Did you know
Once a tackle shop.
The bookshop's building sold fishing tackle for thirty years, and before that was a cooperative store.
Edinburgh
The Portobello Bookshop
An independent bookshop on Portobello High Street, opened in 2019 in an old tackle shop, with a thoughtfully chosen stock and author events.
Welcome
On Portobello High Street, a few streets from the sea, the Portobello Bookshop is an independent bookshop.
Visited and photographed by Simon Hird
It opened in July 2019 in a shop that had sold fishing tackle for thirty years, and when the old frontage came off, the owners found it had once been a cooperative store. Inside, handsome columns that had been hidden behind plasterboard for years now stand among the shelves.
It is a general bookshop, bright and open, with long walls of fiction and non-fiction, tables of new books, and a good children's section, all chosen with real care by experienced booksellers. If they do not have what you want, they are happy to find it.
The shop runs a lively programme of author events, and it opens every day of the week from ten until six. After a walk on the beach, it is a lovely place to lose an hour.
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Before you go
Open every day, 10am to 6pm.
- Where
- 46 Portobello High Street, EH15 1DA.
- Open
- Daily, 10am to 6pm.
- Opened
- July 2019.
Opening hours
Their website- Monday
- 10am–6pm
- Tuesday
- 10am–6pm
- Wednesday
- 10am–6pm
- Thursday
- 10am–6pm
- Friday
- 10am–6pm
- Saturday
- 10am–6pm
- Sunday
- 10am–6pm
Been here? Tell others what you know, and the best go on this page with your name.
Add your reviewDid you know
Did you know
Hidden columns.
The columns inside the shop were found hidden behind plasterboard during the renovation in 2019.
Ben Lerwill
From our guide to Edinburgh
A cracking little independent bookshop just a short wander from the seaside.
Read moreWhat is on
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What is on in EdinburghWhere it is
At 46 Portobello High Street, a few minutes from the beach, EH15 1DA.
Close byPortobello.
Portobello’s High StreetPortobello High Street, with its own greengrocer, butcher, fishmonger, bakeries and bookshop.Under a mile 1 min by road
Portobello Bottle KilnsThe last bottle kilns in Scotland.Under a mile 1 min by road
Oscar's on the PromUnder a mile 1 min by road
ShrimpwreckA seafood shack on the promenade at Portobello, serving shrimp buns, burgers and fries through a hatch to eat by the sea.Under a mile 1 min by road
Portobello BeachEdinburgh's beach a few streets away.Under a mile 2 min by road
The Beach House, PortobelloThe cafe on the promenade.Under a mile 2 min by road
Stay nearby
Places to stay near the bookshop, and when each is next free.
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The Scott Hotel- A hotel
- In Edinburgh
- 2 miles from the Portobello Bookshop
Old Town Chambers- To stay
- In Edinburgh
- 3 miles from the Portobello Bookshop
Moment George IV Bridge- Sleeps 2
- In Edinburgh
- 3 miles from the Portobello Bookshop
West End Muse- Sleeps 4
- In Edinburgh
- 4 miles from the Portobello Bookshop
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Scotland, in print.
We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.
Read on
What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Edinburgh.
Find out more
For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .