Leith
Leith is the historic port of Edinburgh the capital of Scotland, north of city centre on the shore of the Firth of Forth. It's now only a minor port and has lost much of its industry, to be replaced by retail, bistros and cobbled wharves. In 2021 its population was 24,620, with about the same again in nearby districts such as Newhaven also described on this page.
Understand
Leith was the port for Edinburgh, where foreign dignitaries and bodies of troops came and went, and the raffish element lived who couldn't afford or were unwelcome in the city. Its industries reflected its sea-going trade: whisky and wine storage, glass for wine bottles, sugar refining and soft drinks, fishing, soap from whale oil, ship building, and lead piping. Leith makes much of its historic independence from the city but its separate burgh council only came about in 1833. In 1920 there was a referendum on whether to re-merge with Edinburgh, and the stout people of Leith voted 26,810 to 4,340 against; whereupon Edinburgh took over anyway, just to demonstrate how the world works. At last it was feasible to run trams between the two, instead of passengers transferring between incompatible systems. But Leith's industries, already past their heyday, withered during the 20th century, and the port became tatty and seedy. It was gradually revitalised from the 1980s, with gentrification, white-collar jobs and boho bistros, not least because city centre rentals were soaring. The signature development from 2001 was the completion of Ocean Terminal complex and the permanent mooring of the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Get in
See Edinburgh#Get in for long-distance routes by air, rail and road. Leith is two miles northeast of Edinburgh's main railway and bus stations, so on a fine day with only light luggage you could walk straight down Leith Walk.
Leith was the historic port of arrival for packet ships from London (three days upchucking beats nine days jolting in a stagecoach) but there are nowadays no ferries to Leith, and it's too small for modern cruise liners: these anchor out in the Firth and bring their guests by tender either here or to South Queensferry.
The infamous Leith Central railway station is now a Tesco supermarket, see Buy.
By tram
The tram runs from Edinburgh Airport via city west end, Princes Street, St Andrew Square (for main railway and bus stations) then down Leith Walk (stopping at Macdonald Road, Balfour Street and Foot of the Walk), then The Shore, turning west to Port of Leith, Ocean Terminal and Newhaven. They run 5AM-11:30PM every 10 min or better. You must buy your ticket from a platform machine before boarding. See Edinburgh#Get around for fares: it's a flat fare within the city but more from the airport.
By bus
From the airport, take Skylink 200. This runs from airport stop B via Corstorphine down to Newhaven seafront and Leith Ocean Terminal - it doesn't pass anywhere near city centre. It runs daily every 30 min, 5PM-midnight towards Leith and 4AM-11PM out to the airport, taking an hour. In 2023 a single ride is £5.50 and an open return is £8. You have to pay the driver the exact fare, but contactless card or mobile phone payments are accepted.
At night from the airport the only public transport is Airlink Bus 100 to South St David St (by the railway and bus stations, silent at that hour) then find a night bus or taxi.
Several buses travel down Leith Walk from central Edinburgh, so the service is almost every minute: Bus 7 (from Royal Infirmary), 10 (from Bonaly), 11 (from Hyvots Bank and Napier University), 14 (from Craigmillar), 16 (from Bonaly), 25, 34, 35 (all from Heriot-Watt University), 36 (from Gogar) and 49 (from Fort Kinnaird).
Night buses 14 and 16 run from city centre to the foot of Leith Walk then turn west. N16 follows the shore to Newhaven, Granton and Silverknowes, N14 follows Ferry Road to Goldenacre and Muirhouse. They're both hourly from midnight to 4AM.
By road
Approaching from England, take A1 to its terminus at Portobello then A199 along the coast.
From Glasgow or Fife the recommended route is to wind around the city on A720 ring road to join A1. It's often congested, but so too is the direct route along Queensferry Road, Telford Road and Ferry Road.
Get around
The historic core is compact, so walk. The sprawling districts east and west are served by bus. Bus 16 is the way to go west along the coast: from Leith Walk it goes to Newhaven, Granton and Silverknowes. Bus 21 goes west along Ferry Rd to Corstorphine and Gogar, and also takes you east to Craigentinny, Portobello beach and Craigmillar. You can also get east on Bus 49.
Leith Cycle Co is the only place offering bike hire - the others just do sales and maybe repairs. It's by Hing Sing Chinese supermarket at 276 Leith Walk, open M-Sa 8:30AM-5:30PM.
The same taxi firms ply in Leith as in the rest of the city.
See
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- 1 Royal Yacht Britannia, Ocean Terminal, Leith EH6 6JJ, ☏ +44 131 555 5566. Apr-Sep 10AM-6PM, Oct-Mar 10AM-3PM. This ship was commissioned in 1954 and was the royal transport and residence on overseas tours until 1997. She has a length of 412 ft / 126 m and oil-fired twin turbines; she was also designed to act as a hospital ship in wartime but was never so used. Symbolically her last duty was to bring home the Governor of Hong Kong after the crown colony was handed over to China, and the last scrap of British Empire was ceded to the rising superpower. She was not replaced, in site of a rearguard action by the flag-waving political right wing. Princess Diana took her honeymoon cruise aboard with Charles and must have experienced utter heart-sink: the average double-glazing millionaire has a better yacht than this. The royal apartments exhibit all the flair and comfort of the parlour of the deputy headmistress of a genteel boarding school. (See Fingal moored nearby for what design pizzazz and a big budget can achieve.) Some 270 crew were needed to sail this retro-Edwardian time-warp, serve Brown Windsor Soup, polish the brasses and salute each other in all remaining moments. Adults £18.50, student £13.50, child £9.75.
- 2 Martello Tower is within the restricted dock precincts but can be glimpsed across the harbour. Originally on an islet but now built into the harbour, it's one of dozens of similar stubby towers and gun emplacements erected around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland to deter attack from revolutionary France.
- 3 North Leith Parish Church or "Old St Ninian's" is an Italianate church on the north harbour bank.
- 4 Newhaven harbour was created in 1504 to build a warship too big for the existing Leith harbour. The fishermen's houses are distinctive, with an external stairway to accommodation on the first floor while the ground floor stored their nets. (Many are repro, as 1960s developers replaced as much as they could with drab housing.) The port was involved in fishing, whaling, piloting, and ferries to Fife and Stirling.
- 5 South Leith Parish Church is on Kirkgate at the foot of Leith Walk. It harks back to 1483 but is mostly Victorian Gothic.
- 6 Trinity House, 99 Kirkgate EH6 6BJ, ☏ +44 131 554 3289. Stately neo-classical building of 1818 which is now a maritime museum, but only open for special events. It's built over its predecessor of 1560, which in turn was built over a medieval monastic site. The organisation dates back to 1380, when Leith mariners gained the right to levy duty on goods landed at the port; the funds supported sick or aged mariners or their families. They went on to fund lighthouses and to develop training for mariners, which became Leith Nautical College. They invested in real estate and the neighbourhood of Trinity was originally theirs. Other medieval ports copied these arrangements, such as Trinity House in London Deptford from 1514 which became the governing body for English lighthouses, but the Leith version was senior and distinct. A separate body for Scottish lighthouses was established in 1786, now called the Northern Lighthouse Board.
- 7 Leith Links is a large green space to the east, which lay outside the medieval town walls and only became surrounded by buildings from 1770. "Links" were where you played golf, and it was a five-hole course played twice - the local rules were adopted by the Royal & Ancient at St Andrews. Two hummocks at the west end "Giant's Brae" and "Lady Fyfe's Brae" are thought to be 16th century artillery positions. Two plague pits were dug for the hasty mass burial of victims of the bubonic plague epidemic of 1645, and a dovecote in nearby Lochend became a furnace for contaminated clothing.
- Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop at 21 Hawthornvale EH6 4JT is a workspace and doesn't routinely have exhibitions.
- 8 Granton Castle Walled Garden is a peaceful community-run space at 23 West Shore Rd, open Sa Su 1-3PM. The castle was a medieval L-plan tower house, derelict by the 18th century. From 1928 the bedrock was quarried and down it all came.
Do
- What's on? Most radio, web and print material covers all of Edinburgh, but The Leither is a quirky magazine with news, listings, articles, reviews and so on. It's free, and published every six weeks.
- Football: 1 Hibernian FC, Easter Road, Albion Place EH7 5QG, ☏ +44 131 661 2159. The "Hibs" play soccer in the Premiership, Scotland's top tier. The all-seater stadium, capacity 24,000, is at the south edge of Leith. Hibs have played at Easter Road since 1893; in 2000 the pronounced slope of the ground was levelled out. Their traditional city rivals are Hearts. Buses 1 and 35 run down Easter Road but there are more frequent buses down Leith Walk just west or along London Road (A1) just south.
- Water of Leith Walkway and cycle path is a linear park transecting the city from the edge of the Pentland Hills to Leith Harbour. It's firm going, much of it on the track bed of former railways. The route is indicated by brown signs with a water wheel logo - this little river once powered dozens of mills. The local, lowest section is from Canonmills near the Botanic Gardens through Warriston and Bonnington to end at Leith harbour. This doesn't have the forested glen and wildlife of upper sections but is still a surprisingly quiet bosky place, with only occasional industrial remains to indicate that you're in a major city. Or as William McGonagall eloquently put it:
- Therefore all lovers of the picturesque, be advised by me, And the beautiful scenery of the River Leith go and see,
- And I am sure you will get a very great treat, Because the River of Leith scenery cannot be beat.
- Six Times is a series of figures by Antony Gormley along the Water of Leith. Within this patch, #4 is in Warriston, #5 in Bonnington and #6 at the harbour.
- Granton Station on Waterfront Broadway is studio space for artists to hire. It doesn't have a public gallery.
- NMS Collection Centre nearby at 242 West Granton Rd is a repository for the vast National Museums collection, they have far more than can be displayed. Occasional public tours, or apply in advance to view specialist collections, such as early Celtic sporrans.
- Granton Art Centre is co-located and is similarly a repository for the National Galleries collection. So it's through them that you'd apply.
- Fishing (Angling) is possible along most of the length of the Water of Leith. Permits can be obtained free from the City Council offices at Waverley Market in the New Town and Cockburn Street in the Old Town, and from Fishing Tackle shops throughout the city.
- John Muir Way is a coast to coast hiking trail from Muir's birthplace in Dunbar to Helensburgh on the Clyde estuary. The local section westbound is from Portobello through Leith towards Granton and Silverknowes. It's all on road, hugging the coast where possible but skirting industrial dockland, so it's ratty.
- Vue, Ocean Terminal, Leith EH6 6JJ (within shopping centre), ☏ +44 345 308 4620. Large multiplex chain cinema showing mainstream films. There's another Vue on Greenside Place at the top of Leith Walk.
- Leith Theatre at 28 Ferry Rd is an arts and events venue but doesn't have a regular programme.
- Victoria Swim Centre at Junction Place has a pool, gym and fitness classes. It's run by the council and you need membership, but a 7-day pass is available for £20.
- Golf: Lochend GC play on Craigentinny Links a mile southeast of Leith along A199. The course off white tees is 5472 yards, par 67.
- Leith Links is among the world's first golf courses, but has banned golf since 1905, as you'd be sure to hit some toddler who was already bawling a-plenty.
- Leith Jazz and Blues Festival is probably next held 7-9 June 2024, tbc.
- Leith Festival in June puts on art, comedy, dance, drama, film and music at various venues. The next is 8-16 June 2024.
- LeithLate tries to be a bit more edgy - think urban murals rather than kiddy face-painting - but overall has a similar mix. The next is probably 28-30 June 2024, tbc.
- Edinburgh Mela celebrated South Asian culture on Leith Links on the late August holiday, but collapsed in chaos and corruption in 2016. Occasional "pirate" Melas appear on the Links (they would say "legacy" or "phoenix"), trading on the name but with no obligations to those left with unpaid bills and wages by the original.
Buy
- 1 Asda, 2 Sandpiper Drive, Newhaven EH6 6NX (by tram terminus), ☏ +44 131 560 2300. 24 hours. The biggest local supermarket, with pharmacy, opticians, travel money and filling station.
- Tesco is a big supermarket at the foot of Leith Walk, open M-Sa 6AM-midnight, Su 8AM-8PM. It occupies the former Leith Central railway station, which closed to passengers in 1952. It was a railway depot to 1972 then fell derelict, becoming the abode of down-and-outs and drug misusers, inspiring a key scene in Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh (1993). The character Begbie is in the station for drugs, when from the shadows an alcohol-ravaged tramp jeers that he must be there for train-spotting. Begbie realises that the tramp is his father.
- Aldi supermarket is on Commercial St, open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-8PM.
- Leith Farmers Market is held in the little square off Dock Place (opposite Aldi) Sa 10AM-4PM.
- 2 Ocean Terminal, Ocean Drive EH6 6JJ, ☏ +44 131 555 8888. M 10AM-6PM, Tu-Sa 10AM-8PM, Su 11AM-6PM. A huge undercover shopping centre with the usual High Street chain shops and a Vue cinema plus bars and food outlets. It was built on former shipyards and intended as a terminal for cruise passengers, but by 2001 when it opened cruisers had grown to humongous size too big for the harbour approaches and wharves. Britannia was then permanently moored alongside, so even smaller vessels can no longer dock here.
- Leith Walk is lined by small stores along its lower half, a mix of chains and independents. The strip continues north along Great Junction Street to the river bridge.
- 3 Hing Sing, 310 Leith Walk EH6 5BU, ☏ +44 131 554 4333. M-Sa 10AM-6PM, Su 10AM-5PM. Chinese supermarket with food items from across south-east Asia, plus crockery and cooking utensils. Great for those hard-to-find ingredients but even items stocked by mainstream supermarkets are often better value here.
Eat
Budget
- Cheap eateries jostle along Bernard St, Commercial St and Henderson St: fish and chips, pizza, curry and so on.
- Word of Mouth Bistro, 3a Albert Street EH7 5HL (next to Cilantro), ☏ +44 131 554 4344. Daily 8:30AM-4PM. Pleasant small bistro for breakfast or lunch. They have another branch in Morningside.
- Plant Bae is a vegetarian cafe on Easter Rd, corner with Albert St, open Tu-F 8AM-4PM, Sa Su 9AM-4PM.
Mid-range
- Fishers, 1 The Shore EH6 6QW (opposite Malmaison), ☏ +44 131 554 5666. Daily noon-10PM. Quality seafood restaurant in an old watchtower.
- The Kings Wark, 36 The Shore H6 6QU (at Bernard St bridge), ☏ +44 131 554 9260. Su M W noon-10PM, Th-Sa noon-11PM. Waterside tavern founded in 1434 serving good modern cuisine.
- The Ship on The Shore, 24-26 Shore EH6 6QN, ☏ +44 131 555 0409. M-F 11:30AM-1PM, Sa Su 10AM-10PM. This smart slick place on the waterfront does excellent seafood.
- Domenico's, 30 Sandport Street EH6 6P (off Commercial Street), ☏ +44 131 467 7266. M-Th noon-2:30PM, 5-9PM, F Sa noon-9:30PM, Su 5-9PM. Friendly small trattoria by the harbour.
- The Roseleaf, 23-24 Sandport Place EH6 6EW, ☏ +44 131 476 5268. Su-Th 10AM-11PM, F Sa 10AM-noon. Friendly relaxed cafe bistro.
- 1 Little Chartroom, 14 Bonnington Rd EH6 5JD, ☏ +44 131 556 6600. M-Th 6-8PM, F-Su 1-2PM, 6-8:30PM. Bistro with quality Scots cuisine.
- 2 Cilantro, 4 Albert Place EH7 5HN, ☏ +44 131 555 0155. Daily 4-10:30PM. Great reviews for this small Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant opened in 2022. BYOB from Sainsbury's opposite.
Splurge
- 3 Restaurant Martin Wishart, 54 The Shore H6 6RA, ☏ +44 131 553 3557. W-Sa noon-1:30PM, 6:30-10PM. Leith's first Michelin Star, serving very good food especially the tasting menu, but several found it short of the "outstanding" implied by the Star.
- 4 The Kitchin, 78 Commercial Quay EH6 6LX, ☏ +44 131 555 1755. Tu-Sa noon-2:30PM, 6-10PM. Established in 2006, Tom Kitchen's Michelin-starred restaurant edges Martin Wishart for consistent high quality.
- 5 Heron, 87 Henderson St EH6 6ED, ☏ +44 131 554 1242. W-F 5:30-9:30PM, Sa Su noon-2PM, 5:30-9:30PM. Another outstanding restaurant, try the tasting menu.
Drink
- "The Leith police dismisseth us." - the ability to say this without slurring was a test for sobriety before the breathalyser was invented.
- 1 Teuchters Landing, 1c Dock Place EH6 6LU, ☏ +44 131 554 7427. Daily 10AM-1PM. Friendly pub with food in in a former cruise liner waiting room. Lots of outside tables by the water so a great choice for a sunny afternoon.They have another branch in the West End.
- 2 The Bonnington (formerly Guilty Lily), 284 Bonnington Road EH6 5BE, ☏ +44 131 554 5824. M-Th noon-11PM, F noon-midnight, Su noon-8PM. Friendly neighborhood pub with bar food.
- 3 Nobles, 44a Constitution St 1c EH6 6RS, ☏ +44 131 629 7215. W-F 11:30AM-midnight, Sa Su 10AM-11PM. Elegantly decorated cafe bar with good food.
- Nauticus, 142 Duke St EH6 8HR (foot of Leith Walk), ☏ +44 131 629 9055. M 5PM-midnight, Tu-F 3PM-midnight, Sa Su 2PM-midnight. Nautical-themed pub with dark panelling, they have beer but are mainly a whisky and cocktail bar. No food.
- 4 Starbank Inn, 64 Laverockbank Road, Newhaven. (Bus 11;16). Fine real ales with a view over the Firth of Forth. Food available.
- Pilot Brewery makes a range of ales and offer tours. They're on Stewartfield Industrial Estate off Newhaven Rd in Bonnington.
- Jump Ship Brewing makes no- and low-alcohol beer. They're at Mitchell St but don't have tours or a physical shop. They mail, deliver within the city, and have numerous outlets listed on their website.
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- Port of Leith Distillery, 11 Whisky Quay, EH6 6FH (at Ocean Terminal), ☏ +44 131 600 0765. Opened in 2023, this converted biscuit factory is a vertical distillery - water is pumped just once up the nine-storey building and gravity does the rest, more efficient than multiple intermediate pumping. There's a rooftop bar, and they market Spanish port and sherry but this is just a side-line until their whisky matures. Sherry barrels imported at Leith were traditionally re-used to mature whisky, imparting a rich complex flavour. It's intended to mature whisky here for 7 years, well beyond the legal minimum 3, so it will be a pricy premium brand when it goes on sale in 2030. Meanwhile the hustle is to sign people up as "analysts", who pay over £500 to receive test samples of immature whisky that wouldn't earn a place on the shelves of Lidl. Tour £26.
- 5 Lind and Lime Distillery, 24 Coburg St EH6 6HB, ☏ +44 131 600 0144. M-W 11AM-6PM, Th-Su 11AM-8PM. They make gin, named for James Lind the Scottish surgeon who advocated the use of limes to treat and prevent scurvy at sea. In 1747 he conducted the world's first controlled clinical trial, comparing six different remedies for scurvy while aboard HMS Salisbury patrolling the western Channel. Tour £25.
- Rose's Lime Cordial will cost you maybe £2.50 per litre in a supermarket but could save your life on a long voyage. Keeping lime juice from spoiling was a big problem at sea, but in the 19th century Lauchlan Rose of Leith patented methods to do so (based on Pasteur's work) and won the contract to supply the Royal Navy. He used limes from the West Indies and thus the term "limeys" was born. He also spotted the market for non-alcoholic drinks and effectively launched the global soft drinks industry - his patents are now held by PepsiCo.
- Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street EH6 6BZ, ☏ +44 131 554 3451. Connoisseur whisky-drinkers' private club, with other branches on Queen St and in Glasgow, trying to convey old-money opulence and exclusivity without snootiness and froideur. If you've genuinely got a nose for the good stuff and are in Scotland for an extended period then it's worth buying the annual membership. Otherwise it's just a marketing ploy to wannabes. £85 per year.
Sleep
- B&Bs cluster along Pilrig Street and its northern extension Newhaven Road. This is midway between city centre and Leith waterfront, a mile from each, and about the lowest prices you'll find. Room rates rise as you approach the waterfront northeast, and sky-rocket southwest towards Princes St.
- 1 A-Haven Townhouse Hotel, 180 Ferry Rd EH6 4NS (junction with Newhaven Road), ☏ +44 131 554 6559. Friendly B&B in a Victorian villa with 14 rooms en-suite. Evening meals available. Free secure car parking.
- 2 Holiday Inn Express Edinburgh Leith Waterfront, Britannia Way, Ocean Drive EH6 6JJ, ☏ +44 371 902 1610. Modern and comfortable. Friendly service and good location. B&B double £120.
- 3 Malmaison, 1 Tower Place EH6 7BZ, ☏ +44 131 285 1478. Pleasant waterfront hotel by the historic harbour, some rooms tired. B&B double £130.
- 4 Ocean Apartments, 2 Western Harbour Midway EH6 6PN, ☏ +44 131 553 7394. Modern, stylish serviced apartments near Leith harbour outlet. Each has two bedrooms (sleeps 4) and everything you need but the beds are hard. Double (room only) £150.
- 5 Premier Inn Edinburgh Leith Waterfront, 51-53 Newhaven Place EH6 4TX, ☏ +44 333 777 4681. Everything you'd expect from this value-for-money chain by Newhaven harbour. B&B double £130.
- 6 Fingal, Alexandra Dock, EH6 7DX, ☏ +44 131 357 5000. Now permanently moored in Alexandra Dock, MV Fingal was the support vessel for the northern lighthouses. She was built in 1963 and stationed in Oban then Stromness. She retired in 2000 and languished awhile in Falmouth, Cornwall then was converted into a luxury hotel, opened in 2019. With 23 cabins, Fingal gets rave reviews for decor, comfort, service and cuisine. No dogs. Guests get free tickets for Britannia, which suffers by comparison. B&B double £350.
- 7 Ocean Mist, 14 The Shore EH6 6QN, ☏ +44 131 322 3330. A smaller mid-price version of Fingal, so perhaps it should be called "Ossian Mist". Built in 1919 as a minesweeper but not so used as the war had ended, it was the pleasure yacht of a series of playboys, albeit the Second World War saw it recalled to anti-mine duties. It was brought to Leith in the 1980s as a floating restaurant but fell derelict. In 2018 it was refurbished as a 17 cabin hotel, earning good reviews. B&B double £130.
Connect
Leith like the rest of Edinburgh has 5G from all UK carriers, and Wifi is widely available.
All public libraries have internet and printing facilities, see Edinburgh#Connect for how to access these. Leith Library is at 28-30 Ferry Road (corner with North Junction St), open M-W 10AM-8PM, Th-Sa 10AM-5PM.
McDonald Road Library is midway up Leith Walk at 2 McDonald Rd, and Granton Library is at 29 Wardieburn Terrace, with similar hours.
Go next
- Buses and trams carry you two miles southwest to Waterloo Place, with Princes Street and New Town before you, and the castle guarding Old Town across the railway tracks and gardens.
- East of Leith is industrial and residential for 3 miles, then you reach the jaunty seaside strip of Portobello.
- West along the coast is likewise uninteresting for 5 miles through Trinity, Granton and Muirhouse, until you reach a greener seafront at Silverknowes.
- West further inland on Ferry Road is Goldenacre sports ground and the north access to the Botanic Gardens in Canonmills.