Edinburgh is a literary city. Nobody knows this to be true better than Marcas Mac an Tauirneir, the Gaelic poet who—since making a home there—has found a story along every winding cobblestone street and within every sandstone structure. Whether he’s talking about something directly connected to printed matter, like where he likes to shop for used books or which public library has the best reading rooms, or his go-to’s for vintage shopping, Tauirneir sounds less like a local handing out tips and more like a wistful lyricist weaving images of the city’s past and present. “Edinburgh was built on arts and culture, whether you engage with it as a UNESCO City of Literature or the place where theatre is developed for the Fringe,” he says. Fittingly, he’s also the poet in residence at the Balmoral, A Rocco Forte Hotel (voted one of the best hotels in the United Kingdom in our 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards), meaning you can find him there crafting bespoke poems for guests. Here, he tells us about just a few of his favorite places.
Where to buy books, old or new
There’s no one “best” place to shop for books in Edinburgh. Rather, Turner advises hitting a few spots. “I think the thing about secondhand bookshops is you just never know what you’re going to find. Outlets like these often have their specialisms, but I just engage with them as an Aladdin’s cave,” he says. “When you come out with a pre-loved book, not only do you open yourself up to the world within the pages, but you bring home a unique item that has a story of its own. How many hands have turned its pages, how many shelves has it sat on before your own?”
So, which ones does he trust? There’s a certain nexus point: “As the iconic Grassmarket elides into Fountainbridge, you’ll find three of Edinburgh’s best second-hand bookshops: Edinburgh Books, Main Point Books, and Armchair Books.”
When it comes to Gaelic literature specifically, Turner recommends the Amnesty International Bookshop in Marchmont, which has the additional benefit of supporting a worthy cause. “It was here,” he says, “where I found a very special edition of poetry by Duncan Bàn MacIntyre, a Jacobite port from Argyll, who made his home with his wife in the city while she ran a pub in the Lawnmarket. We celebrated his tricentenary last year with a memorial slab in Makar’s Court and various events. But the volume I purchased there was published in 1887, the tenth edition. It was printed by Lorimer and Gillies, at 31 St Andrew Square, where Harvey Nichols stands now. But it was published by McLachlan and Stewart at 64 South Bridge. This is where the Italian restaurant Ciao Roma is now, and part of their premises includes what was the Rutherford Bar on Drummond Street—the old haunt of RL Stephenson, when he was part of the Edinburgh University Debating Society. So there you are. A second hand bookshop can lead you on a whistlestop tour of Edinburgh’s literary history. The front matter is sometimes as powerful as the creative writing that follows.”
Where to buy clothes, old or new
If there’s one place to shop for secondhand clothing in Edinburgh, it’s at an outlet of Armstrongs Vintage. Marcas has a favorite, saying, “Armstrongs has a number of outlets across the city, but their signature shop in the Grassmarket is a cavern of vintage fashion, with everything going back to the early twentieth century, to theatrical costume and also a good selection of pre-loved kilts, Argyll jackets and sporrans. Back in 2019, I was asked to have a deep rummage in the charity shops and Armstrong’s for a feature for Radio nan Gàidheal about pre-loved fashion. I found a beautiful pre-loved, sage green, tweed Argyll jacket which was an absolute bargain at £17. To be honest I blew my budget from the BBC, and spent my own money bringing back a whole host of stuff I’ve continued to wear. But that jacket is special. I wore it on stage at the Royal National Mòd when I took part in the singing competition for the Traditional Gold Medal.”
The buck doesn’t stop there, though, with an outer neighborhood also ripe for the picking: “Leith is also well known for its charity shops like Bethany Christian Trust, where you can bag a bargain before the vintage shops snap it up themselves.”
Quiet time
Edinburgh is not the noisiest city, but if you do find yourself seeking an escape from the hustle and bustle, the answer for Marcas is clear. “Edinburgh’s libraries are second to none,” he says. Tourists will likely appreciate the National Library for its recurring exhibitions, which showcase Scotland’s mark on the literary world, but Marcas has a soft spot for another: “The Central Library operates as the best of the city’s lending libraries, with its high vaulted ceilings and spacious reading rooms. That the libraries in Edinburgh are architecturally significant with beautiful interiors only enhances the key role they play in cultural and community life in the city. They are very special places and we must support them.”
