Your Saturday in the Galleries
Next: Sat 21 Nov · Sat 5 Dec · 12 guests, all 45+ · From £29.99
Book my spotDiscover the stories behind the art, with people you'll enjoy sharing them with.
Your Saturday afternoon begins over coffee, with friendly introductions to a small group of fellow art lovers, all aged 45+.
It's an easy way to meet new people who share your interests. Coming on your own? We'll help you feel welcome from the start.
From the first introductions to the table at the bar, we organise everything. Just turn up, enjoy the art and let the conversation unfold.
people have signed up to PLY
everyone in the group, so everyone is at the same life stage
kept small enough so everyone can get to know each other
Three galleries, chosen in person
Together, you'll visit three carefully chosen galleries, where each gallery's director will guide you through the current exhibition. Hear about the artists, discover details you might otherwise miss and ask the questions that spark your curiosity. You don't need to know about art to enjoy it.
The three galleries change with what's showing.
Twenty minutes on foot, in short stretches
Everything is a few minutes from everything else. The afternoon starts in Canonmills, near the Botanics, and climbs gently through the New Town to Dundas Street, where the galleries sit between Georgian townhouses. About twenty minutes of walking across the whole afternoon, on pavements, at a talking pace, and a short stroll to the bar at the end.
Nothing about it is a route march, and there is time to look properly at each stop.
Comfortable shoes are all you need. A few of the streets are cobbled and Dundas Street is a hill, taken slowly. Some galleries have a few steps or a lower floor. If that is a concern, tell us when you book and we will plan around it.
A glass of wine to finish, a few minutes' walk away
Then settle in at a lovely bar nearby, with plenty to talk about and time to get to know each other. One table, booked in advance, from half past four.
One table for the afternoon
Wine, a soft drink or a pot of tea, whatever you fancy. Stay for one glass or the whole evening. Plenty of groups carry on to dinner.
Drinks are pay as you go, settled at the table.
How the afternoon runs
- 1:45pm
Meet in a lovely local coffee shop, where your host will be waiting to take you through the itinerary for the afternoon. We send you the location and everything you need to know the day before.
- 2:30pm
Into the first gallery. The director talks for ten minutes or so about the artist and the show, then it is yours to wander and ask any questions you may have.
- 3:10pm
A few minutes' walk to the second gallery. Same again: a short talk, then time to look.
- 3:45pm
The third gallery, up on Dundas Street, where the New Town's galleries sit a few doors from each other.
- 4:30pm
A glass of wine at a lovely bar nearby. One table, and as long as we like over it.
- 6:00pm
Say your goodbyes, or don't. Plenty of groups carry on.
You'll be in good company
This Saturday is only open to people aged 45 and over, so nobody spends it as the odd one out by a generation. Twelve like-minded people, all here for the same reason, and most of them coming on their own.
Your PLY host looks after the introductions, keeps everyone together between galleries and makes sure nobody is ever left on the edge of a conversation, in the gallery or at the table.
A few days before, the group chat opens, so by the time you reach the coffee stop you will know names and somebody will already have said something funny.
It is the same hosting we put into the PLY Weekend Away and the Country Escape. This is the Saturday afternoon version.
What happens afterwards
The day is the start of it, not the end.
The group chat stays open
Everyone keeps talking long after Saturday.
A reunion dinner
Within a month, same people, one long table.
First pick of the next one
And everyone from your Saturday is in Your People on PLY.
Easy from anywhere in Edinburgh
Everything happens inside a few streets of Canonmills and the New Town, so it is easy from anywhere in town. Meet at the coffee stop, and the bar is a short walk from Princes Street.
About fifteen minutes' walk to the coffee stop, downhill through the New Town. Or a bus from Hanover Street.
Tram and bus stop. About twelve minutes' walk down the hill to Canonmills.
Lothian buses 23 and 27 run down Dundas Street and stop at Canonmills.
We send the exact meeting point, with a map and who to look for, the day before.
Every other Saturday. Twelve places.
Members. £49.99 with a Guest Pass if you are not a member yet
Saturday afternoons, 1:45pm to about 6:00pm
Guests, every one of them 45 or over
Whichever Saturday suits you, booking works the same way.
What your ticket covers
- A small hosted group of 12, all 45 or over
- Your PLY host, from first coffee to last glass
- A table held at the coffee stop and at the bar
- Three gallery visits, each with a talk from the director
- A lovely bar to finish, table already booked
- The group chat, a few days before
- Your itinerary and the meeting point in writing
What you sort out yourself
- Getting yourself to Canonmills
- Your coffee and your drinks at the bar, settled at the table
- Comfortable shoes, and an umbrella in case
Questions, answered honestly
Almost everyone comes on their own, and that is rather the point. Your host does the introductions over coffee, so by the first gallery you already know a few names.
No. The directors talk about the artists and the work in plain English, and questions are welcome. Curiosity is the only thing you need to bring.
About twenty minutes across the whole afternoon, in short stretches of a few minutes each. Dundas Street is a hill and a few streets are cobbled, so we take it slowly. Some galleries have a few steps or a lower floor. Tell us when you book if that is a concern and we will plan around it.
We book one table at a lovely bar a few minutes from the last gallery, with everyone seated together. Order what you like: wine, a soft drink, tea. Drinks are pay as you go, and nobody minds what is in your glass.
No. Anyone aged 45 or over can come with a Guest Pass. Members pay £29.99 and get into our smaller Experiences through the week too, but there is no obligation at all.
Yes. Book two places and tell us when you fill in your details, and we will keep you in the same group. Plenty of people come solo, so you will not stand out either way.
You can move to another Saturday up to 48 hours before. Reply to your confirmation email and we will swap the date. Inside 48 hours we cannot move it, as the galleries and the bar are already expecting you.
You get a confirmation, then a quick note asking for a mobile number for the day. A few days before, the group chat opens. The day before, we send the meeting point and everything you need to know. On the day, all you do is turn up.
Whatever you are comfortable in. Galleries and the bar are relaxed, and comfortable shoes help. It is mostly indoors, so an umbrella covers the walks between galleries if it rains. It is Edinburgh, so bring one.
"The people who run Edinburgh's small galleries love talking about the work, and the New Town is a lovely place to walk between them. But it's the people you meet that everyone remembers."
Karen
Founder, PLY