Slow motion along the Water of Leith

I was all geared up to go into the Royal Infirmary for a heart procedure, when, a week before d-day, a phone call from the hospital informed me that my admission had been postponed by a month. Plans fell apart, dismay and frustration set in; I needed an enjoyable project to keep me going, to regain some control. That’s when I remembered the Water of Leith Walkway.

If you’re very fit, you can stride or cycle along the 13 miles of the Walkway from Balerno to Leith in a day. If you’re super-fit, you could run it in a couple of hours. Never super-fit and no longer even very fit, I needed to spin the walk out in short sections over my four weeks-a-waiting.

The Water of Leith Visitor Centre in Slateford sells a very useful leaflet for the route, which contains a map and information about the path - distances between main locations, which sections are suitable for wheelchair users etc. It also describes many of the interesting places along the route and says you might be lucky and see a kingfisher or an otter.

I decided to treat the walk a bit like a jigsaw. It didn’t matter what order I did the sections in, as long as I put all the ‘pieces’ together by the end. Armed with the guide, I started at Currie because I thought I could manage to walk the two plus miles to Colinton, where I would meet a friend for coffee at the Swing Cafe.

It was a lovely walk, along the route of the old railway line with the river below sometimes calm, sometimes noisy and tumbling. On either side there were old tangled woodlands draped in ivy. I could stop whenever I wanted to rest - once just in time to catch sight of a heron flying low over the water - and to talk to passers by. I tried to imagine the busy mills along the route and the train, nicknamed the Balerno Tug, chuffing and puffing around a bend. A short detour, through Spylaw Park in Colinton, took me to the Kirk, with its sympathetic statue of a young Robert Louis Stevenson outside, and welcoming Swing Cafe inside. My friend was waiting, the coffee was brewing and the scones were delicious.

I started my next section at the Water of Leith Visitor Centre, where there’s a small shop, toilets and a welcoming, reasonably priced cafe. I aimed to finish at Roseburn Terrace, two to three miles away. The first stretch of the walk hugged the river, with a cemetery and allotments on one side and glimpses, through the trees, of the prison on the other. Quite suddenly the walk opened out and I’d arrived in Saughton Park. Here I cheated a bit and followed the signposts to the courtyard. More toilets and another attractive good value cafe - the Four Square Park Cafe - which funds help for homeless people. From the courtyard you can walk through the formal rose gardens and on into the Conservatory, which is a little haven, with its bust of Mahatma Ghandi ‘Apostle of Non-Violence’, its exotic plants and a pond full of fish. You might even be tempted to sit down and take off your shoes and socks, like the man I spoke to who often comes in his lunch break to relax and unwind. This would be a good place to finish, but today I felt well enough to continue. The path rejoined the tree-shaded river, passed by Balgreen Croquet Club and then came to a short tunnel. I went through the tunnel, under a railway bridge, crossed the river, and there I was in a different world, with Murrayfield Stadium dominating the view. Roseburn Public Park is right next to the stadium and the little Rose Bean cafe is right next to the Water of Leith path, not far from my destination. With the sun shining and a view of the attractive Friends of Roseburn mural and open playing fields in front of me, it was the perfect place to sit outside, enjoying a coffee.

For the third piece of the jigsaw, I went back to the start, in Balerno, and walked as far as Currie in the company of the rushing, swirling water. At one point, there was a mallard family heading across the water, and further on, a dipper bobbed on a stone in the river. I stopped at Currie Kirk, where you can get coffee or tea and a selection of tempting home baking all at a bargain price although it’s only open on a Saturday afternoon, during the summer months.

Where next? My son was home and he’s a good walking companion, so we set our sights on completing the section from Roseburn Terrace to the end in Leith, knowing there were several places where we could shorten the walk if I was finding it too much. I expected this section to be much more built up, so was surprised that there were still many tree covered banks and a couple of lovely open spaces, with benches where we could sit and enjoy the peace and beauty, with hardly a building in sight.

Dean Village

A highlight was Dean Village, with its jumble of quirky, colourful buildings, so unlike the grey formality of the New Town nearby. The flow of the river continued to be varied, sometimes slow, almost sluggish, but then bubbling and rushing. There were several weirs, reminders of the numerous mills dotted along this section. And, standing in the river, there were tall men; tall, naked men, part of sculptor, Andrew Gormley’s 6 Times project. As we approached the end of the walk, the banks were more built up with flats and graffiti-daubed warehouses, before finally opening out into Leith itself, with its busy waterfront and invitation to adventure into the world beyond our shores. There are lots of attractive cafes in Leith. We chose Printwork’s Coffee in Constitution Street, serving a range of interesting cakes, snacks and drinks, and situated right next to our town-bound tram stop.

One of Andrew Gormley's sculpture in the Water of Leith

And so, with a week to go until my hospital admission, I reached the final piece of the jigsaw. My destination was the same as on my first stretch, the Swing Cafe in Colinton, but this time I started from the Water of Leith Centre. Leaving behind the buildings and the noise of traffic on the Lanark Road, I re-entered a world of tall, twisted old trees, tangled with ivy and holly. The path wended its way, sometimes climbing above the river, then descending steps to run alongside it. There were several bridges and forks in the path, giving opportunities to vary the route or leave the walk early. There were open spaces and weirs, a little grotto and views of Redhall Walled Garden - more reminders of the industrial past, mingled here with the genteel living of wealthy families. Finally, I re-joined the route of the old railway line and soon arrived at the Colinton tunnel, with its impressive mural, based on Stevenson’s evocative ‘From a Railway Carriage’ poem. From there it was a short walk to the Swing Cafe, where my friend was waiting to share in a celebration lunch - leek and potato soup or cranberry and brie panini, which would it be?

I never saw a kingfisher or an otter, but slow motion along the Water of Leith Walkway exceeded my expectations, with its wonderful variety of nature and history and art works. It’s a great walk to try in short sections and it’s on our doorstep. As for my hospital admission, once again I was all geared up…and then I tested positive for covid!

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Published in Konect May 2025

Author: Jane Forster. Jane has lived in Balerno for over 50 years, and since retiring she has enjoyed travel abroad, volunteering and hill walking, especially with the Balerno Ramblers.

All photos credit Jane Forster