The Locals’ Guide to Edinburgh

The Locals’ Guide to Edinburgh by Word of Mouth Travels - review

If you’ve ever visited a busy city and desperately wished you knew what the locals knew – where to eat, where to sleep and just how to see the place in its best light, then your prayers have been answered if you’re visiting Edinburgh. Pick up a copy of a new guide – The Locals’ Guide to Edinburgh and you will discover that the locals have been more than happy to share their secrets with editors and writers Claudia Monteiro and Owen O’Leary. The Locals’ Guide to Edinburgh is the first publication from Word of Mouth Travels, a publicity and publishing company which was founded by Claudia and Owen with the aim of bringing out the often unseen best in every project. The book is based around interviews with 17 locals – some well known and some not quite so but all with a valuable and interesting insight into the city they call home.

These interviews are backed up with a walking map with precise timings to get around the city on foot, a detailed street map and separate sections on accommodation, eateries, attractions and even ‘Too Good To Leave Out’ pages - for a pocket sized book, it packs in a lot of information.
As a native to Edinburgh, I was of course ready to see if there were any things I disagreed with but I was pleasantly surprised at some of the places mentioned which I think appeared on the page due to the publishers’ no advertising policy. All the places listed are there on merit alone, not because they’ve paid for a mention.

The book works on two levels as well – for a visitor to the city it’s a great guide but as a local I enjoyed the book as I discovered some cafes and restaurants that I hadn’t frequented and obviously should have!
I also loved the fact that it is home grown talent that has brought The Locals’ Guide to Edinburgh to fruition. It’s been written, designed and photographed by Edinburgh-based folk and printed in Scotland – yee hah!

The Locals’ Guide to Edinburgh is available in all good bookshops at a retail price of £9.99. You can also buy the guide online at www.localsguidetoedinburgh.com for £9.99 plus P&P.

You can purchase this book from Amazon.