From the poetry of Robbie Burns to Sherlock Holmes and Peter Pan to Harry Potter, some of the world’s greatest literature has found its footings in Scotland, where a literary tour can turn out to be a real page-turner.
Sir Walter Scott, JM Barrie, Irvine Welsh and JK Rowling are among a few of the greatest writers influenced by Scotland’s renowned landscapes. And the mysterious closes of Edinburgh, the untouched wilderness of Dumfries & Galloway, and the romantic Shetland coastlines have all painted literature for generations.
From page to place, visitors to Scotland can discover the locations where many of the stories and famous characters began:
SOUTH SCOTLAND
The South of Scotland is as wonderful and vastly beautiful as read in books. The untouched landscapes of Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders have been a source of literary inspiration for centuries. These lowlands are spoilt with rocky shorelines, sandy beaches and acres of forest and green spaces.
Dumfries: Dumfries has been home to two of Scotland’s favourite authors, JM Barrie and Robert Burns. JM Barrie was born in Kirriemuir in Angus and spent five years of his adolescence in Dumfries, playing adventurous games with his friends in the ‘enchanted land’ at the grand Georgian house Moat Brae. Today, visitors can explore the house and its gardens where Peter Pan began with a plethora of indoor and outdoor activities and a café to enjoy lunch. JM Barrie fans should drive north to Angus to see the author’s birthplace and ‘The Boy Who Never Grew Up’ statue in the city centre.
Robert Burns – or “Rabbie” as he is widely known – is Scotland’s most celebrated writer. Every year on Jan. 25, Scotland celebrates his birthday with a traditional Burns Night supper where Scots raise a toast to the haggis and Burns’ poems are recited. In Dumfries, one can explore the former family home of Robert Burns at Ellisland Farm, visit the 4-star attraction Burns House Museum and for those looking to quench their thirst can do so at Rabbie’s favourite watering hole, The Globe Inn.
Wigtown: Scotland’s National Book Town and is the home of the annual Wigtown Book Festival which takes place each September. The town has a wide range of 20 book-related businesses and independent bookshops including The Bookshop, which is the largest second-hand bookshop in Scotland, with over a mile of shelving supporting roughly 100,000 books. Many read the owner Shaun Bythell’s book ‘Diary of a Bookseller’ before visiting. Be sure to stop at The Old Bank Bookshop where guests can choose from over 8,000 books on sale with a large front room dedicated solely to books by and about women.
Tweed Valley: Sir Walter Scott is famously known for his writings of Waverley, Ivanhoe, and Lady of the Lake. His home Abbotsford was built on the banks of River Tweed during his successful literary career and became determined to keep the home while he repaid his debts. Guests can explore the formal Regency gardens, the beautiful Scots Baronial architecture of the house and the free visitor centre. It remains today as one of the most famous houses in the world and visitors have the unique opportunity to stay in the self-catering home in the Hope Scott Wing for up to 15 guests.
A short drive from Abbotsford, visitors can take in the scenic Scott’s View. The lookout was known to be one of Sir Walter Scott’s favourite places to come and reflect, hence the name Scott’s View. Come and admire the stunning views of the River Tweed and Eildon Hills.
EDINBURGH
Edinburgh is the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature and birthplace and home to authors including Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus), JK Rowling (Harry Potter), Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting), Val McDermid (Kate Brannigan) and the great Sir Walter Scott who was born in Edinburgh before moving south. Visitors coming to Edinburgh by train will arrive at Waverley, named after Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley novels and will be welcomed by the Scott Monument, one of the largest monuments dedicated to a writer in the world.
With over 50 bookshops in Edinburgh, there’s a book for everyone. In Stockbridge, visit Golden Hare Books, which was voted the best independent bookshop of the year in the whole of UK & Ireland for 2019. Take a stroll down West Port right off the historic Grassmarket for a variety of second-hand bookshops including a local favourite, Armchair Books. On the other side of Grassmarket is Victoria Street, the inspiration behind Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. Edinburgh also boasts the National Library of Scotland home to over 24 million printed items, the Scottish Poetry Library and the Scottish Storytelling centre.
Literature lovers should make sure to stop by the Writers Museum and Makars Court, a museum that celebrates three great literary figures including Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Steven. Artifacts include Burns writing desk and Stevenson’s riding boots. Guests can also stay at Stevenson’s in New Town, which was his childhood home.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Homes, found inspiration within the many closes of Edinburgh’s Old Town. Before becoming a world-renowned crime novelist, he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and was a practicing physician. Visitors can learn more about his work as a physician at the award-winning Surgeon’s Hall Museum, which is the largest collection of surgical pathology in the world. He also practiced botany at the Royal Botanic Garden one of the finest botanic gardens around. Be sure to grab a pint at the Conan Doyle located near Picardy Place where the author was born in 1859. There’s even a statue of Sherlock Holmes opposite his birthplace! Another watering hole detective’s frequent at is the Oxford Bar where author Ian Rankin frequents and his character creation Inspector Rebus drinks at.
Leith, one of the “coolest neighbourhoods in the world,” according to Time Out, is a great place to visit in Edinburgh. At the bottom of Leith Walk, bookworms should check out the new independent bookshop Topping & Company. Join a walking tour with Leith Walks, which will show visitors the locations mentioned in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting.
Diana Gabaldon wrote the popular book series, Outlander, which now has a cult television following. Right outside Edinburgh, Outlander fans can visit Blackness Castle, which provided the setting for Fort William headquarters of Black Jack Randall and Jamie’s incarceration, Linlithgow Palace used as Wentworth Prison and Midhope Castle, which viewers will recognise as Lallybroch.
EAST COAST
Beatrix Potter, an English writer best known for her children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit spent her childhood visiting picturesque Perthshire during the summer holidays. Fans can visit the Birnam Arts and the Beatrix Potter Exhibition in Dunkeld and can try and spot Peter Rabbit. Further, the Perth Museum and Art Gallery features a few of Beatrix Potter’s fungi drawings and is one of Scotland’s oldest established museums.
One of the most influential books on pirate adventures comes from Stevenson’s Treasure Island, which he began to write in the lovely village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire. Rumour has it that the people he met in the village influenced many of the characters in the novel. The book is believed to be inspired by Fidera Island in East Lothian outside of Edinburgh where he would watch from Yellowcraig beach as a child. Try to spot puffins and other seabirds on the RSPB nature reserve.
Dundee is a must for cartoon fans. DC Thomson, a publishing company from Dundee, has published the famous comics of Dennis the Menace in the Beano weekly since 1951 and Oor Wullie weekly since 1936. Take pictures with the statues around the city for Desperate Dan, Minnie the Minx and Oor Wullie.
SHETLAND
The popular crime drama, Shetland, is based off the series of novels by writer Ann Cleeves. The story follows Jimmy Pérez, a detective inspector who works for the Shetland police. Shetland makes the perfect backdrop for a crime novel with its grey skies and varying weather. Fans of the drama can explore the Lerwick Harbour, which is Britain’s most northerly commercial harbour, take photos of the iconic Lerwick Lodberrie on Commercial Street and visit the 5-star attraction Shetland Museum and Archives to learn more about the history and heritage of these northerly isles. Around 9 km from Lerwick, visit the tiny village of Wester Quarff with only 100 residents where a lot of the second series was filmed. The character Jimmy Pérez was raised in the small Shetland island, Fair Isle. Home to just 60 people and only 5 km long, this stunning island is the most geographically remote inhabited island in the United Kingdom and can be reached by a 2.5-hour ferry from mainland Shetland or by air.
OUTER HEBRIDES
Peter May fans can explore the Outer Hebrides locations that inspired the books of the Lewis Trilogy – The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man and the Chessman – with the Peter May Trail. Walk in Fin Macleod’s footsteps and discover Ness on the northern tip of Isle of Lewis. Ness is mentioned in all three books and where many locals speak in Gaelic language. Located between South Uist and Barra is the beautiful hilly island Eriskay where you can see views of Johnny’s House which is the house on the cover of Peter May’s ‘Hebrides’.
Check out the Scottish Literature E-book.
And, for kids, check out Scotland’s Storybook Trail E-BOOK.