Excellent old-school bookseller in a beautiful area staffed by warm and inviting personnel. Love…read morethis place! Very easy to walk here from the Royal Mile and easy to get to the shopping areas nearby as well as restaurants.

They have a very good selection of books of different genres. The ambience is pleasant and there…read moreare nice places to sit down and peruse the books and even lose yourself in thought on a rainy day. The staff, however, can be indifferent and, on occasion, rude. I don't know why. It seems like a rather nice job to have. Still, a great bookshop.

Was in town on vacation and looking for a book written by a local author. Thankfully I came to the…read moreright place and they were wonderful and showed me several books. They have a great selection and the staff were wonderful. In a quieter part of town which made it even better. Highly recommend if you are in Edinburgh and looking for a quaint bookshop!

Fabulous book shop for true book lovers.. so cute worth going just to get a photo outside .. great…read moreselection, value & friendly service

As a fan of second hand record and book shops I wasn't going to pass up a chance to pay the Ferry…read moreFair book shop in South Queensferry a visit. Tucked away, and placed above the High Street, opposite Orocco Pier, this shop is a small second hand shop. This second hand shop, primarily sells old and unwanted books, however the shop also sells a small selection of records and Cd's. The shop is quite small, but the amount of stock they have is staggering! The shop raises money for the Ferry Fair which takes place in the town every August, and last year contributed over two thousand pounds (So I was told by a volunteer at the shop)! It's a great way to raise money and make sure books don't go wasted!

I wanted so badly to visit but the hours were bonkers. Maybe on our next visit. From what I could…read moresee as I peeked through the front window, the shop looked well stocked. I couldn't make out what kind of books prevailed but it's a bookshop so I'll throw some stars their way just for that alone.

Cute little underground bookstore with a fascinating and varied array of books to peruse. Perfect…read moreto pop into as you are touring Leith walk. Husband and I struck up a good conversation with the cashier, and they even gave me a free bannock. Overall worth a quick stop if you have the time.

Old, musty bookshops draw me in as much as any alluring and brightly coloured sweetshop. The…read morepromise of hidden treasures like a pre-war date and inscription in a flyleaf, or a decorative, early edition of a loved classic send positive shivers down my spine. McNaughton's, unfortunately, goes so far in its mystery as to be a little alienating. The atmosphere is still, but unlike the peace of a tranquil bookshop, I found it oppressive and unfriendly. Lose the gathering of book-types inside the entrance for one; with their bowed heads and whisperings you're made to feel as though you have come uninvited into their little cave of wonders. Maybe the books in McNaughton's are simply too good to sell, or perhaps the customer is required to prove a certain worthiness for a desired volume, and browsers of weak spleen are unfit for such treasures, and quickly eradicated by the dragons on the door.

I visited two of their stores, looking for the perfect souvenir to bring home from my vacation. The…read morestaff at both stores were so helpful!

A reasonable sized Waterstones stocking a good range of literature from old classics to current…read morebestsellers. It is clean, fresh and well organised. The staff are also very friendly and I overheard a staff member talking to a fellow customer about book recommendations. In addition to being a regular Waterstones this branch also has special nights and days such as books signings. I'm sure you will be pleased to know that on June 15th Peter Andre will be in store signing copies of his brand new book. I would love to go but I'm washing my hair that day.

This is the place where Edinburgh's most beautiful books live. You always get books that are not…read moreonly great stories, but also very good books to look at whether because of their bindings or because of their wonderful illustrations - books as art as well as for reading. I still stop to peer in the window at the ever present display books when I pass and it is closed (which is actually quite frequently with it closed on weekdays). A part of the service they offer here that I don't have any personal experience with, but which is worth bringing up is their book binding service. Bookbinding isn't a service you find on every street corner so it is worth emphasising it as everyone has a few old well loved books that are in need of restoration and falling apart. For those books there is hope in this store where they can be brought back to life.

I went in before Christmas to get some cards for family and friends. There's such a great…read moreselection. I ended up buying gifts there too as there was something for everyone; limited edition prints, awesome scented candles, books and some really cool furniture items. Everything is produced by local makers and in limited runs, which is fantastic given the reasonable pricing. I'm definitely going to make this the place to buy all my birthday gifts and Christmas gifts from now on!

From the owner: We focus on stocking locally created contemporary craft goods from Greeting cards, to ceramics and…read moretextiles. We also have a large selection of fine art prints and some original works from Leith, Edinburgh, with a few from other parts of Scotland and other parts of the UK

Hands down, Elvis Shakespeare was one of the best (if not, the best) record stores I went to in…read moreScotland. If we're talking second hand, I think it would rank number one. Elvis Shakespeare is extremely well-organized, meaning you can cut to the chase pretty quickly if there are certain genres you're looking for. I know some people are really into crate digging, but I'm not usually one of those. I super appreciated that roll out cabinets used to store all the LPs and 7"s here. In the back of the store was my sweet spot, the 80s indie/alternative section. Being in Scotland, I was hoping to find some artists that I can't normally find in any US stores, and that I did. I was able to pick-up both a Jesse Garon and Motorcycle Boy 12"s. When I got to the counter to pay, I also saw a long-coveted copy of Thee Headcoatees' Have Love Will Travel. I quickly scooped that up, but unfortunately realized (back in the States) that the wrong record was inside! This was a major letdown, but a bit understandable in the way the records are stored. Like many UK stores, Elvis Shakespeare does not keep the actual vinyl in the sleeves out on the floor. So while this was behind the counter, the record was probably taken from wherever those are stored. The record in place of the correct one was from Thee Headcoats, so likely a matter of quickly mis-reading the labels when it was being placed in the sleeve. I wish I had caught this at the time, because now I have the sleeve for a record I really want, without the record. Still, despite that issue, I highly recommend any record collector stop by Elvis Shakespeare while in Edinburgh. Just make sure you do pay close attention to the vinyl that ends up in your purchases.

It was the boxes of records we spotted at the door that prompted my brother and I to cross the road…read moreand have a look in this brilliant literature and music emporium. It was also pretty unusual for us to be walking down Leith Walk in the first place, with it not really being in our normal neck of the woods, but the combination of needing to walk off a huge lunch, plus general curiosity about what Leith Walk retail was up to these days, made us go for the stroll rather than the lazy bus option. Elvis Shakespeare is my favourite kind of specialist dealer for two reasons. The first being, it sells books. I've got a thing about picking up random, older editions of books that are unusual and hard to find, because I love the different designs you can find on the covers, and it's just a bit more interesting than buying a book brand new. The second reason I admire this shop is for its carefully collated A-Z organisation. The records are catalogued alphabetically, with the CDs and books also organised efficiently by category. I realise that there's a certain charm to wandering into other types of dealers and unearthing a gem of an item when everything's just piled up in little mishmash heaps, but I like my shopping somewhere in-between, still with plenty of character, but with some sort of formula to it. It's clear that the bloke that owns this shop has reams of musical knowledge, and is passionate about telling people about it, which is just ideal, specialism plus someone that actually cares about what they're selling can't be beaten. My brother left with a rare Ska CD, and I found the first book I ever reviewed and had since lost, so just had to buy a copy. An excellent afternoon's work.

An excellent book shop that offers much more than just books, stationery, posters, arts and crafts…read morematerials and much, much more can be found in this store. what else you are always guaranteed is to be served by professional friendly people who can help you if you need it or just serve you with a smile if you know what you are after. the whole shop just has a lovely atmosphere to it, you never feel rushed or pressured into buying something and if you just wish to browse quietly through the hundreds of books you can. An excellent first class shop!