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Attractions, Days Out, Quingo Scooters

Quingo Scooters Accessible Attractions: Edinburgh International Book Festival

Each week Quingo Scooters aim to inspire you with great accessible days out within the UK. As part of our Accessible Attractions series, we’re heading up to Scotland this week. If you’re a bookworm you’ll want to keep reading!

The Edinburgh International Book Festival is held each summer within the heart of Edinburgh’s West End. The three-week celebration, held from the 12-28 August, is the largest of its kind in the world, offering something for all tastes and interests.

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The festival

Including over 800 events over the three weeks, there’s a wide variety on offer for all the family, featuring well known authors as well as rising stars. Previous special guests have included J.K. Rowling, Ian Rankin, Harold Pinter, Alan Bennett, Germaine Greer and Zadie Smith.

This year the festival will be expanding, with two new venues there’s even more opportunity to be entertained. The Book Festival welcomes approximately 1000 authors which include novelists, poets, scientists, philosophers, sportsmen, illustrators, comic creators, and many more. Some of the events you’ll be able to attend are:

  • Frank Cottrell Boyce & Carl MacDougall – after writing the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics, it was fitting for Frank Cottrell Boyce to have an exclusive preview of his debut collection of short stories. Reading alongside him is Scottish master storyteller Carl MacDougall with his own collection. The pair will appear on the opening day of the festival (12 August) in The Spiegeltent.
  • Isabel Bannerman & Julian Bannerman – Isabel and Julian reveal some of the inspirations behind their prize-winning gardens, suggesting ideas that may work on humble home plots. The duo will be appearing on 12 August in the Garden Theatre.
  • Julia Donaldson & Friends – international bestselling picture book author Julia Donaldson will appear for singing, dancing and rhyming fun. With the opportunity to discover her new book, What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday, your little ones won’t want to miss out! Meet a host of popular characters, including the Gruffalo. Tailored for ages 4-7, the event will take place on the opening day of the festival at the Baillie Gifford Main Theatre.
  • Greg James & Chris Smith: Not So Normal – BBC Radio 1 presenter Greg James and newsreader Chris Smith team up for an energetic event full of enemies and adventure as they present their debut novel, Kid Normal. The pair will be hosting the event in the Studio Theatre, for ages 9+.

Entry prices and opening times

Each individual event includes varied admission prices; however, some events are free for everyone and can be found by searching on the events page, please see the individual events online here to book your place at an event. Tickets for the events can be booked online at www.edbookfest.co.uk, by phone on 0845 373 5888 or alternatively in person at the time of the event. Please see the website here for more details.

The festival will be open every day throughout the event from 9.30am to 1am. This year the festival will be running from the 12-28 August.

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Getting there

All of the events at the Edinburgh Book Festival take place in venues in the tented Book Festival village in Charlotte Square Gardens, as well as along the west end of George Street. Princes Street is within two minutes of Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Waverly train station, Edinburgh bus station and other key locations in the city.

It is advisable to use public transport wherever possible as August is a busy period within Edinburgh, and parking is limited. There is a multi-storey car park in Castle Terrace, 10 minutes away from the Book Festival. In addition to this, there are metered parking spaces around Charlottes Square. For more information visit the website here.

Accessibility

The Book Festival Village has full access throughout the whole of the event, as well as accessible toilets for all visitors. Each venue has level access throughout. For more information visit the website here, or contact Artlink Access Service through its website here or call on 0131 229 3555.

About Quingo

The Quingo Scooter range features six models to suit your needs and budget. New models are now available from just £22/week on our new contract hire scheme, which includes all servicing and maintenance, Insurance, Roadside Recovery, Call Outs and Consumables including Batteries and Tyres. For more information on this, or the latest Quingo Scooter range, please visit our website. Alternatively, if you have any service questions you can always contact us or call customer services on 01582 430 900.

Keep up-to-date with the latest mobility scooter advice, tips and interesting places to visit on the Quingo Scooter Users Blog. Connect with Quingo and keep up-to-date with all our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.

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