Discover Edinburgh with megabus
The historical and cultural attractions, including the looming Edinburgh Castle, Arthur’s Seat and legendary Fringe Festival have made it the UK’s second most visited tourist destination and Time Out magazine’s ‘Best City in the World’ 2022.
For a city of half a million residents, it certainly packs a punch in terms of talent, claiming Sean Connery, Ronnie Corbett, and Irvine Welsh, amongst its famous exports. And it’s the latter we’re going to focus on first, as we take you to locations from one of Edinburgh’s (and possibly all of Scotland’s) most iconic films, written by Irvine and adapted for screen by Danny Boyle, it is of course, ‘Trainspotting’.
Now although set in Edinburgh, this one’s a bit of a red herring, as most of Trainspotting was filmed in Scotland’s second city Glasgow. The iconic opening scenes however see Renton being chased down Edinburgh’s Princes Street, by the police. At the eastern end of Princes Street, down the steps from Leith Street to Calton Road, and the Calton Street Bridge, where Renton is dramatically hit by a car. From then on, filming moves to Glasgow – which you can easily buy a ticket for with megabus.
Several miles south of the city centre in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, you can visit the Rosslyn Chapel. The 15th Century chapel features at the centre of the conspiracy theory in Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code. The book, published in 2003, sold more than 80 million copies and inspired the Ron Howard directed film starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. Hanks was bowled over by the beautiful location, claiming it was ‘all he could have imagined and hoped for’.
From the silver screen to your TV screen, Amazon’s popular Good Omens returns for Season Two later this year, choosing Edinburgh as the location for many of its scenes. One such place, where you can pop in for a pit-stop pint is the Cask and Barrel pub on West Preston Street. Disguised in the show as the ‘Resurrectionist’, the award-winning traditional Scottish boozer promises a warm welcome and a wide range of real ales.
Other spots around town where David Tennent and Michael Sheen have been sighted include Victoria Street and West Bow, and elegant Stockbridge, a vibrant area with a village feel packed full of posh delis, thrift stores and gastropubs (time for another pint?) The Royal Botanical Gardens are also located here so you can take in a little nature as you work off those deli treats (and two pints).
We hope you’ve enjoyed this whirlwind guide to Edinburgh, and it stands you in good stead for your own show stopping adventure. Share your favourite silver screen locations with us on social using #megabusshowstoppers.
To book your trip to Edinburgh, just use our journey planner at the top of the page.
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