Walking Trails in Edinburgh

Over the holiday break, we did a lot of walking on the bike paths close to our flat and in Holyrood Park.  Today we took a 3-1/2 hour stroll through Edinburgh exploring some of the many walking paths on the west side of the city.  

We headed to the Fountainbridge area in order to hop on the Union Canal.  The canal was built in 1822 and runs from Faikirk to Edinburgh.  It was originally constructed to bring minerals (coal) to the capital city.  However, the construction of railways diminished it use.  Today it's a great place to walk and there are a few boats on it.  Some of which are restaurants and "boatels".  

When you get to the Waters of Leith path, the canal becomes an aquaduct that passes over the Waters of Leith.  Above is a picture of Luke and Luther walking across the aquaduct.  Below is a picture of the aquaduct from below.

There are lots of ducks and a couple of swans that live on the canal.  One was a little camera shy.

Rather than head back home via the canal, we switched to the Waters of Leith paths and started our almost 7 mile journey home.  (The sign said 7 miles to Leith and we're not very far from Leith.  It was probably more like 5 since we exited the path in Stockbridge.)

The path runs along the Water of Leith while is a 24 mile river that runs from the Pentland Hills through Edinburgh where it ends in the Firth of Forth.  The city has constructed walking trails that run along the river and they're a great place to bike, walk, run, etc.  We've walked from our flat to Leith a couple of times but I have wanted to walk the section in Dean Village for a while now.  I'm glad we did because it was beautiful.  

In the 1800's mills used the river as their primary source of energy.  They were smart to do so because the river runs pretty quickly.  I was really glad that Luther didn't make any attempts to go swimming because it would have swept him away rather fast.

Even though it rained on us the whole way, we had a lot of fun and enjoyed seeing a different side of the city.  We hope you enjoyed it as well.

Love you & miss you,
Aubs, Luke and Luther

**UPDATE**

I forgot to include the map of our route.