Edinburgh was named the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004, and its best bookshops live up to that by going narrow and deep. Decide what kind of book you’re after before you choose a shop, because the five below barely overlap. Two lean on secondhand stock, one is strongest for children, and two run on events and careful buying. The numbering organises the list and isn’t a ranking.
Where Edinburgh’s bookshops cluster
Geography decides more here than in most cities. The Southside shops sit a few minutes apart around the Meadows, Bruntsfield is its own trip further south, and the New Town is an easy downhill walk from the Old Town but a slog back up (the cobbles don’t forgive cheap shoes).
A workable rule for a short visit: one cluster per half day. Say you have a free Saturday and a rucksack. Do Typewronger and the Southside in the morning, eat, then catch a bus to Bruntsfield after lunch. And plan for the weight. A dozen secondhand hardbacks will sag a flat-pack shelf within a month, which is the sort of fix people go looking for on Home Repair Listing.
1. The Edinburgh Bookshop
Out at 219 Bruntsfield Place, near Holy Corner, this shop won Scottish Independent Bookshop of the Year in 2018. Children’s books are the real strength. The city’s tourism site lists Story Time for under-fives on Thursday and Friday mornings, so parents of small children get a reason to come on a weekday. Adults chasing obscure literary fiction may find the shelves tilted younger than they’d like. Ask the staff for a recommendation instead of browsing alone.
2. McNaughtan’s Bookshop
Founded in 1957, McNaughtan’s is Scotland’s oldest secondhand and antiquarian bookshop, and it still trades from the same basement on Haddington Place, at the top of Leith Walk. Books climb floor to ceiling and around the door frames. History, travel and older illustrated children’s books are the reasons to go. They also buy old and rare books, so a box of inherited first editions has a sensible first stop. Skip it if you want this week’s bestseller.
3. Lighthouse Bookshop
Lighthouse is the Southside’s radical bookshop. Its shelves favour writing on gender, the environment, current affairs and revolutionary history, plus LGBT+ titles, poetry and translated fiction, with small presses given proper space. It organises the Book Fringe in August and the Radical Book Fair in November. So your travel dates change what you get. Readers who stick to mainstream thrillers will probably leave empty-handed, and that’s fine.
4. Topping & Company Booksellers
Topping & Company opened on George Street in the New Town in 2019, with two floors of new titles. The draw is a year-round calendar of readings, talks and discussions, plus a monthly Subscription Club that sends signed fiction, non-fiction, detective fiction or fantasy. Think of it as McNaughtan’s mirror image. One sells the copy nobody else has, the other sells a signed copy of the book everyone’s discussing. Collectors who need a home for signed editions can look at Home Interior Media when planning the room around them.
5. Typewronger Books
Near the Meadows, Typewronger sells new books alongside secondhand typewriters, and repairs typewriters too. The book selection is small and picked with care. If a title is in print and not on the shelf, they’ll try to track it down, which makes this a better shop for a specific order than a long browse. Poetry and open-mic nights fill some evenings. Writers who still love a mechanical keyboard should drop in even without buying.
Questions readers ask before visiting
Is there a bookshop in Edinburgh just for romance?
Yes. Book Lovers Bookshop in Newington, founded in 2024, is the UK’s first bricks-and-mortar shop dedicated to romance fiction.
Where can I sell old books in Edinburgh?
McNaughtan’s buys old and rare books. Phone ahead with a short list of titles and their condition before hauling boxes across town. Independent shop owners weighing up how to announce a buying day could look at Home PR Designs for a different side of the job.
Which shop works best on a wet afternoon with children?
The Edinburgh Bookshop, for its children’s range and story sessions. Check its events listing before you set off. Home PR Digest is a separate read for anyone curious about PR in the home sector.
Book a reading, then build the route
Check the events pages before you choose a day. A signed reading at Topping & Company or a November trip for Lighthouse’s fair gives the visit a fixed point, and everything else slots around it. Pick one cluster, bring a tote bag and leave space in the suitcase.
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5 Best Barbers in Glasgow – Find fresh cuts matching your preferences
Pick barbers in Glasgow by the cut you want and the side of the river you live on. The five shops below split between traditional West End work, a Southside award winner, beard specialists and a multi-site group. Fresha’s Glasgow listings put a standard men’s cut at roughly £12 to £45, and most of that spread reflects time in the chair. The numbering organises the list; it doesn’t rank it.
Which kind of barber do you actually need?
Start with the haircut, not the shop. A skin fade needs fast, confident clipper work and clean blending. Longer scissor cuts need patience, a wash and someone who’ll ask how you style it at home. Beards are a separate skill again.
Here’s a decision rule. If your hair is longer than about 5 cm on top, favour a shop that lists a full cut with wash, dry and style as its own menu item, because that tells you they budget extra minutes for scissor work.
Then run the yearly numbers. Say you book every four weeks, which is 13 visits a year. At an example price of £18 you’d spend £234; at an example £32, £416. That £182 gap is the real cost of the pricier chair, so judge it against how long a good cut holds its shape. Fitting out a new barbershop interior is a different budget entirely, the kind covered on the Home Interior Media site.
1. The Briar Grove Barbers
Based at 1373 Argyle Street in Finnieston, close to Kelvingrove Park, Briar Grove has traded since 2016. It mixes traditional and modern barbering, and its menu includes that full cut with wash, dry and style. Student and children’s prices are listed, which makes it a sensible pick for anyone near the university. If you only want a quick clipper tidy, a cheaper chair nearby will do the same job.
2. Brush Barbers
Brush sits at 23 Sinclair Drive in Battlefield, on the Southside, and describes itself as multi award winning, with awards dated 2019 and 2022 on its own site. Location is the main argument. Southside residents don’t need to cross the Clyde for a decent fade, and that saves 30 minutes on a Saturday. People living in the West End have closer options of a similar standard.
3. Beardy Beardy Finnieston
At 926 Argyle Street, Beardy Beardy Finnieston appears on the 2026 finalist list for the Scottish Hair and Beauty Awards, and a city-centre branch sits alongside it. The name makes the focus plain. Men who’ve grown a full beard and want it shaped rather than just shortened belong here. Clean-shaven customers can still book, though they’re paying for a speciality they won’t use. Shop owners chasing award coverage like this may follow the Home PR Digest page for general PR reading.
4. Guy and Beard
Guy and Beard runs eight locations across Glasgow and Edinburgh, offering hot towel shaves, beard work and hair treatments for both men and women. That spread suits commuters. You can book near the office one month and near home the next. The trade-off is consistency, so note the name of a barber you like and request them again.
5. Fratellis
Fratellis trades from 6 Dowanhill Street in Partick, a short hop from Byres Road. It’s a single shop rather than a group, which tends to mean the same faces each visit. Prices aren’t covered here, so check the current list before you go. Handy for Partick and Hyndland residents. Anyone whose flat needs a sink or shower sorted before a big night out can turn to home repair listings for that separate problem.
FAQs
How often should a fade be redone?
Every two to three weeks to keep the lines sharp. Scissor cuts usually last four to six.
Is a hot towel shave a good idea before a wedding?
Yes, but book it a day or two before rather than the morning itself, so any redness settles.
Can women book at Glasgow barbers?
Guy and Beard lists services for both men and women. Elsewhere, phone first, since policies differ shop to shop. Barbers planning a launch announcement for a new ladies’ menu could browse HomePRDesigns while they draft it.
Do Glasgow barbers take walk-ins?
Some do, though Saturday mornings fill early. Booking online is the safer bet for a specific barber.
Try one cut before committing
Book a standard cut at the shop closest to your routine, keep a photo of the result, and see how it looks after three weeks. That tells you more than any review. If it holds, you’ve found your barber.
