Repositioning to Slateford ‘On the Level’ Think of this as the interval in my four-act, Water of Leith adventure. It occurred to me that it might be fun to return
Category: UK
April 2021: Edinburgh: Water of Leith Walkway (Part 2)
Colinton Village While modern Colinton is a substantial suburb of Edinburgh, its original heart on the banks of the Water of Leith is known as Colinton Village. It is an
April 2021: Edinburgh: Water of Leith Walkway (Part 1)
Introduction The Water of Leith is the closest Edinburgh gets to having a river flowing through the city centre. In saying that, I’m thinking specifically of the relatively short section
April 2021: Edinburgh: Three Southside Transformations
On the first day of easing of the winter lockdown, when the Scottish Government exhortation to Stay at Home became Stay Local, I rode Lothian’s number 23 bus to its
March 2021: Edinburgh: Walking the Newhaven Tram Extension
Horse-drawn, cable-hauled, and later electric trams operated on the streets of Edinburgh during the period 1871 to 1956. The final vehicles of that era were in the style of their
Jan/Feb 2021: Edinburgh’s Winter Lockdown
With yesterday’s emergence of the UK into ‘meteorological spring’, now seems a good time to give a pictorial review of Edinburgh’s experience of the latest Scottish lockdown. This began on
December 2020: Christmas Cheer(s) in London
Arrival The last trip of 2020, and for an as yet indeterminate period thereafter, was once again to London. Outbound travel was on Sunday 13 December. The first two nights
September 2020: Biggar & Lanark
Biggar The small South Lanarkshire town of Biggar (population 2,300) is less than 30 miles from Edinburgh city centre. That’s just a one-hour bus ride, half of which is spent
September 2020: Two Galleries and a Georgian House
That’s what I managed to clock up over just two days in September, albeit two days that were separated by a weekend. Scottish National Gallery (Friday 11-Sep) The Scottish National
July-October 2020: Edinburgh Lockdown Easing (Phase 3)
As we have already seen, Phase 3 of lockdown easing brought the reopening of indoor hospitality from 15 July, which facilitated various day trips, quickly leading to a North of
September 2020: London
Our base Our London base for this visit was relatively unusual: the Holiday Inn Express, Limehouse. It certainly didn’t represent IHG at its finest: the neighbourhood was slightly dodgy, it
August 2020: The Lake District
My Northern England road trip ended with a pass through some of my favourite spots in the Lake District, breaking my own rule that it’s normally best not to visit
August 2020: Lancaster
The relatively small, but venerable city of Lancaster (population 52,000) is situated in northwest England. The name is derived from ‘Castle on the (River) Lune’, an explanation that imparts a
August 2020: The town made famous by the Covid-19 crisis
Background I suppose I must have come across the name Barnard Castle prior to the year 2020: I know for a fact that I have driven the A66 several times,
August 2020: North Yorkshire (Alphabetical) Neighbours
By the beginning of August, I realised that it had been over four months since I last spent a night away from home. Day trips are all very well, but
August 2020: A Quick Look around Haddington
The small market town of Haddington lies 17 miles east of Edinburgh, just off the A1 and near the geographical centre of the East Lothian council area. It is the
August 2020: An Hour in North Queensferry
I found myself at a loose end one Saturday afternoon and decided to jump on a train to North Queensferry, a mere 15-minute ride from my home station of Haymarket.
July 2020: Day Trip to Peebles
The attractive small town of Peebles (approximate population 8,500) stands on the River Tweed and lies just over 20 miles south of Edinburgh, in the Scottish Borders council area. Until