Slateford to Belford Bridge
On proceeding northwest from Slateford, I first covered a short, nondescript section of the walkway, passing the edge of Saughton Cemetery and skirting round a sizeable patch of allotments. I crossed the busy A71 (Gorgie Road) and soon came to what promised to be one of the highlights of the entire route. Saughton Park, having previously fallen into a state of disrepair, has received a startling makeover to the extent that it has been featured several times on TV. The renovated public park, described as one of Edinburgh’s hidden jewels, features playing fields, an athletics track, Scotland’s largest skateboard park, a traditional bandstand and an impressively large formal rose garden. Of course, it wasn’t the ideal time of year to appreciate a garden, especially having woken up to frosty conditions all week. I shall simply have to revisit the park later in spring or during summer, to see it in its full glory.
I carried on via Balgreen and Murrayfield to make my second ‘first visit’ of the day – if you see what I mean – to an Edinburgh public park: in this case, Roseburn. Having then crossed the busy A8 (Corstorphine Road), I was soon back on a more conventional riverside path and passing under the North Edinburgh cycleway. I reached the back entrance to the Modern One gallery, saw the rather scary stairway up to Magdala Crescent, and switched to the left bank for the approach to Belford Bridge, my selected end point for today. Why Belford Bridge? Simple: it’s located just a short distance from where I live.
