Rings star Pippin will pop in to promote Capital

Published on Monday 22 December 2003 00:00

A STAR of the movie blockbuster series Lord of the Rings has agreed to become a tourism ambassador for the Capital.

Billy Boyd, a Glaswegian, has agreed to promote the city in a new tourism guide which will be distributed around the world.

Around 220,000 copies of the 2004 holiday guide for the Edinburgh and Lothians area are being published.

They feature the actor who plays Pippin in the hit movies waxing lyrical about his favourite parts of the city - the New Town and Stockbridge.

He said: "The view looking down Dundas Street in the New Town is amazing - you get a great view of the Forth and Fife. It’s the first thing I think of when I think of Edinburgh, it’s such a cool street.

"If I’m meeting people at the airport I always make sure I drive them into town by heading up Dundas Street. At the top you get this unbelievable view of Edinburgh Castle - right in the middle of the city. Then there’s Stockbridge, which has a real village feel. It’s really laid back and there are nice things like bookshops where they give you a cup of coffee while you’re looking around.

"There’s nothing better than spending the day doing nothing but wandering around here and discovering all these great little shops you’d never normally see."

The Holiday Guide, published by Edinburgh and Lothians Tourist Board, portrays the city as a stylish European capital, promoting it as an alternative to cities such as Paris, Vienna and Rome, and marketing the Lothians as an ideal destination for active and family holidays.

It is published in six different languages - Dutch, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish and is distributed in 20 countries around the world.

Steve Crowe, head of communications at the tourist board, said: "It’s fantastic when celebrities say how much they love our city."