In 1560, Mary of Guise moved the Scottish Court to Leith, a site that is now Parliament Street, off Coalhill. Serving Edinburgh’s shipbuilding and repair facilities, in subsequent centuries Leith’s port saw the opening of a new Wet Dock, the first of its kind in Scotland. Leith has played a long and prominent role in Scottish history. As the major port serving Edinburgh, it has been the stage on which many significant events have taken place. From housing the Scottish Court to seeing civil...

Perth History Tour provides a fascinating glimpse into the past of ‘The Fair City’. It was once the capital of Scotland, was given Royal Burgh status in the early twelfth century under King David I and developed as one of the most affluent towns in Scotland. Perth’s position on the River Tay ensured that it became a busy trading port, exporting salmon and wool and importing claret from Bordeaux. In this pocket-sized guide, Jack Gillon offers a tour around Perth’s streets and buildings, sho...

Edinburgh’s South Side has contributed much to the rich story of the city. In 1766, Edinburgh made its first ambitious expansion beyond the city walls with the planned development of George Square. The construction of the North and South Bridge, linking the New Town, Old Town and South Side, was a further boost to development in the area. Nineteenth-century industrialisation resulted in tenement housing, workshops and factories filling most of the available space between elegant Georgian b...

Aberdeen, Scotland's third largest city, has been a place of economic importance since the development of the shipbuilding and fishing industries, and has been synonymous with oil ever since the discovery of North Sea reserves in the 1970s. Nicknamed the 'Granite City' due to the locally quarried grey granite that was used in many of the city's most important buildings, Aberdeen has a proud and distinctive identity with an extraordinary history embodied in the many fine buildings that have...

Edinburgh has always been a city of unusual characters and has its own distinct, often peculiar, history. Quirky Edinburgh delves into lesser-known but fascinating tales from Edinburgh’s past. Readers will discover stories of the sedan chairs that transported the gentry around the city in the eighteenth century, horse racing on Leith Sands, the open-air Royal Patent Gymnasium that delighted its Victorian visitors with rides on the Great Sea Serpent and Giant See-Saw, an exploding postbox, ...

The historic county of Lothian lies along the south side of the broad estuary of the Forth. Its strategic location and political and economic importance, with Edinburgh at its centre, has made the county witness to some of the most significant events in Scottish history. This is reflected in the remarkable wealth of architectural heritage spanning thousands of years. Castles, royal palaces, churches and industrial buildings of national importance abound in the county. Author Jack Gillon se...

Nestled under the Garleton Hills on the banks of the River Tyne, the Royal Burgh of Haddington, East Lothian, was established in the twelfth century to provide trade and industry in one of Scotland’s richest agricultural counties. It was upon the strength of its agricultural industry that Haddington prospered, and the town was at the heart of Scotland’s agricultural revolution in the mid-eighteenth century. Although relatively small today, Haddington was once the fourth largest town in Sco...

Not all of Edinburgh’s history is well known; some of it has remained a secret, lost behind the façades of the familiar and hidden from view … until now. Fascinated by Edinburgh’s hidden history, author Jack Gillon has plundered the records in a quest for the lesser-known side of Scotland’s capital city. Secret Edinburgh tells the tales of the Arthur’s Seat coffins, the Great Lafayette and his dog Beauty, the Six Foot High Club, the first balloon ascent, a Patent Rotary Boat, bizarre perfo...

The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were decades of great change. Many towns and cities were redeveloped with projects that dramatically affected the character of the place. People’s shopping habits were altered as supermarkets took over from traditional stores and corner shops. Leisure habits were changing too, as cheap air travel led to the arrival of the foreign package holiday and a new range of leisure facilities were developed at home. Fashions, as ever, were changing in this period, reflecti...

Ayr has always been an important economic centre on Scotland’s south-west coast. The town was established as a royal burgh in 1205, serving as the county’s central marketplace and harbour throughout the medieval period and has remained an important port throughout its history. With the expansion of the railway during the nineteenth century, Ayr soon developed into a popular seaside resort. Ayr remains an elegant county town and a bustling regional shopping centre with a long history and a ...

The historic county of Fife is a natural peninsula on the east coast of Scotland, bordered by the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Tay. Alongside its three largest settlements of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes it is also home to the ancient city of St Andrews, with its world-famous golf course and university. The often turbulent history of Fife is reflected in its royal palaces, castles and other ruins, such as Ravenscraig Castle and Dunfermline Abbey. Fife’s picturesque coast draws ...

Falkirk is a small town with a big history. Its strategic location, at the crossroads of lowland Scotland, contributed to its key role in Scotland’s history. The Romans were the first to make a significant mark on the district, William Wallace and Bonnie Prince Charlie fought the English nearby, cattle were driven from all over Scotland to the great trysts in the area, central Scotland’s canals came together at Camelon, and local foundries fuelled the Industrial Revolution. Secret Falkirk ...