'Forget that golden-sanded paradise in Miami’ - Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh says Edinburgh has the best beach

He may enjoy a millionaire lifestyle in sun-kissed Miami these days, but Irvine Welsh says his favourite beach is just yards from the council scheme where he grew up in Edinburgh.

The Muirhouse-raised writer upped sticks to Florida several years ago, but he told The Guardian the beach at Silverknowes makes him feel most “nostalgic”.

“I’m very fortunate to reside in Miami Beach,” said the 62-year-old Trainspotting author. “I’m five minutes’ walk from that golden-sanded paradise of the same name, habitually strolling down the street right on to the front of that shimmering blue Atlantic Ocean.

“I love living here, and I love beaches in general. But my favourite shoreline remains the one that helped fashion the milk-bottle skin and beer gut that marks me as the perennial outcast in such rarefied south Floridian surroundings.

“Yes, forgive the nostalgic indulgence, but I’m going back to the council scheme of Muirhouse, and our much loved local beach at Silverknowes.

“OK, I’ll permit that on first glance this ‘beach’ is an ugly, gale-battered scrabble of rocks that hugs the Forth Estuary on its sludgy journey out to the cold, unforgiving North Sea.

“To a kid, Silverknowes beach was simply an unbridled treat. This was enhanced exponentially if you had money for an ice-cream cone from the solitary retail outlet along the winding expanse of the esplanade.

“The Seashell cafe was modelled on the architecture of the nearby scheme, with a nod to the oncoming pillboxes that dotted Cramond Island, designed to deter Nazi U-boats, and which came of age in the post-pill era as impromptu bordellos.”

Edinburgh author Irvine Welsh gets nostalgic thinking about Silverknowes beach.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.