Edinburgh's Corstorphine Fair 2024: All you need to know about popular community event at St Margaret's Park

The popular Corstorphine Fair takes place this Saturday at St Margaret’s Park, with the free entry event also offering tickets for fairground rides for the children to enjoy as well as stalls, entertainment and hopefully some sun!

Held biennially in June, the popular event attracts over 25,000 visitors and is the biggest community run event in Edinburgh, raising funds for charities and local causes.

Crowds at a previous Corstorphine Fair. All photos kindly supplied by the Corstorphine Fair Committee. | CFC

Timings

The fair officially runs from 11am until 4pm on Saturday, June 1 at St Margaret’s Park, off Corstorphine High Street. However, events in the main arena at the park get underway with netball finals at 930am. Followed by the Corstorphine Singers at 10.30am. Things really get underway at 12 noon with the arrival of the Balerno Pipe Band and opening ceremony.

The rest of the events in the main arena are: Buskin Sharks Big Band at 12.30pm and 2pm; Douglas Dance Academy at 1pm; Edinburgh Rock Choir at 1.30pm; Labelle Arts at 2.30pm; Magician Tricky Ricky at 3pm; Corstorphine Fair Tug of War at 3.30pm.

The marquee will also host events and activities throughout the day including arts and crafts and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. While, around 100 groups will also be in attendance with stalls and demonstrations dotted around the park.

Another old photo of the Corstorphine Fair, with these young football fans cooling down with some wet sponges. | Sub

Costs

Entry to St Margaret’s Park for the Corstorphine Fair is free, although donations of £1 or £2 or welcomed. Tickets can then be purchased at the park for the fairground rides, with most rides costing £2.

Getting there

Everyone attending the event is advised to walk or use public transport to get to the park. Lothian Buses number 1 service will be diverted to Broomhouse Road/ Meadow Place Road instead of serving Saughton Road North, and Corstorphine High Street - which will be closed from 10:30am until 5pm on Saturday, with diversions in place.

A previous pipe band at Corstorphine Fair. This year's pipe band are from Balerno. | Sub

Hopes

Corstorphine Fair chairman Forbes Howie wants to see as many people as possible at the fair having fun and hopefully enjoying some sunshine.

He said: “I hope everyone has great fun on a cracking day out. And hopefully the sun shines and all the local community groups make lots of money.

“The whole event gives me great satisfaction. At this moment I’m really stressed, but when I see hordes of people having a great time on Saturday, that’s why I go through two weeks of hell!”

Weather

Edinburgh’s largest community-run event will, like any other outdoor ‘summer’ event in Scotland, be dependent on the weather. The latest forecast for Saturday in Corstorphine by the Met Office predicts sunny intervals in the morning with the temperature at 14C and light winds of 6mph and gusts of 14mph. Cloud is expected in the afternoon when the temperature will climb to 17C at 4pm. Sunny intervals are then due to return at 7pm. The only possibility of rain forecast is a 10 per cent chance between 1pm and 4pm.

Lots of local groups will be at the park on Saturday with stalls and activities for young and old to enjoy. | Sub

Donations welcomed

Forbes explained how the fair is paid for by kind donations.

He said: “Although entry is free to the park, we to try to put the onus on people donating a pound or two at the gates. And we give out free programmes.

“They don’t need to donate but we have signs up saying please donate, as that will pay for the 2026 fair.

“It costs about £20,000 to hold the event, when we have paid for the marquee, toilets, market traders licence and other licences. It all adds up.

“We are a non-profit organisation. We give away any money we make to local groups and charities.”

Kids on the miniature railway at the Corstorphine Round Table Fair 1965. | Archive

History

Corstorphine Fair started in its current guise in 1986, organised by the local community council. With this year’s event the 19th modern Corstorphine Fair. Previous community fairs have been held in the area, including the Corstorphine Round Table Fair in the 1950s and 60s, with singer Andy Stewart a star guest in 1960.

In 1662 James Lord Forrester asked the Scottish Parliament to allow him to hold fairs in the village and was permitted to have a fair four times a year. He would probably have used the land we now know as St Margaret’s Park for part of his fairs.