Explore!

Explore! Our articles cover anything and everything to do with West Lothian, West Edinburgh and Falkirk.

A selection of what goes into print is published here.

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"I chose Colinton over the internet while living in San Francisco" Lorraine O'Shea

May 1, 2018
3 min

"I chose Colinton over the internet while living in San Francisco" Lorraine O'Shea

“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 Balerno Loop

Aug 7, 2017
5 min

The Balerno Loop

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

Redhall Castle and House

Jun 1, 2017
4 min

Redhall Castle and House

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

In the footsteps of RL Stevenson : a walk in Colinton Dell

Feb 1, 2016
3 min

In the footsteps of RL Stevenson : a walk in Colinton Dell

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