Book Review: Historic Walking Guides Edinburgh by Andy Hayes
Written by Karen BryanEdinburgh is one of my very favourite European cities and one of the best places to visit in Europe and that’s not just because I’m Scottish, so I was looking forward to reading and reviewing Andy Hayes’ Historic Walking Guides Edinbugh. As Andy says, Edinburgh is fairly compact so exploring the city on foot is a great option.
Edinburgh skyline from Calton Hill by europealacarte
The book starts with a summary of Edinburgh’s history and then details twelve walks in the city. It also gives a couple of suggestions for walks further afield and some recommendations for refuelling stops at restaurants and cafes.
Leith comes up in a couple of the walks as it’s the final destination on the 12 mile Water of Leith Walkway. It’s also featured on the Leith to Ocean Terminal walk.
The Water of Leith flowing through Leith by europealacarte
Another option if you want to escape the city centre is to visit Cramond Village on the Forth Estuaury where you can walk out to Cramond Island at low tide or walk along the River Almond bank.
Cramond breakwater, Edinburgh by europealacarte
Andy’s book enables you to explore the real Edinburgh at your own pace. It took me years to discover all these Edinburgh walks, so you can start your Edinburgh trip with detailed insider knowledge. It’s best to purchase the book before you arrive in Edinburgh, so you can decide in advance which walks are of most interest to you.
The book is a neat compact size (handy for carrying), comprising of around 100 pages. Unfortunately the book only has black and white photos, I’d have prefered colour photos which I think would make the walks look even more enticing.
In conclusion I’d recommend Historic Walking Guides Edinburgh for visitors to Edinburgh who are interested in sightseeing on foot, like to know the history behind their destinaiton and enjoy seeing beyond the usual tourist attractions.
This post was featured on Happy Hotelier’s “Carnival of Cities” Blog Carnival on 23 September 2009.
I’m going to have to plan a long weekend trip to Edinburgh. I’ve only been once at that was for a job interview, so I didn’t get to see much of the city at all.
Darren – thanks for your comment. I’m sure that you’ll really enjoy a long weekend in Edinburgh and I recommend Andy’s book to help you see more of the city.
I was just speaking with a woman today about walking tours in the UK. I was totally inspired. This gives me more food for thought. Thanks!
It sounds an excellent plan to have a guide like this in your pocket when you visit Edinburgh – walking is a great way to see a city at your own pace and get into hidden corners away from the main tourist areas to absorb some of the local history and interest
Janice – There are so many walking possibilities in the UK but I think that Edinburgh offers some of the best city walks partly due to his geographic location on the Forth Estuary and the hilly terrain.
Heather – Yes Andy’s guide would be an asset to any Edinburgh visitors.
Thanks for the kind comments, Karen! As you’ve said, I totally agree that Edinburgh is the perfect spot for a city/walking holiday or minibreak.
[...] Edinburgh Walking Guides Walks and guides around Edinburgh, Scotland HomeAbout Europe A La Carte Recommends the Historic Walking GuideSeptember 22, 2009Karen Bryan, who is editor of the wildly popular Europe A La Carte blog, has recently reviewed and recommends the Historic Walking Guide to Edinburgh. [...]
[...] Bryan presents Book Review: Historic Walking Guides Edinburgh by Andy Hayes posted at Europe A La Carte Blog, saying, “My review of Andy Hayes’ book Historic [...]
Hi Karen
Just saw that you added the ‘Featured’ paragraph which is a very good idea. Thank you!
Guid- I think that all posts featured in a Blog Carnival should link back to the Carnival. It’s only fair that the host should get some link love too. I gave up hosting the Europe Travel Blog Carnival because I was putting a lot of time and effort into it and the many featured blogs ignored me when I requested that they link to the Carnival.
[...] to Scotland’s capital Edinburgh (for which Andy has also just published a great little walks guide). This leaves Durham county mostly to be discovered, and the post described is a good starting [...]