Riitta took Mike and I to nearby Dean Village, about a 30 minute walk from their flat. The Water of Leith is a river that flows through Edinburgh to the port of Leith 22 miles away. An adjacent walkway hugs the water for 12 miles through city, allowing people to wander for hours in wooded areas, with bridges and statuary.
Dean Village is a lovely area that had been built up over 800 years ago as a grain milling area driven by the water of the river. In the 1880’s the area was built up to house workers. Once milling began to decline for more high tech options, the area fell into disrepair, hitting a low in 1960. Now it is another shining example of the wonderful use of green space that looks like it is right out of Harry Potter, with trendy shops and pricey real estate.
The bridge was built in less than three years and opened in 1831. It is 106 feet above the water.
Here is one of the old mill stones:
We walked for miles and miles. The weather was spectacular–cool, dry, sunny. Mike said to a shop keeper “Well I guess you are having one last day of summer”, to which the man replied, “It might be the first day of summer.” Turns out they had a very cool, cloudy summer and this was one of the few days it actually hit 70 degrees.
We stopped at a very small sandwich shop and had a coffee and pastry. There were only 4 seats inside and two tables outside. One bummer about Scotland, as we have found in other European cities, is that people smoke and vape outside restaurants, so usually we sat inside.
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