Burly Ceilidh Club

Burly Ceilidh Club returns to Ghillie Dhu on Friday 20 November, with a live ceilidh band leading the night from 7pm through to around midnight. It's a Scottish food, jigs and reels evening in the West End, and it's one of those nights that works as well for a date or a birthday as it does for a stag or hen party.

If you've never been to a ceilidh, the format is straightforward: it's a ticketed social dance with a live band and a caller who teaches the steps. You don't need to know any of the dances beforehand, and you don't need to bring a partner — the caller walks the room through every move, and people pair up on the floor as you go. It's a different thing from a session, where musicians play to each other in a pub corner with no stage and no cover charge; here, the band is the focus and the dancing is the point.

Ghillie Dhu is a traditional Scottish bar and restaurant in the West End of Edinburgh city centre, trading out of a converted church with cosy snugs, a main bar and a large Auditorium. The venue describes its ceilidhs as one of Scotland's most loved traditions, drawing on its reputation for live Scottish music, dancing, food and atmosphere, and pitches them at visitors looking for an authentic Scottish experience as well as at local celebrations. They also offer the option to host your own ceilidh there.

There are two ways to do the night. The dinner and ceilidh package is £55 per person, and if you only want the dancing, it's £15 per person from 9.30pm. The whole thing runs from 7pm until around midnight at Ghillie Dhu, 2 Rutland Place, West End, Edinburgh EH1 2AD.