Sunshine on Leith

No trip to Edinburgh would be complete without a visit to my father's childhood home and my own teenage haunt – the Port of Leith. Previously a separate entity from Edinburgh, Leith was incorporated into the capital city at some date in the not too distant past (as late as 1920s maybe?). A sea port for at least the past five centuries, the port has its own distinct identity and history. For a touch of distinction, Mary Queen of Scots arrived here in the early 1500s on return to the land of her birth after becoming a very young widow in France. Lamb's House, where she stayed on arrival still stands at the start of her tragic road to execution at the hand of her cousin Elizabeth 1 of England.

A number of other refurbished buildings remain to balance to the modern construction of the Scottish Office, a rash of reproduction apartments along the river and the massive modern Ocean Terminal which is home to all the usual mega-shops and movie houses as well as the now retired royal yacht Brittania.


The old sailors home transformed into the fashionable Malmaison hotel and restaurant. The Ship Hotel considerably cleaned up and popular after many incanations under different names.

The Tower Hotel, another of the oldest buildings in the area.

The Kings Wark, a former royal supply base has been a pub as long as I can remember. Known as 'The Jungle' in my younger days, it was the haunt of sailors ad call girls repeated in every sea port round the country. Seems its undergoing yet another renovation.

A mix of old, new and the best / my all time favorite wine bar and restaurant The Shore Bar. Limitations on space - or maybe just aesthetics - has produced creative options for offices and restaurants on the water.


A nostalgic question for all aging hippies - ever been searched in one of these?

This one really is the parting shot from my home city - waiting for the train south from Waverley Station.