Quirky Edinburgh

by Jack Gillon

Edinburgh has always been a city of unusual characters and has its own distinct, often peculiar, history. Quirky Edinburgh delves into lesser-known but fascinating tales from Edinburgh’s past. Readers will discover stories of the sedan chairs that transported the gentry around the city in the eighteenth century, horse racing on Leith Sands, the open-air Royal Patent Gymnasium that delighted its Victorian visitors with rides on the Great Sea Serpent and Giant See-Saw, an exploding postbox, the 80-foot spiral of kinetic art placed on a roundabout, the original Mrs Doubtfire and much, much more.

Quirky Edinburgh celebrates the unusual and often strange history of Edinburgh and its characters over the years. This fascinating insight into Edinburgh will be of interest to all those who want to know more about the city’s quirky history.

96 pages, Paperback

Published January 15, 2026

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt agrieved at the number of times the author used the word 'quirky' in the first few stanzas of the book/guide. I knew the title of the book already.....]
However, it did get better.
As a resident of Edinburgh since ~1988 I was aware of the majority of the quirks.
I was pleased to read of the ones I was not aware of.
It's a lighthearted educational book of the city I call home.
Great illustrations and photographs too.

[Tracey Pearce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this as I loved a book that he wrote last year but I found it boring and actually gave up a few pages before end. I hardly think Maggie Dickson is a quirky character.

update managed to finish the book this Saturday morning