Product Description

The true Scot's insider's guide to the very best Scotland has to offer. Whether you live in Scotland or are visiting, why settle for anything second-rate when you can be guided to so much that is superb? Peter Irvine's personal guide points you towards the best places to stay (whatever your budget), the best beaches, the best ice-cream, the best hill walks, the best bakers, the best spooky places, the best seafood, the best places for kids, the best ceildhs, and so the list goes on. However well you know Scotland, Peter Irvine will guide you to something excitingly new. Every recommendation has been reassessed to see whether it is still worthy of inclusion, ensuring that the book continues to live up to its name. Scotland the Best! was first published in 1993. Since then its reputation has grown and it has been widely praised in reviews, won awards from the Tourist industry and, above all, delighted readers from all over the world -- not least the Scots themselves. This new edition will be much more user-friendly, with a brand-new look. Changes to include: / A sturdy, portable format including additional information clearly spaced / Much easier to navigate -- succinct coding system, transparent cross-referencing between sections and locations and no more irritating abbreviations / Accessible and clear colour mapping / Website links for all entries included to help you plan and book online Quirky, personalized and informed, Peter Irvine's guide gives you what other travel guides only claim to -- a true Scot's insider's guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #99171 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
'The only guide worth a damn' The Scotsman 'Infallible and quite brilliant' Daily Telegraph 'Makes all other guides to Scotland redundant' The Sunday Times 'Apart from a clever structure and the highest journalistic standards, this book is a joy. The clever thing about such opinionated copy is that pretty soon one picks up the character of the writer, and thus can get a much more accurate and tactile impression of a place than from so-called even handed reports. This book can only enhance the pleasure of visiting or living in Scotland' Amazon

About the Author
Peter Irvine is a director of two of the leading edge events companies in Scotland who produce most of the major public events in Glasgow and Edinburgh, including the annual Glasgow Art Fair and Edinburgh's Hogmanay, which is now the biggest New Year festival in the world. In 2000 Peter Irvine was given the Thistle award for his personal contribution to tourism in Scotland and in 2002 gained another Thistle award for the Glasgow Art Fair.

Customer Reviews

Exactly what it says on the cover...
As a Scot, living in Scotland, this is the one guide book that I refer to again and again. When holidaying in Scotland, we plan whole days around this book. We'll plan a scenic route to see a waterfall or a good walk with the dog. We'll work out what eaterie we're going to have lunch in, and invariably, we'll be staying in a hotel, B&B or guest house recommended by this guide and have a pint in one of its suggested pubs.

The thing I like most about this guide is that it's not neccessarily "Scotland The Most Expensive". It has everything from "Best Fish and Chip Shops" through to top michelin starred restaurants. All this via "Best Waterfalls", "Best Woodland Walks", "Best Scenic Drives" etc. etc.

Once you get into the way this book works (persevere - you will get used to its indexing), it becomes indispensible.

Don't visit Scotland without a copy in your bag.

It probably works when you live in Scotland
We don't live in the UK and purchased this book because we are planning a holiday in Scotland. We will travel most of the time by public transport. In this situation the book is not really helpfull because everything is listed in alphabetical order and not by region. To use book you have to have an idea about the topography of and distances and directions in Scotland.

We will travel by train from Edinburgh to Inverness and spend a few days in between. To get information what is the best town to get of the train and what to expect the book is useless. There is no information about public transport at all in the book so it is impossible to find out the train stations in between of these towns. And if you found a place to get of the train it is impossible to find out how far the stated 'best' hotels, restaurants, walks, etc are from town centres and how to get there. This book probably works if you are familiar with Scotland and travel by car and a very detailed roadmap or TomTom.

flawed but good for foodies
As has already been pointed out this guide is not really regionalised. It jumps all over the place in a most irritating fashion. It does contain jewels of 'insider' information - but here's the rub - you either have to know the attraction already exists in order to look it up OR you have to search the whole blasted thing! The hotel and food reviews are excellent. Again, great for checking on the place you have already booked, but only worthwhile for pre-booking if Peter Irvine regards the that area of Scotland worth a list.

If you accept that there is no attempt to be comprehensive(I might be a bit cross if I was involved in Mull tourism, for instance) or to be objective, this 'guide' may guide you. If you are a local, who likes what Irvine likes, you may get quite a lot from it. If you are a visitor to Scotland, even a regular one, I counsel caution. I won my copy at a wine tasting. I would never buy a copy.

Since the emphasis is on 'the Best', little of the 'reality' of modern Scotland is included. This guide is a set of reviews not an assistance to your journey. You will have to discover form othes sources as a visitor how awful public transport is, how awful most towns are, most food is, most hotels are, most weather is. A midge and rain rating for each area would be a great help. I use my old climbing guide for this (Hamish McInnes - Scottish Selected Climbs, Constable). If there was an urban car theft rating was added, then we would really be able to make informed decisions!

Oh yes - finally - in my opinion, Scotland the Best actually does contain almost every single place worth eating at in the whole country.