Leimus three

Verified Slow Way

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A straightforward and (mostly) direct route from Leith to Musselburgh. Some dull sections, but they are hard to avoid. No insurmountable issues. I walked it one sunny but windy Saturday afternoon in late March, following a period of heavy rain.

The route starts by the Water of Leith, and sets off through some of Leith's backstreets before skirting Leith Links. Leith Links is a typical busy Edinburgh park where there always seems to be something going on; this particular day a football match was being cleared up, there were plenty of dog walkers, and some tennis players. Later in the summer you'd probably find a cricket game on one of Edinburgh's quirkier pitches, with a public footpath going straight through the outfield. You can also see three sadly run-down bowling greens, and a statue to John Rattray, who signed - and may have created - the first rules of golf. At the end of the Links, the route takes a short climb onto the Restalrig Railway path - as the name implies, a path created from a defunct railway - and passes Seafield cemetery. As the main path curves right, the route follows a narrow muddy path down to Seafield Street. A moderately fit walker will normally have no problem with this, although the day I was there it was very muddy and slippery, and I slightly regretted it. There is an easy alternative though - continue on the main path for another 100 yards or so and follow the signs to Portobello.

The route crosses Seafield Road and follows another path between the railway and some industrial units. Maybe this path has good days, but on the day I walked it it was muddy, riddle with puddles and beset with encroaching brambles, which was tricky particularly as I had dressed my feet for a city walk. The path has no views, and honestly has little to recommend it over following the cycleway signposted along the Seafield Road pavement. After a while, it climbs a (muddy) exit to Seafield Road, and continues along the road for a while. On the plus side, a magnificent view opens up over the Forth at this point.

The route leaves Seafield Road and drops down to a walkway along the river front. At first, this is quite dull, albeit an improvement over the main road. But then it opens out into the promenade at Portobello. Portobello is a joy - a mile of walking along the seafront without the necessity of leaving the city. There are shops, cafes, amusement arcades, people cycling, running, walking, or just sitting at one of the cafes. There is golden sand, a sailing and rowing club, some quaint beachside houses, and on a sunny day a whole lot going on on the beach.

At Joppa, the promenade runs out, and the route has to follow the main road again. There are sections with open views across the river again, and mini-promenades set back from the road, but there are also sections of main road walking with little to recommend them other than they get us towards Musselburgh.

As it enters Musselburgh, the route leaves the main road, passes the pretty Fisherrow Harbour and follows the promenade around Fisherrow Park. I confess that when I looked at the route on the map, I couldn't see why it takes this apparent detour. But having walked it, I'm glad that it does, as this section is another high spot of the walk. It's quieter than Portobello (not hard), and grassier. But there is plenty of activity to watch, not to mention more views over the river - out towards the North Sea, across to Fife, and back over Edinburgh. At the end of the park, the route turns South along the banks of the River Esk, and heads into Musselburgh.

It's hard to sum up this route in a single sentence: it does the job, and is straightforward to follow; it has some very attractive segments, but some really quite dull ones. Overall: 3 or 4 stars, so I've gone for 4 because the segments through Leith Links, Portobello and Fisherrow Park outweigh the segments at Seafield and Joppa-Musselburgh. If it's been raining recently, I strongly recommend avoiding the two particularly muddy paths mentioned above.

September 2023. Direction: Leith to Musselburgh.

I chose this slightly longer route to avoid the main roads as much as possible and it turned out to be an excellent coastal walk, taking in Leith Links, Portobello Promenade and the wide open Fishberrow Park headland in Musselburgh. Easy to navigate, although the Sewage Works Path was a bit narrow in places.

Photo 1 - Leith, The Shore and Water of Leith
Photo 2 - Leith Links
Photo 3 - Firth of Forth approaching Portobello
Photo 4 - Portobello beach and promenade
Photo 5 - Musselburgh Harbour
Photo 6 - Looking back on Musselburgh Harbour and Arthur`s Seat
Photo 7 - The path through Fishberrow Harbour
Photo 8 - The mouth of the River Esk
Photo 9 - End of the walk. Bridge Street over the River Esk.

A combination of the first and the second versions, taking the best sections from each.

First, we leave Leith using minor roads, all paved, before we head out onto the open spaces of the Links. Whilst we're only using the roads and paths on its edge, it is still a welcome open space to move along. Once through Claremont Park, we move up a ramp onto an old railway, now a good tarmac track used by all manner of walkers and cyclists.

Past the cemetery, as the railway arcs southwards, we continue ahead, descending to the road below using steps or a narrow track down the gras slope. At the main road, we cross, then turn along a footpath between the railway and the sewage works. The path is loose stone and earth, and climbs up to meet the railway bridge, where we join the road, now running alongside the Firth of Forth on the north.

Just beyond that, we're down onto the promenade, which we follow all the way to Joppa, passing industrial and residential aress, shops and pubs. It can get quite busy on a sunny weekend afternoon!

At the end of the prom in Joppa, we join the main road as far as Newhailes, where we take the road closest to the estuary, passing the harbour at Fisherrow and onto the tarmac footpath that runs across the old links. Following the river Esk, we cross the pedestrian bridge at Electric Bridge, and then alongside the river to the end.

A good route, and mostly accessible to all.

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