2–6 June 2024: Edinburgh and the Water of Leith
By the Waters of … Leith
Our time in Edinburgh was pretty low-key. We took some time to rest and catch up with Cathy’s Scottish relatives over drinks and good food.
We did manage a few excursions: a tram ride to Leith to look at the Royal Yacht Brittania and a walk along the Water of Leith.
Highlights Slideshow
Edinburgh Waverly Station
The main railway station in Edinburgh is called Edinburgh Waverly.
On walking through Waverly after returning our rental car I noticed the elaborate construction of the roof over the station. Something about the light and shadows creating fractal patterns caught my eye.
Edinburgh Waverly
The Royal Yacht Brittania
After a lovely lunch with Gillie, Ralph and Lilias, we headed down to Leith on the new (2014) tram line.
Leith is the port area to the north of Edinburgh at the mouth of the Water of Leith. There has been a lot of development in the area: new blocks of flats and a small shopping mall on the water where the Royal Yacht Britannia is berthed. It reminded me of Docklands in Melbourne.
There were not many people around and the shopping mall, that contained some up-market shops, was virtually deserted.
We thought the entry fee of £19.50 (A$36) per person to walk around Britannia was rather steep, so we had a drink on the terrance overlooking the water instead.
A Lesser Black-backed Gull was not the least bit concerned about our presence.
Lesser Black-backed Gull: Give me something to eat.
Water of Leith
Nearby Katharine’s flat in Coltbridge Avenue, Murrayfield, is the Water of Leith. It’s the main river flowing through central Edinburgh. It starts in the Pentland Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth.
It flows below street level for much of its course. The sound of the flowing water interspersed with waterfalls masks the noise of the city, making the Water of Leith a haven from all the hustle and bustle.
On a previous visit we walked along it all the way to Leith.
It was still a bit cold.
Lots of charm.
And old buildings.
Hygeia
Hygeia — the Greek goddess of health.
This statue is at St Bernard’s Well beside of the Water of Leith. It is built over a natural spring that was believed to have healing properties.
Anthony Gormley: 6 Times
Turner Prize-winning artist Antony Gormley’s much-loved series of standing figures (6 TIMES) watch over the river as it winds its way through Dean Village and down to the sea.
The first of Gormley’s 6 figures can be found opposite the main pedestrian entrance of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art on Belford Road. The next four standing figures can be found within the Water of Leith itself, silently bearing witness to the ebb and flow of the seasons. The first appears within the river behind the Gallery; a further three figures are situated downstream at Stockbridge, Powderhall and Bonnington. The last of the figures is located at the end of an abandoned pier in Leith Docks, looking out to the point where the Water of Leith meets the Firth of Forth.
Anthony Gormley: 6 Times – Figure II
There is an inscribed memorial nearby with a poignant quote from Isla Paschal Richardson
Isla Paschal Richardson: To Those I Love
If I should ever leave you whom I love
To go along the silent way,
Grieve not,
Nor speak of me with tears,
But laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you there.(I’d come – I’d come, could I but find a way!
But would not tears and grief be barriers?)
And when you hear a song
Or see a bird I loved,
Please do not let the thought of me be sad
For I am loving you just as I always have
You were so good to me!There are so many things I wanted still to do
So many things to say to you
Remember that I did not fear
It was just leaving you that was so hard to face
We cannot see beyond
But this I know;
I love you so
‘twas heaven here with you!
A Bit More Scottish History: The Coltbridge Canter
This is for our Scottish friends and relatives who knew Katharine and the flat.
We stayed in Katharine’s flat in Coltbridge Avenue and we’ve crossed the bridge over the Water of Leith many times. This trip I noticed this plaque attached to the railing.
I did not realise the bridge was built in 1766.
The inscription refers to the Jacobite Rising of 1745 when Bonnie Prince Charlie led the Jacobites to regain the British throne. It all ended in defeat (again) at the Battle of Culloden (1746).
The ‘Hanovarians’ were soldiers from the Electorate of Hanover. They were incorporated into the British Army because King George II was also the Elector of Hanover in what is now Germany.
Stay tuned for more adventures on our European Odyssey!