If you love Edinburgh then this is the job for you... and there's not a script in sight
Do you like a good natter about history? Meeting new people from all over the world? Then you may be what Lothian Buses is looking for – a bus tour guide.
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Tour guides know Edinburgh, love people, love talking and love their jobs. And they come from all types of backgrounds – they include former teachers, accountants, ministers, a folk singer and more.
Jack Aitken, a former building society manager who’s been a guide for five years, says what he most enjoys is “the variety of people you meet” on the job.
“I got started with it because of my love of Scottish folklore, which I got from my grandmother. I’m always telling my grandkids stories.
“Now, I have even more stories to tell them. You end up talking to the other guides and hearing their stories as well.”
Andy Dawson, a former agricultural researcher, who’s been a guide for 15 years, agreed.
“I’m interested in the history of Edinburgh and I like meeting people – this way, I can combine both,” he said.
None of the guides read from a script and every one of them brings their own flair to the table.
Jack, for example, likes to recite Burns or Sir Walter Scott if there’s a spare moment during the tour.
Eric Congleton, a former surveyor, said: “The tour to me is partly history and partly what’s going on in town.
“You need to know what’s happening in the Festival, what’s happening at the Usher Hall, as well as the history.”
“What I like best,” Eric concluded, “is when people get off the bus and say Edinburgh is a lovely city.
“You take the city for granted when you live here.
“And when people from Edinburgh come along, they usually tell us that they didn’t know half of what we tell them.”
If you’d like to know more about becoming a bus tour guide, call Kenny Campbell on 0131 475 0621 or e-mail: kcampbell@lothianbuses.co.uk
Hours are flexible and usually seasonal, with the busiest period from March to September.