Lost Railways of Edinburgh

Come and walk the old railways of Granton, Newhaven & Leith

Long before the phrase Active Travel entered government lexicon Lothian Regional Council started buying old railway trackbeds from British Rail, as BR went about removing the railway network in the 70s and 80s that had existed across the north of Edinburgh. This foresightedness has left a legacy of a network of popular paths crossing the city.

This figure of eight walk covers a large proportion of these lines, starting from Scotland Street station which was the original terminus of the Edinburgh, Leith & Newhaven railway when it opened in August 1842. From here we head north to Trinity and west to Granton. Here the EL&G (having decided that it wanted to go to Granton, not just Newhaven) met the Caledonian and we take up the Caleys route south to Crew junction before heading east to Leith. From Leith we pick up the EL&G again which takes us back to Scotland Street.

Apart from one detour near Chancelot, the route is entirely on tarmac paths as the council have improved these railway paths for cyclists. Whilst most of the routes are as they were when rails ran along them much has changed around them, so is an interesting perspective on the changing face of Edinburgh and Leith.

Photos : Taken by AMD

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