Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus has become deeply intertwined with Edinburgh's identity and cultural landscape over the years.
Back in March, The BBC announced it is bringing Edinburgh’s most iconic character to the small screen, having transformed Rankin's best-selling novels into a series.
Set to premiere on the BBC from Friday, much of the filming on the new series, which stars Outlander star Richard Rankin as a younger Detective Sergeant John Rebus, took place in Edinburgh.
It will see Rebus drawn into a violent criminal conflict after he finds out his younger brother Michael, a former soldier, is involved with criminality. Rebus will find himself torn between wanting to protect his brother and wishing to enforce the law.
READ MORE: Ian Rankin on the rebirth of a dark and gritty Rebus
Ahead of the series premiere, fans are invited to embark on a journey through the key filming locations and some of the spots associated with Rebus, tracing his footsteps along the way.
Key Edinburgh filming locations that appear in Rebus are:
Grassmarket and Victoria Street
The historic Grassmarket area ties seamlessly to Rebus's character, reflecting the complex layers of Edinburgh's history and its present-day urban life.
The Mound
The steep hill connecting Edinburgh’s old and new towns resonates deeply with Rebus by mirroring the detective's own complex character and his perpetual navigation of Edinburgh's shifting landscapes, both physically and metaphorically.
National Library of Scotland
The labyrinthine corridors and shadowy corners of The National Library of Scotland evoke a sense of mystery and suspense, echoing the complexities of Rebus and his cases. Ian Rankin donated his entire archive to the library.
George Heriot’s School
Dating back to 1621, the school features prominently in the series as the school attended by Rebus’s daughter, Sammy.
The Oxford Bar
The Oxford Bar or the ‘Ox’ as it’s also known as, is probably one of the most iconic locations Rebus spent his time and is also used as a filming location for the new BBC Rebus adaptation.
Rebus will launch on May 17. All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am, with episode one airing on BBC Scotland on Friday 17 May at 10pm and on BBC One on Saturday 18 May at 9:25pm.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel