WORDS & PICTURES: Abi Prowse
I still remember arriving in Edinburgh as a fresh-faced eighteen-year-old, on a crisp September morning. The city drew me in back then the way it does even now: quickly, charmingly, and all-consumingly, its elegant facades steeped with history and intrigue. Students would mill about the Old Town, dipping in and out of neat pubs and bars with their predictably-quirky décor and extravagant gin menus. But there was one neighbourhood in the city that we were advised to stay away from; told that it was ‘dangerous’ or, more commonly, ‘a bit dodgy’. This neighbourhood was the waterside area of Leith, Edinburgh.
To anyone who knows and loves Leith now, this seems almost laughable: the naïve warnings of sheltered university students who had come from small towns and villages scattered throughout Britain. Perhaps – more likely – it was a ploy adopted by Leith residents themselves to cling onto the neighbourhood’s unique tradition; to prevent it from losing itself in a sea of brunches, boutiques and mainstream tourism. And although Leith hasn’t quite managed to avoid the trickle of gentrification which inevitably arrives in any ‘up-and-coming’ area of any UK city – think London’s Shoreditch and Manchester’s Northern Quarter – it is decidedly different to the rest of Edinburgh.
Unpretentious in both its appearance and in its spirit, what you see in Leith is what you get. This neighbourhood somehow manages to expertly pair traditional Scottish city life with acceptance and cosmopolitanism. It is a place where Scotland flags hang abundantly from the windows of Leith Walk – and where this act of nationalism centres more around a deep-set pride for your roots than it does narrow-minded political propaganda. Tiny Portuguese cafés sit comfortably next to age-old pubs, whose beer taps are older than their hardy proprietors; bright art galleries flank bustling Asian supermarkets; chaotically-decorated record stores stand proudly beside 24-hour bakeries. Leith is a paradox of itself, uniting the seemingly-impossible concepts of Scottish patriotism and multicultural open-mindedness. Leith champions self-expression and kindness in a way that can’t be found in many other neighbourhoods.
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A long, straight road which connects Leith to Edinburgh’s city centre, Leith Walk is a bridge between these two worlds as literally as it is metaphorically. Perhaps the most gentrified area of the neighbourhood, Leith Walk is one of the liveliest parts of the city, and is particularly celebrated for its eclectic, authentic food scene. At lunchtime, Sicilian deli Gaia is buzzing with hungry locals, all queuing up for a table in their compact yellow store; their sandwiches and coffees are inspired, of course, by southern Italy, and are just as delicious as you’d expect from an eatery inspired by the Mediterranean. For coffee, head to Casa Amiga or the more Instagrammable Artisan Coffee.
By night, Leith Walk is abuzz with the jovial chatter of its pubs; try haunts such as the Brass Monkey or The Joker & The Thief, which both offer a range of local beers, as well as hearty food menus and weekly pub quizzes. La Casa is the place for convivial dinners with friends, a distinctive mix of Spanish and Greek cuisine spilling onto its olive-tree-lined tables.
Running parallel to Leith Walk is Easter Road, best-known for its proximity to the lively Hibbs football stadium. Although some of the gentrification found on Leith Walk is beginning to trickle its way into this modest, unassuming street, Easter Road has dugs its heels firmly into Leith’s characteristic tradition, its terraced buildings littered with age-old pubs and family-run stores. It is Easter Road’s layer of grit and hardiness that renders it so enticing: a true taste of the way Leith once was, and strives to be. Despite this, the southern end of Easter Road is peppered with aesthetic bakeries and quirky gift shops: a sign, perhaps, that even this most stubborn of streets is set to conform to the pull of gentrification. The Persevere Bar is the place to visit for a real, unfiltered snippet of life in Leith, Edinburgh, resplendent in its low-lit, dark-wood cosiness – the Iona Bar arguably more so.
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The ‘Foot of the Walk’ is a term which generally refers to the area in which Leith Walk, Duke Street, Constitution Street, and Great Junction Street meet; the part of Leith which brings together the best of its various, nuanced subsections, before spitting you out into the brightness of the Shore. It is here that you can find Leith Links: a large green park which marks the heart of residential Leith, and is known as a popular meeting spot for locals. Grab a takeaway coffee from nearby Hideout Café, or vibrant Rocksalt, and absorb the unaffected beauty of the Links in the early morning. Here, you will be plunged into the warmth of Leith’s characteristic friendliness; capital cities in which people will happily greet each other as they pass are few, and this only adds to Leith’s modest charm.
To arrive at the water’s edge of The Shore is to believe you are no longer in Edinburgh. Not only is the architecture here vastly different to that of the city centre, but the noise of traffic and chatter drops away behind you. Here, at the banks of the vast Forth River, Leith seems to shed its skin, becoming lighter in both its demeanour and its appearance. A decidedly wealthy area when compared to other parts of Leith, The Shore is, unsurprisingly, home to a number of the city’s most highly-regarded restaurants, showcasing the best of Scottish cuisine and highlighting its closeness to the sea with an abundance of seafood eateries. Recently-renovated Commercial Quay – which was once a seafront whisky warehouse – is the epicentre of this movement, now most famously housing Michelin-starred The Kitchin and celebrated brewery Lost in Leith. Sunset drinks should be nursed at Teuchters Landing, whose lengthy terrace overhangs the water and catches the final rays of the late summer sun as it sinks below the city’s iconic bridges.
