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A few Edinburgh streets (Gillespie Crescent, Place, Road and Street) and ‘James Gillespie’s High School’ bear the name of a well-off and kindly figure known as the 'laird of Colinton' - James Gillespie (1726-97). He built Spylaw House in 1773 in the valley of Spylaw Park, off Spylaw Street in Colinton, and made his fortune as a snuff-maker. In the Royal Mile the wall-plaque at No.231 High Street commemorates him and marks the site of his young brother's snuff shop at Geddes C

“I picked our home in Colinton over the internet from where I was living in San Francisco in 2000,” says Lorraine O’Shea. “My now-husband, who was living in Edinburgh, came out to see it. Neither of us had been to Colinton before but it looked nice from what I could see online. I moved here after we had bought the house.” Wow, online shopping in the year 2000 for a house. It seems to have worked because here is Lorraine 18 years later, still here. She is Chair of Colinton Vil

The young man from Juniper Green who painted a mural in the scouts' “den” on Belmont Road in the early 1930s - to make it look like the camp site in a wood - went on to become a well-respected and prolific artist, producing paintings in a variety of styles. Edwin George Lucas was born in Leith in 1911, moving to Juniper Green when he was five years old. He attended Juniper Green Primary School and as a youngster was one of the first members of the original 31st Pentland Scout

Walks through the Craiglockhart hills were a popular way of exercising and relaxing for the shell- shocked soldiers who were treated at Craiglockhart War Hospital. This trail starts at Napier University Craiglockhart campus, and is about three miles in total. It’s divided into two loops, so if you are short of time you can do either one of them in less than an hour. The slopes are steep in places and the paths can be muddy so wear sensible shoes. Before you set off, why not t

There is little left for the casual observer to notice today of the picturesque branch line that ran along the Water of Leith for six miles from Balerno to Colinton. Built primarily to service the many mills along the river, it opened in 1874 after ten years of negotiations and delays, and had a profound impact on the development of Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green and Colinton. This was a time of frantic railway building, much of which was torn up during the 1960s. Balerno las

Home to a diplomat involved in nation-shaping moments in Scottish history; seige and destruction by Oliver Cromwell's canons; gracious country estate with beautiful pleasure gardens: the history of Redhall Estate beside the Water of Leith in Craiglockhart shapes the environment today and provides various points of interest on a walk along the Water of Leith. On a small promontory where the Water of Leith meanders in a c-shape, a castle was built in the 13th century, using loc

This area of woodland trails covers both sides of the Water of Leith from Colinton to Slateford. Steeped in history, it's also home to a lot of wildife and flora, and with well-maintained paths is ideal for either a brisk circular walk or an aimless meander. There are many spots you can get into the Dell, but for this walk I chose to start from Bridge Road in Colinton and walk down the “Long Steps” - a very old stairway linking the main part of the village to the parish churc