It can be difficult to find cheap food at the Fringe - especially as most places seem to be packed or overpriced in August.

Here are some tips for eating on a budget:

- Carry a bottle of water, a few snacks and a packed lunch with you during the day - you can munch during during long queues for tickets, and avoid the premium prices at cafes and sandwich shops in the city center.

- Head to the Edinburgh Farmer's Market on Saturdays for some budget-friendly food. Held between 9am and 2pm at Castle Terrace, it's stalls sell filling hot takeaway food, such as venison burgers and a hog roast!

- Some of the venues have great cafes, but they can get crowded in between shows. Instead, try the street stalls around the main venues such as Johnston Terrace and Bristo Square. The Traverse Theatre Bar and Café has a decent selection of reasonably priced food, and the courtyards inside the Pleasance Dome Theatre are home to stalls selling huge hot dogs and burgers.

- With some shows, food actually comes as part of your ticket. Early risers can catch Shakespeare for breakfast at C Venue at 10am, and watch the Bard’s best plays with a croissant and a cup of tea or coffee.


- For a cheap meal out, check out the Mosque Kitchen (officially called The Lunch Box) where you can pick up huge portions of halal curries for just a few pounds.

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I'm old enough to remember going to seven Edinburgh Fringe shows in one day at 50p per show. Some were rubbish but who cared at 50p a ticket. Nowadays, choosing a show is a more serious activity with tickets costing an average of £7.

Never fear, checkout www.festivalpreviews.com. This website hosts video preview clips of the shows so that you can see for yourself whether you might like it. The site also has festival clips from Brighton, Adelaide, Avignon, Tokyo, etc etc.

www.festivalpreviews.com

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If it’s culture you’re interested in, then it has to be the festival. Not the Edinburgh Festival. The Fringe. Originally a late night revue with Peter Cooke, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Millar and Dudley Moore, the Fringe has outstripped the original, certainly in content, and in many cases, quality, and is now, in the public imagination, the main festival. One thing that will be learnt, if you visit the city during the festival, is that the world has too many jugglers.

Venues all over the city;
tel: 0131 226 0000;
www.edfringe.com

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It’s worth booking for the theatre if you’re here. The Victorian splendour of the King’s Theatre is within walking distance of the city centre. Herself having taken a notion for a bit of culture, and it being the birthday, The King’s Theatre got the vote. Peter Bowles, of Irish RM fame, was in it and worthwhile it was.

2 Leven Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9LQ;
tel: 0131 529 6000;
www.eft.co.uk

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