Edinburgh Outdoors

A Stockbridge Stroll with Hetty's History Walks

How often when walking round Edinburgh do you look up?  Podcast regular, Hetty Lancaster of Hetty's History Walks, took me on a walk around Stockbridge in the north of the city, to look at historic gems hidden in plain sight. 
From the original Stockbridge Market and the history of market gardening to the ornate and bizarre gateposts around the original Inverleith Estate, we discovered things you may walk past every day, but never notice.
We started out at Duncansland HERE
We walked down the Water of Leith from HERE
The Falshaw Bridge is HERE
You can find the picture we discuss on the Capital Collections website HERE
The gateposts with the strange lions are HERE
Plant Alley and the boating pond is HERE
The Sundial Garden is HERE
The final gateposts are opposite the John Hope Gateway HERE
Hetty's History Walks organises group and private walks around the city: https://www.hettyshistorywalks.co.uk/
 
 

Park Life on Montgomery Street

Find out about the brilliant Friends of Montgomery Street Park who have brought real joy to  volunteering.  I went along to see how a Council owned park between Leith Walk and Easter Road has been transformed into a wildlife spot and a haven for local residents.  A former bowling green, the site now has fruit trees, a wildflower meadow, spring bulbs and a rejuvenated playpark.  The team has also created a groundbreaking community magazine, Parklife, working with local artists, journalists, writers and designers to produce a stunning publication.
My visit began finding out about Parklife and volunteering, then ended with a great conversation about "Ecotherapy", getting married on Calton Hill and as always, some favourite spots across the city. 
Montgomery Street Park is HERE
The artist who has transformed the helter skelter into artworks is Paul Meikle: https://paulypocket.com/about/
Follow or find out more about the Friends of Montgomery Street Park HERE
They are also on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montgomerystreetpark
 
 

Siccar Point and the Deep Time Trail

Siccar Point near Cockburnspath is a stunning viewpoint where Father of Geology James Hutton, found evidence to support his theories which influenced modern day geology.  It's a great walk with superb views and is going to be transformed through a project spearheaded by the Edinburgh Geological Society.    The project will bring improved access and interpretation for visitors and its launch will coincide with the James Hutton Tercentenary in 2026.
I stepped out along the cliffs with podcast regular, geologist Angus Miller, to find out why Siccar Point is so significant and to learn more about the crowdfunding campaign for this important project. 
To find out more about James Hutton, his influence and the Tercentenary, visit: https://james-hutton.org/
To read about the project, the crowdfunder, the Dynamic Earth event and how you can get hold of some of the 'rewards': https://edinburghgeolsoc.org/support-the-deep-time-trail/
The crowdfunder, including a film about the site, is HERE
To learn about the James Hutton Insititute: https://www.hutton.ac.uk/
The Scottish Geology Trust is here: https://www.scottishgeologytrust.org/
Angus and I met HERE
And the viewpoint is HERE
 

Birdwatching with the Treecreepers

The Treecreepers is a fairly new birdwatching and nature group for 18-35 year olds organised by conservationist and bird expert, El.  I headed up Corstorphine Hill with El to see if we could spot any birds and listen to their sounds.  While there she told me about the group, why she set it up and its popularity.  We also talked about roles for young people in conservation, her love of the outdoors and why Corstorphine Hill is a great place to visit. The birds we heard/saw: buzzard; nuthatch; long tailed tit; blue tit; goldcrest; chiffchaff; chaffinch; goldfinch.
We met at the entrance on Corstorphine Road: HERE 
The Treecreepers on Instagram: @the_treecreepers
The Treecreepers on Substack: https://thetreecreepers.substack.com/
Please email El if you have any secondhand binoculars you are happy to gift to her groups: mailto:thetreecreepers@outlook.com
You can read my occasional Substack thoughts and view pictures of the recordings here: https://edinburghoutdoors.substack.com/
Edinburgh Outdoors is also on Instagram and Facebook 
 
 

Discovering Granton While Walking Like a Tortoise

Join me for an interesting afternoon with Tamsin Grainger discovering all about Granton's history.  As I become more fascinated by the area and it's special character, it was good to find out more about its past.  Join us as we head out to walk along the shore seeing seals, brick beaches and quirky statues while we delve into stories of the area and what draws Tamsin to the outdoors.  And find the history behind 'walking like a tortoise'.
We met at Wardie Bay HERE
We visited the Pianodrome HERE
The sailor statues are HERE
The 'brick beach' is HERE
The Pitt and sauna is HERE
You can read Tamsin's material on the links below: www.tamsingrainger.com and walkingwithoutadonkey.com
She was winner of the Walk•Listen•Create Marŝarto Award 2024 LINK
And Tamsin is author of 'Working with Death and Loss in Shiatsu Practice, a guide to holistic bodywork in palliative care' (Singing Dragon, 2020).  LINK
Bluesky: @walknodonkey.bsky.social
Instagram: tamsinshiatsu
 

Walking the Roseburn Path

Join Euan Baxter of the Save the Roseburn Path campaign and me as we walk the Telford and Roseburn paths on his morning commute.  Once a railway line, the Paths were opened in the eighties by cycling campaigners and the route is now teeming with cyclists, walkers and runners either commuting or just enjoying their local stretch of nature.  With trees, birds and other wildlife it's a valuable part of Edinburgh's parklands. 
Join our chat about the path, listening to birds, spotting plant life and finding out about the campaign to save the Path from becoming a major tram route from Granton to the City centre. 
The City Council is launching a consultation on the tram route during August for 12 weeks, so listen in, visit and enjoy this special place, then have your say. 
You can find out more about the campaign here: https://www.savetheroseburnpath.com/
You can find the consultation details HERE
We met at the Red Bridge HERE
And walked to HERE
Read my Substack HERE

Holyrood Park with photographer Jason Baxter

Edinburgh is a beautiful city and of course, many of its views make great photographs.  I headed up Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park with photographer Jason Baxter to find out how to get that killer shot of my home town.  We talked careers, the beauty of Holyrood Park and Arthurs Seat and the frustration of an easterly wind which brings Edinburgh's haar.
Jason has photographed Edinburgh and Scotland for many years and his pictures grace the walls of the Airport, so take a look next time you're there.
To find out more about Jason: https://www.jasonbaxter.media/
We were photographing up the Crags: HERE
And then after a circuit of the Crags we walked back to the Palace via Hunters Bog which is HERE
 

Crossing the Causeway to Cramond Island

Cramond Island is a tidal island in the Forth Estuary which has a long and varied history and is  really worth a visit.  The area was an important port during Roman times and remains of a large fort can still be seen beside the church.  The island was once a farm, a popular holiday destination and then was occupied during the first and second world wars as a strategic defence site.  Many WW2 remains can still be visited including gun emplacements, armouries, lookout posts and traces of an old railway on the beach. 
I crossed the causeway with Ian Rodger of the Cramond Heritage Trust to discover the history of this fascinating place.  The Cramond Heritage Trust offers tours of the island via their website and also has a great museum in the Maltings on shore at Cramond itself. 
To visit the island you should first checkout the safe crossing times on the South Queensferry RNLI website: https://www.queensferrylifeboat.co.uk/cramond-tides
The Cramond Heritage Trust website is here: https://cramondheritage.org.uk/
 
 

Edinburgh's City Walls with Hetty's History Walks

Many people don't know that Edinburgh was once a walled city, so we set off to find traces of the old walls that still remain.   In the times when the extent of the city covered the area we now call the 'old town' it was enclosed to protect its residents from attack and also to control commercial activity.  Remnants of the wall remain today, some dating back to the fourteenth century, and many people walk past them unaware of these ancient relics.  There are also indications of walls dating as far back as the twelfth century.   Many of our road names are indicators of the location of the walls and gates - known as 'ports' - in and out of the city.
I headed out with podcast regular, Hetty Lancaster of Hetty's History Walks, to discover some bits of the wall and its history.  It was one of the most interesting podcasts I have recorded.  Listen in to join Hetty and me as we disappear into the closes of the Royal Mile to find original sections of the wall and learn when and why they were built.  There is a lot more of the original walls remaining than you might realise!
A useful map of Edinburgh city walls which is discussed on the podcast, can be found here:
https://www.trove.scot/image/1323636
 
Places we found parts of the wall include:
Tweedale Court, location of the oldest, King's Wall:  here
John Knox House, probable original site of the Netherbow Port: here
Wall based image of the original Netherbow Port (look up!): here
Brass markings on the roadway showing the later site of the Netherbow Port: here 
Long section of the Flodden Wall: here
You can find sections of the walls in Greyfriar's Kirkyard: here
Further sections of the Flodden and Telfer wall are in the Vennel: here
 
And to find out more, the Book of the Old Edinburgh Club has been publishing scholarly articles about Edinburgh's history since 1908. Enter what you are looking for (e.g. city walls) in the pages 'search' function:
https://oldedinburghclub.org.uk/boec/
 
Details of Hetty's History Walks can be found here: https://www.hettyshistorywalks.co.uk
 
 

Into the woods with Wild Workforce

Early in the year I met with Clare Stephen of Wild Workforce to talk about how getting out into our forests can help HR and employee wellbeing.  We discussed Clare's experiences around mental health at work and about her ambition to turn her relatively new business into a CIC so she can work with a wider range of organisations.  Since we met she has now succeeded and her CIC has launched.   Her work on mental wellbeing and the outdoors is going from strength to strength. 
We met on the shores of Loch Leven: HERE 
Clare's business can be found https://www.wildworkforce.com/