Scotland The Best 2012 by Peter Irvine

Scotland the Best is a guide to travelling around, or simply living in Scotland, as it rates restaurants, cafes, hotels, pubs, regular events and a whole lot else besides throughout the country. How to review such a thing? Well, let’s say that obviously the best guide to what’s going on in Scotland is obviously the listings in The Skinny, that’s a given, but this is a very worthy runner up. Author Peter Irvine uses a simple ‘tick’ system to rate places. One tick means amongst the best in Scotland, two amongst the best in the UK, and three amongst the best in the world. Few things get three ticks – I only noticed Loch Lomond achieving the honour, which seems fair. (There’s also a two ticks and a plus for chef recommendations). No ticks seems to mean it might be good or bad, just not yet deserving of a tick. This is quite a genial way to rate places, accentuating the positive, and there’s a warm tone to the book in general, with Irvine’s comments on every entry more like a friend’s advice than, as can be the case with guidebooks, a judgment from on high. Well worth investing in... if there isn’t a Skinny handy. [Keir Hind]