Dreamy book browsing to while away the hours in Edinburgh
Follow a writer's footsteps through inspiring vistas, hidden bookshops, and quiet corners where stories come to life.
Words: Sophia Hembeck
Photos: Christina Webber
Six years ago, on a whim, I decided to quit my job, pack up my life and move to Edinburgh. I had no friends there, no work prospects, no flat – just a memory of a view when I was 17 years old, standing on top of Calton Hill overlooking the city, the ocean, the green hills of Arthur’s Seat and the deep conviction that I should live here one day. Twelve years later, I do.
In her famous essay “A Room of One’s Own”, Virginia Woolf wrote that all a writer needs is £500 per year and a room of one’s own. I would add: with a view, please. Thankfully Edinburgh has plenty. It was a view after all that lured me here. It’s here where I wrote and published my poetic memoir trilogy. It’s here where I walk through the winding streets and eerie closes, those narrow alleyways that shortcut through the old town and come up with visions of future selves. It’s here where a view can turn into a story that might just change your life.
Whether you’ve always dreamed of becoming a writer yourself or simply enjoy sitting in a picturesque setting while reading a good book, this is how I would spend a typical day of leisurely writing, walking and dreaming in the most literary of all places: after all, even our main train station is named after a novel.
9 AM Spend the morning journaling at Waterstone’s Cafe | 128 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4AD
In the early morning hours when Princes Street is slowly waking up, I like to find myself at Waterstone’s cafe. Starting the day with journaling a couple of morning pages has been a ritual I don’t always get to do but this is the perfect place to let yourself gently fall into Edinburgh’s rhythm. Sitting by the long bay window overlooking the castle, you get to watch all of Edinburgh rushing by: people busy on their way to work, pupils dragging their feet, tourists overflowing into the nearby Princes Street Gardens, feeling grateful that you get to sit back with a coffee and enjoy a moment of tranquillity.
11 AM Walk over to Armchair Books via the Grassmarket | 72-74 West Port, Edinburgh EH1 2LE
When the tranquillity turns into a creative standstill, I find that walking is the single best writing advice I could give anyone. A walk has never disappointed me. From Waterstone’s, you can wander through Princes Street Gardens, on the way make a wish at the Fountain of the Muses (officially known as: Ross Fountain), pass the Grassmarket and sink into the magical world of Armchair Books, which overflows with books from floor to ceiling. You can be amongst great and obscure literature alike, find a first edition of Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, and just marvel at the simple fact that such a place exists. For lunch, the Grassmarket also has great options – my favourite being Lovecrumbs (try their peanut butter chocolate crinkle cookie for dessert). They also allow laptops on weekdays – a key requirement for a writer.
1 PM Read in silence at the Central Library Reading Room | 7-9 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EG
After lunch, I often take a stroll to the Central Library Reading Room. Furnished with gorgeous mid-century wooden tables and a beautiful domed ceiling, it’s the intense working atmosphere of everyone silently typing and reading that allowed me to write and finish most of my books here. The perfect place if you’re in need of some respite, want to read the latest edition of The New Yorker for free and marvel at the beauty of an old library.
4 PM Take afternoon tea at Topping | 2 Blenheim Pl, Edinburgh EH7 5JH
If you need a pick me up to get over an afternoon slump, Topping serves complimentary tea or coffee to browsing customers. And if, like me, you loved Beauty and the Beast as a child, and standing (and sliding) on a library ladder has been a dream yours, at Topping this dream can finally come true. It easily is the most stunning bookshop in Edinburgh, with its little reading nooks, small tables and winding bookshelves.
6 PM enjoy a reading at Typewronger | 4a Haddington Pl, Edinburgh EH7 4AE
For the evening, just a 5 min walk across Leith Walk is Typewronger. A cosy bookshop filled with old typewriters and a great event line up. Sipping a glass of wine whilst listening to Edinburgh’s writers & poets is my favourite way to close off the day. With Spry’s wine bar right next to it, there’s always the option to prolong the night. And if Typewronger doesn’t have a reading on that night, there’s always Portobello Bookshop, Argonaut Books, Tills, Blackwell’s, Fruitmarket Bookshop, The Golden Hare, Rare Birds, Book Lovers Bookshop, Edinburgh Bookshop, The Gently Mad Bookshop or Lighthouse Bookshop left to visit. In Edinburgh you’ll hardly ever run out of options.
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