Book gives up Edinburgh's secrets

I have lived in Edinburgh for the past 12 years and I pride myself on learning and getting to know many of the unusual buildings, locations and statues in the city.

However, having read Secret Edinburgh An Unusual Guide, it turns out I am a novice.

This delightful wee book contains many wonderful locations, artefacts, buildings and visual attractions which I was completely unaware of.

The book is laid out along geographic locations and covers guides to Old Town, New Town North-Leith, South etc. Each location is accompanied by a street map and you can build your own walking tour around the attractions that you would like to visit.

There is a lot of detail in the book. Each entry provides you with a good history of the item and is accompanied by photographs. Here comes the dilemma - if you are visiting the city then which of these locations do you decide to visit? Will the fact that you already have the guide dissuade you from visiting? I don’t think so – I have learned a lot from the book and revisiting some of the attractions gave me quite a number of new insights.

Well done to Ms Robinson for all the research.

Buy the book if you live in the city and want to explore more of it. Buy the book if you are coming to the city and want to get off the beaten path.

Some of the locations are not normally open to the public and you may need to book in advance to get in.

Helpfully, the Unusual Guide gives website, Facebook and telephone details where available as well as bus routes and tram stops.

Current Covid-19 restrictions may also restrict access and it is worth checking.

Hannah Robinson is an Edinburgh born author, screenwriter and director.

She has written two secret guide books - one to the secret places of her home city, and one to the unusual bars and restaurants of London.

As a screenwriter she has won three Hollywood script awards. Her company Palindromicals

(so called because it's creative from back to front) specialises in making animations and promos.