‘An Edinburgh Gem’

Today’s chilly and breezy, but sunny, Easter Monday walk today took in a bit of the Water of Leith from Stockbridge to Canonmills and on to this little gem. 

Warriston Crescent, which was built between 1816 and 1830, follows the line of the Water of Leith just beyond Canonmills. The back gardens give onto the river and there are great views from the houses over the river and up towards the New Town.

Rather than being a formal crescent, though, Warriston Crescent is really a curved street and it doesn’t have the formal end features of Edinburgh’s New Town proper. 

In fact, it was originally planned to extend further northwards towards Newhaven and the Firth of Forth, but this - along with a number of other late Georgian building projects in the city  - was aborted with the arrival of the railways.

And that’s how it ended up as the quiet Georgian cul de sac it is today!