Hey! Nashy here 👋
Welcome to your weekly Thriving Newsletter!
Keeping you up to date with what’s happening in the city, highlighting local businesses, events and being your ‘boots on the ground’ telling Edinburgh stories while finding hidden gems.
This Saturday is Record Store Day, the city's independent record shops will be buzzing. Check out some of our favourites, including Thorne Records, Slow Progress, Good Vibes & Lounge 33. All of them are celebrating on Saturday, so please give them a follow, visit and support! 🎵
We headed north this week for a family holiday. A big shout-out to the Cairngorm General Store and Ralia Cafe. A great pit stop on the A9.
Owned and operated by our friends at Cairngorm Coffee. We stopped in to say hello and stretch our legs.
EXCITING TIMES! Our Thriving Card business partners are all now finalising their T&C’s. The admin behind the scenes always takes longer than you expect when launching a new business. There is still time for any new businesses to join us, sign up NOW!
Think back to the good old days of Snap Fax and local discounts. That’s the vibe we are going for with our Thriving Card, keeping it local and building on our community!
This week's newsletter includes:
🔥New business SHOUT OUT!
🏪 Local business highlights
💎Edinburgh’s best hidden gem?
📅 Events and dates for your diary
Let's get into it! 👇
NEW BUSINESS SHOUT OUT!
🐾 Edinburgh Canine Club - Professional Dog Walking & Community
Meet Iain. The man with a pack and a passion for dogs.
Edinburgh Canine Club offers professional dog walking services built around one simple idea. Every dog deserves the best care and the best socialisation.
With over 10 years of experience working with dogs of all shapes, sizes and personalities, Iain has recently just relocated back to Edinburgh from Vancouver. Small walking groups, off-leash adventures, obedience and behaviour support and community walks right across the city.
New to Edinburgh Canine Club? Get yourself a free meet-and-greet and trial walk to see if it's the right fit for your dog.
Check out the website for more details.
💿 Good Vibes in Leith
🎵 Get ready for Record Store Day!
I stumbled across Good Vibes on a wander through Leith with my daughter and I'm so glad I did!
A beautiful neighbourhood record store in a renovated Victorian building on Constitution Street. Records, books and gifts all thoughtfully curated.
Rock, pop, folk, jazz, funk, soul, electronic and more. Plus ceramics, incense and homemade beeswax candles.
The kind of shop that reminds you why independent businesses make a city worth living in and this Saturday they are going BIG for Record Store Day.
Follow on socials and check out their website for locations and times! 🧡
💎 Where are the best hidden gems?
What's your favourite hidden gem in Edinburgh or East Lothian that not enough people know about?
Ping us a message and tell us all about it! We aim to feature everyone we can.
I love Maritime Lane. Have you been? I found it while exploring The Shore and it turns out many locals had no idea about the hidden street art gallery!
☕ Cairngorm General Store & Ralia Cafe
☕ A Hidden Gem in the Cairngorms - Ralia Cafe & Cairngorm General Store
On our family trip up north, we took a two-minute detour off the A9.
Ralia has been a stop for travellers heading into the Highlands for over 20 years and now it's in the hands of the team behind Edinburgh's brilliant Cairngorm Coffee.
Great coffee, good food and a General Store stocked with thoughtful and beautifully made Scottish gifts. Locals, travellers and regulars all meet in the middle of the Highlands for something wholesome before the road carries them on.
Our pit stop did not disappoint and we will 100% make a point of coming back on our next trip to see what changes have been made under the new management. 🧡
📣 WORTH SHOUTING ABOUT: Dates for your diary.
🏃 Juggernaut Athletic Club - Sunday Run Club
Built for big strong athletes taking on endurance sports. Ex-rugby players, heavy lifters and anyone built for power who wants to go the distance. No pace pressure. Just big athletes doing hard things together.
Every Sunday in Edinburgh for social runs finishing with gelato, coffee and good chat at Uplands Roast. All endurance disciplines welcome. If you want to move, you're in the right place. 💪
Sunday 19th April, 11:15am. 🆓 Free, just show up!
Edinburgh skateboarding shop Focus is celebrating 25 years and going all out, marking it in proper style. Head to the Red Lecture Theatre at Summerhall for a screening of their first two shop videos.
Salt 'N' Sauce from 2002 and Weather Permitting from 2015.
Followed by a Q&A with the people who made them and the skaters who featured in them.
A brilliant bit of Edinburgh culture. 🧡
Friday 24th April 2026, 8pm. 🎟️ £3, Book ahead.
🎉 Steampunk Coffee - North Berwick- STEAMFEST
Three days of food, music and great coffee on the terrace.
Planet G is serving some awesome food on Saturday 2nd May. Bonnie Burrito on Sunday 3rd and Monday 4th. Local DJs throughout the weekend. Bank holiday weekend sorted. 🧡
Saturday 2nd - Monday 4th May, 11am - 5pm. 🆓 Free, just show up!
Check their calendar for what's on this month. Well worth the 45-minute drive from Edinburgh. 🧡
🌊 Porty Festival 2026: Community fun by the sea.
Edinburgh's brilliant seaside community festival is back for the May Bank Holiday weekend.
Live music headlined by Mànran on the Saturday and Indoor Foxes on the Sunday at Portobello Town Hall.
Plus stacks of free events across the whole weekend including a Makers Market, family rave, dog show, Dip and Sip wild swimming, Cinnamon Bun Run, vintage clothing pop up, creative workshops, street food, coastal walks and that unbeatable Porty atmosphere.
Something for everyone by the sea. 🧡
Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd May 2026. Most events are 🆓 Free
Ticketed headline acts; 🎟️ Book ahead.
That's your lot for this week! 🧡
Abby and I genuinely love putting this together for you every week. The fact that you read it, share it and support it means the world to both of us.
Our Newsletter is a place to shine a spotlight on the many brilliant local businesses on our doorstep and to keep you in the loop on local events and what’s happening in and around Edinburgh.
Know a business deserving a shout out? Reply to this email and tell us their story.
Are you a local business owner and would like to join our Thriving Card? It’s FREE and literally takes two minutes to register.
See you Monday for Thriving Life. Have a good one!
Nashy & Abs