Golf courses

Edinburgh is a great city for playing golf in and within a short distance you will find some of Scotland’s most famous and historic golf courses.

Edinburgh has a splendid array of very accessible golf courses, some of which offer incredible views of the city. You could be teeing off in sight of Edinburgh Castle and Arthur’s Seat. Scotland’s capital might not be synonymous with golf, but the quality of courses available is excellent.

You don’t have to venture far from Edinburgh either to play some of the most famous and historic courses in the game. East Lothian has an astonishing amount of legendary golfing venues. There is Muirfield, where the Open has been staged 15 times, and will again in 2013. Musselburgh is another venerable golf club while Gullane has no less than three classic links courses.

With the luxurious East and West courses at Dalmahoy just west of Edinburgh, and so much more in an area that has such a rich golfing heritage, golfers are simply spoilt for choice.

You can find details of all of the golf courses in Edinburgh and the Lothians and decide which ones you want to play during your break.

TASKS

I. Practice the pronunciation of the following proper names:

Edinburgh, Medieval, Georgian New Town, the Mound, Scottish, Dean Gallery, St. Giles' Cathedral, the Law Courts, Nor Loch, the Burgh Muir, Sciennes, the Meadows, Napier, Leith, the Royal Yacht Britannia, Dunfermline, Bonnyrigg, Dalkeith, Penicuik

II. Answer the following questions:

1. What city is the seat of the Scottish parliament and government?

2. Where is Edinburgh situated?

3. What festivals does Edinburgh host?

4. How many overseas visitors does Edinburgh attract a year?

5. Does the Royal Scottish Academy hold regular major exhibitions of painting?

6. What does the council-owned City Art Centre show?

7. What plan has the Old Town preserved?

8. What do you know about the street layout of Edinburgh?

9. What dwellings have been the norm from the 16th century onwards…….

10. Why were numerous vaults below street level inhabited?

11. When and where were the National Gallery of Scotland and Royal Scottish Academy Building built?

12. What area is the Edinburgh " Southside" broadly analogous to?

13. Does Leith, the port of Edinburgh, still retain a separate identity from Edinburgh?

14. When and where does the world’s largest celebration of the written word take place?

15. What is part of the wider Edinburgh Festivals programme, the book festival renowned for?

16. Why is the Children’s Programme also extremely popular?

17. What does the Edinburgh Art Festival combine?

18. What do you know about the unique Festival of Politics in Edinburgh?

19. What participants does the Festival of Politics attract?

20. What exhibits does the Writers' Museum, near the top of the Royal Mile, contain?

III. Complete the following sentences:

1. The City of Edinburgh Council governs …….

2. The city was one of the historical major centres of …….

3. The best-known of the festivals are …….

4. Edinburgh has a large number of museums and libraries …….

5. Contemporary collections are shown in …….

6. There are private galleries, including …….

7. Other notable places of the Old Town include…….

8. Due to space restrictions imposed by the narrowness of the " tail", the Old Town …….

9. The New Town was an 18th century solution to the problem …….

10. A popular residential part of the city is its south side, comprising …….

11. With the redevelopment of Leith, Edinburgh …….

12. The urban area of Edinburgh is almost entirely contained within …….

13. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is a fortnight of fantastic events …….

14. The book festival converts the gardens into…….

15. If art is your passion, the Edinburgh Art Festival, Scotland’s largest visual arts festival is simply unmissable …….

16. From internationally renowned artists to those whose work is more experimental, the Edinburgh Art Festival presents …….

17. The unique Festival of Politics in Edinburgh offers …….

18. The Old Town is home to the National Museum of Scotland which …….

19. The Museum of Edinburgh is packed with …….

20. Edinburgh’s skyline is punctuated with …….

IV. Explain the meaning of the words and expressions and use them in the sentences of your own:

Council area, historical centre, Enlightment, World Heritage Site, unique character, settled population, performing-arts festival, street layout, extinct volcano, incredibly compact, piece of public artwork.