounds as though there are now far more shops there than two years ago when we were there - many of them were empty units. I hate to think howw the current economic climate is going to affect developements like this. Richard.
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Advantages: clean, bright, airy, good selection of shops and facilities, easy parking Disadvantages: can be a little too quiet at times, not a vast range of shops
Advantages: clean, bright, airy, good selection of shops and facilities, easy parking Disadvantages: can be a little too quiet at times, not a vast range of shops
Dec 11th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
