SCOTLAND'S capital, Edinburgh, has been named one of the best cities in Britain for book lovers by The Telegraph.
Introducing the list, which features locations like Exeter, Manchester and Dublin, the newspaper said: "From Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist to Sally Rooney’s Normal People, the British Isles has been literary strongholds for centuries.
"Writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Evelyn Waugh, Oscar Wilde, Dylan Thomas and Virginia Woolf paved the way for modern literary giants."
Edinburgh named one of the best British cities for book lovers
Discussing Edinburgh, which was named one of the best cities on the British Isles for book lovers, The Telegraph said that even arriving here by train is a "literary adventure".
The newspaper said of the Scottish city: "Great Scott! Even arriving by train to Waverley is a literary adventure. The station is named after Sir Walter Scott’s first novel and adorned with literary quotations from the author.
"This is the city that gave us Robert Louis Stevenson, Irvine Welsh and Muriel Spark and will be ever synonymous with Harry Potter as resident J.K. Rowling wrote the series here (most famously penning ideas in The Elephant House Cafe).
"The city boasts its very own poet laureate, known as the Makar (currently poet and playwright, Hannah Lavery), and hosts the world’s largest international book festival.
"Founded in 1983, Edinburgh International Book Festival takes places in August and is attended by over 800 writers and 200,000 visitors.
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"The Radical Book Fair is another yearly highlight, as is the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, where yarns are spun by writers and poets in October.
"Other fun facts: Scotland’s first book was printed here in 1508; the city has over 50 bookshops (selling all from antique tomes to graphic novels); and the world’s first purpose-built poetry library opened here in 1999.
"Don’t miss a visit to the Writers’ Museum, just off the Royal Mile, or a literary stroll on The Edinburgh Book Lovers’ Tour.
"As Edinburgh was the first city to receive the Unesco City of Literature accolade, it will host the Cities of Literature Conference in October 2024, to mark the 20th anniversary."
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