This is perfect book for tourists and natives alike and is filled with a wealth of information about things that are not to be missed in Scotland, along with interesting facts and guidance, this is a book not to miss!

I’ve been reading the 2016 edition. Recommendations for restaurants, hotels, and so on are always subjective. There are many I’d agree with in the 2016 edition and some I disagree with but I see that the 2019 edition is on its way so there will be further changes. If you’re visiting Scotland, you could do much worse than consult this book. It’s clearly divided into geographical and topical sections and it’s easy to use.

With thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for a review copy.

This is a fantastic travel guide for anyone visiting Scotland. It really does give some great recommendations laid out region by region, so information is easily accessible depending on which area you are travelling to.

I was familiar with quite a few recommendations and the concise descriptions made me keen to visit those I was unfamiliar with.

My only gripe is that I think this book really only works well in paper form. I read an eReader version and found the searching and finding the particular region I wanted both laborious and time consuming when I could have easily flicked to the page I wanted if I had the physical book in my hand.

For any travellers to Scotland, I would highly recommend.

This is an updated edition of Peter Irvine's guidebook giving his views and perspectives on the best in Scotland for the visitor who has some familiarity with the country. It gives decent sections on the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the two main destinations for so many people. Irvine does a sterling job of incorporating the main obvious sights, including options on how to travel around, and listings for hotels and hostels etc..There are categories that focus on the best in, which include the best vegetarian restaurants, waterfalls, castles.. There is information on historic sites, whisky tours, churches and literary places of interest. I particularly liked the sections of the Scottish Islands, and the hikes and walks.. Sadly, no maps, but I still found this a great resource and guide for those planning to visit Scotland. Many thanks to Collins Reference for an ARC.

I’ve visited Scotland only intermittently since my family lived there a couple of decades ago so my knowledge of ‘must-see’ places is way out of date and, as a result, some of the descriptions here were almost unrecognisable to me - St Andrews as an example would appear to be very different these days, Edinburgh too. So this guide is perfect for someone like me. I think it perhaps caters for people who do already know Scotland at least a little rather than complete strangers - it is light-hearted in tone and that is one of its major attractions but I imagine some of its wry observations would be lost on first-time visitors.

I like the way it is organised, area by area to some extent, but also into categories countrywide. There are categories like best spas, real ale pubs, fish & chip shops, for example. The ones I was particularly taken with, though, are those for narrower interests - the best wild swimming holes, the important literary places, great garden centres being just a few. The author doesn’t claim to be presenting a comprehensive guide to absolutely every little place in Scotland, but to be pointing out the best places in his opinion, and he has visited and compared most of them. All very subjective, of course, but if you get the immediate impression that you would get on with the author in person (as I did), then there is a good chance that you’ll like his recommendations.

I was skimming through an e-book version which didn’t feature the accompanying maps but I can only assume the experience would be greatly enhanced by viewing it via the new app on a phone or tablet. Next time I visit Scotland I’ll be sure to download that.

With thanks to Collins Reference via NetGalley for the opportunity to download an ARC.