Scotland Guide
Edinburgh
Leith and North Edinburgh
LEITH, generally known as the port of Edinburgh, is a fascinating mix of cobbled streets and new developments, run-down housing and an excellent eating and drinking scene, which focuses on seafood but also includes some of the city's top restaurants side by side with well-worn, friendly pubs. Leith developed independently of the city up the hill, its history bound up in the hard graft of fishing, shipbuilding and trade. The presence of sailors, merchants and continental traders also gave the place a cosmopolitan – if slightly rough – edge, which is still obvious today.
The best way to absorb Leith's history and seafaring connections is to take a stroll along The Shore, a tenement-lined road running alongside the Water of Leith. Until the mid-nineteenth century this was a bustling harbour, visited by ships from all over the world, but as vessels became increasingly large, they moored up instead at custom-built docks beyond the original quays. Nowadays, the spotlight is on the numerous pubs and restaurants that line the street, many of which spill tables and chairs out onto the cobbled pavement on sunny days.