Description

Choose the Trainspotting Tour. Choose to walk the streets that inspired Irvine Welsh. Choose a guide who grew up in the very neighbourhoods where the stories were set and who will lead you through the real Edinburgh behind one of the most iconic books and film adaptations of the last 20 years.

Ranked 10th in the British Film Institute’s list of greatest British films, the 1996 classic Trainspotting starred Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle. The sequel, released two decades later with the same cast, returned to the themes of addiction, friendship and survival that gave the original its cult following.

This 3‑hour Trainspotting walking tour is ideal for fans of the Irvine Welsh novels Trainspotting and Porno, as well as both Danny Boyle films. You will visit key filming locations from T1 and T2 along with places that appear throughout the books.

The tour begins at the first location seen in the original film, where Renton sprints through central Edinburgh with security on his heels. From there, the route winds through memorable sites including the car park where Renton escapes Begbie in T2, and several Old Town streets used in the chase sequences such as the Grassmarket and the Royal Mile. You will also see the spot where Renton collides with a car in T1 and the pub connected to the infamous glass scene from the book.

A short tram ride (around £2) takes the group from Edinburgh city centre to Leith.

In Leith, where the original story is set, you will visit the site of the old Leith Station, the location that inspired the novel’s ironic title. No Edinburgh tour is complete without a pub stop, and you will see the bar where Begbie reads Spud’s writing in T2, once part of the long‑vanished station. You will also pass one of the places where Irvine Welsh met fellow writers while developing ideas for Trainspotting.

The tour finishes at the pub favoured by Renton, Spud, Sickboy and Begbie in the novel, the scene of Begbie’s notorious snooker‑cue attack.

Along the way, you will also enjoy views of some of Edinburgh’s most famous landmarks including the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, Princes Street Gardens, Calton Hill and the Scott Monument.

What you will see:

• Visit the spot used for the opening chase sequence in the first Trainspotting film
• Hear insider stories from your guide about how Irvine Welsh’s writing was adapted for the screen
• Explore key T2 filming locations including Begbie’s car park and the bookshop robbery site from the original movie
• Listen to quotes and background from the novels as you stand in the real locations that inspired them