Leith - The Trainspotting Years
I grew up in Leith in Edinburgh in the 1980’s when Scotland was massively affected by mass unemployment, poverty and deprivation The conditions were just perfect for a new drug called smack, the problem was, it was heroin and at first people didn’t know what they were injecting into their bodies.
Leith is famous nowadays for Royal Yachts, Michelin star restaurants, trendy bars and bistros, but this tour will show the real Leith. Trainspotting is still happening, come and see for yourself.
Irvine Welsh, who was an ex-heroin addict himself decided to write about this period in the best-selling novel, Trainspotting which was set in Leith from 1984 onwards. I explain why Trainspotting happened, why is it called Trainspotting as we visit some of the key locations from the book. Gary Fraser, one of the movie Trainspotting 2's directors has come on this tour, as well as visitors from over 60 countries. In 2020 I helped Invisible Cities win the Lonely Planet Best Community Tour in the World.
Trainspotting is still happening, and you never know what will happen on these tours, we even once met Spud (Ewen Bremner) at the end of a tour. I can’t promise you we will meet Spud on every tour, but I can guarantee you a few shocks and laughs along the way. Including tales of Queen Victoria that should have been in the movie!
This tour starts at The Statue of Robert Burns and will take approximately two hours. Due to the graphic content of the books, this tour is not suitable for children.
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