Margaux Sinclair
The city read by its closes and stairwells
Based in Old Town, Edinburgh.
She maps Edinburgh by its closes and stairwells, from the Old Town wynds to the Water of Leith walkway out to Dean Village. She writes for weekenders who want the National galleries, Arthur's Seat and a Sunday in Portobello without the queues.
Latest stories
Edinburgh's Newest Hotels: Where to Stay in 2026 Without Paying Festival Prices
Edinburgh has a run of new hotels, among them a hostel hybrid near Haymarket and a bronze tower above the shops. Some are worth booking, and each one suits a different sort of traveller.
Edinburgh Hogmanay 2026/27: Street Party, Torchlight Procession and How to Book
Torches up the Old Town on 29 December, 45,000 people on a closed Princes Street on 31 December, and for every room in between, what it charges, who it lets in and when the door shuts.
Edinburgh's Princes Street on an October Afternoon
One Edinburgh street in October 2026: the castle view costs nothing, the climb is 287 steps, the garden gates shut before you are finished with the place, and a few things are worth booking before you fly.
Riding Edinburgh's Forth Bridge in Cold October Light
Low October light is when the 1890 cantilever looks its best, and the boats stop for the winter at the end of the month, so you have a few weeks to cross it by train, walk the footpath beside it and sail underneath.
Walking Edinburgh Old Town From the Royal Mile to the Vaults
A mile of stone runs from Castlehill down to the Canongate, with sealed cellars underneath it, and only some of the Old Town's walking tours are worth giving up an evening for.
How to Visit Edinburgh Castle Without Wasting a Day
What you actually see up on the rock, what it costs, when to turn up, and which free vantage points beat the postcard.
Beneath the Royal Mile: Edinburgh's Underground Vaults and the City That Lives Below
Below the South Bridge lies a second Edinburgh — a sealed labyrinth where the city's poorest once lived in total darkness, and the honest history down there is stranger than any ghost story sold at the door.
Forged in Fire: The Volcanic Bones Beneath Edinburgh
A grounded, boots-on walker's guide to the extinct volcanoes, crags and plugs the city was built on — from the summit everyone climbs to the gannet-white rock you reach by boat.
Monsters, Lochs and Glens: The Highland Escape That Starts in Edinburgh
An honest, unhurried field guide to the best Highland day trips and multi-day runs from Edinburgh — which earn the early alarm, which suit a coachload and which you should stop pretending you can do in a day.
The Best Day Trips from Edinburgh to the Scottish Highlands
Twelve honest, road-tested escapes from the capital — from the Loch Ness classic to Highlands-lite lochs an hour away — with the timings, prices and group realities the brochures leave out.
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