Alec

The Talk o’ the Toon

  • I live in Edinburgh
  • I speak English
  • Verified Local host
  • Response time less than 12 hours

Hi there! Nice to meet you

Alec

Firstly, congratulations for deciding to visit Edinburgh! Whether you book a tour or not you are visiting a very special city that has so much to offer regardless of the time of year or what the weather is doing.

I grew up in Edinburgh and have a passion for my city and all the incredible sights, sounds and tastes it has to offer. Having travelled extensively myself over the years I know how important local knowledge is to really get to grips with a city as only a local can look past the obvious tourist hotspots and understand what makes a city tick. Edinburgh has so much to offer but it's the quirky, hidden gems that I'm most excited to share with you.

So, if you want to make the most of your time visiting what Time Out recently announced as 'the world’s most beautiful, walkable and generally bloody excellent place to visit' then I'd be very happy to show you around!

  • I live in Edinburgh
  • I speak English
  • Verified Local host
  • Response time less than 12 hours

My Edinburgh in pictures

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Reviews

Ethan
30 May 2025
Alec was an absolutely fantastic guide. He walked us through the streets of Edinburgh, stopping at places we never would have stopped at before, recounting fabulous stories. He is extremely learned, and is able to tailor tour to what his audience cares about and is fascinated in. I would 10/10 recommend people booking this tour!Knowledgable, interesting, and helpful!
Diana
16 May 2025
Alec was an excellent guide who tailored his tour according to our interests. Personable , Knowledgeable, and well paced. As usual, WithLocals offers great private tours. Thank you, Alec Walking Edinburgh with Alec
Laura
14 May 2025
We had a fantastic experience on our Castle Tour with Alec! He was an outstanding guide—knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about the local history. Alec shared fascinating stories and historical insights that really brought the castles to life. He explained everything in a way that was easy to understand and helped us truly appreciate what we were seeing. We walked away not just entertained, but also having learned so much. Highly recommend touring with Alec!
Barry
25 April 2025
We have found food tours to be outstanding in that they give more information about the city not just the food and the tour with Alec was no exception. We learned so many interesting facts and stories about Edinburgh. It was tailored to our interests and flowed perfectly. We spend the second day in Edinburgh exploring in detail all the interesting places Alec shared with us. Outstanding tour. One of the best we have ever done. Highly recommend.Great day in Edinburgh
Konrad
16 February 2025
We definitely recommend a private tour with Alec for the first moment you arrive in Edinburgh. We enjoyed the whole tour from the first moment and it was a great start to our long weekend. It was very informative and interesting. It was lovely to hear all the stories from Alec. Awesome way to know the city
Alan
9 February 2025
Very informative and thought provoking tour with Alec. Lots of history (naturally) laced with plenty of good humour. Real privilege getting to see the Thistle Chapel in St Giles Cathedral.Edinburgh Old Town Tales
Charles
8 February 2025
Exploring the Edinburgh castle with Alec was a wonderful experience and was a highlight of out trip. He is super knowledgable, attentive and has a very warm personality. My wife and I are looking forward coming back to Edinburgh and have Alec show us more of the wonders of the city. The perfect guide
Maria
2 February 2025
We had an absolutely fabulous tour of Edinburgh with Alec. We saw all of the key sights in the old town which is beautiful. Alec was extremely knowledgeable and was full of stories which were enlightening and funny! Alec was a pleasure to spend our afternoon with and we would highly recommend him as a tour guide. Thank you so much.Cannot recommend Alec enough
Johanna
1 February 2025
Alec met us in front of the Royal Mile Whiskies right on time and took us on a very interesting and entertaining historic tour through Edinburgh. He was very knowledgeable and a good storyteller, with many details that only locals know. We had three lovely hours with this guide, although our expectation was that we would have a food tour with ten different samples of local food and some culinary explanation. So, a great experience, although not what we expected.History tour
Melonie
12 January 2025
Our time in Edinburgh was really special thanks to Alec. In our short time together, he shared many of Edinburgh’s hidden gems and interesting historical stories. We would never have learned all of the neat things he shared roaming Edinburgh on our own. We can’t say enough great things about Alec and his fun, energetic personality. We will be back to tour with Alec again!Edinburgh with a pro!

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