Tourists lured by Edinburgh Trainspotting tour

The Scottish capital Edinburgh has formed the backdrop to many novels and poems from the eighteenth century to the present day.

Literary tours, that follow in the footsteps of Walter Scott, Robert Burns and Robert-Louis Stephenson through the city's winding streets, taverns and courtyards, have long been popular with tourists.

But their popularity is being challenged by a new tour, which takes tourists through the more gritty landscapes of Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting, reports The Times newspaper.

The tour takes fans of Welsh novels around the old port district of Leith, pointing out the landmarks featured both in Trainspotting and its sequel Porno.

These include the pub where Renton drinks with parents or where Sick Boy shoots a pit bull terrier with an air rifle from his bedroom window.

"This gig's nae for bairns," is the typical opening shot of tour guide Tim Bell.

Another popular tour checks out the sites and sounds as experienced by Ian Rankin's best know character, Inspector John Rebus.

Stops on the tour include the police station where Rebus works, the mortuary where autopsies on victims are held, and most popular of all - John Rebus' favourite pub, the Oxford Bar.

Pubs are also the focus of the Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour, which begins in the eighteenth century and moves right up to the present day.

For more information on Edinburgh literary tours, see the VisitScotland website.