Edinburgh · Linear (one way)

Water of Leith Walkway

Thirteen miles along the river from Balerno to Leith, easiest taken in sections.

Official trail page (opens in new tab)Water of Leith Conservation Trust: The Walkway

Take this walk offline

Near the start, along the way and at the finish

Edinburgh Zoo, Haymarket & Murrayfield
Near the start: Edinburgh Zoo (about 7.5 km away)Photo: N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0
Lamb's House, Leith & the Waterfront
Near the finish: Lamb's House (under 1 km away)Photo: Jim Barton, CC BY-SA 2.0
Corstorphine Hill, Haymarket & Murrayfield
Corstorphine Hill (about 8.3 km from the start)Photo: Richard Webb, CC BY-SA 2.0
Braidburn Valley Park, Bruntsfield & Morningside
Braidburn Valley Park (about 8.3 km from the start)Photo: Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0

Photos of named places from our guides closest to each point of the walk, with the straight-line distance. They show the area, not the path itself: follow the waymarks and the official page.

The route

The walkway follows the Water of Leith from Balerno on the edge of Edinburgh down to the port of Leith. The Conservation Trust gives timings for two stages (Balerno to Slateford, then Slateford to Leith) and shorter city sections, so you can walk part of it. Two bridges are currently reported closed, so check the page before you plan a route.

The interactive map needs JavaScript. The start and finish are listed below.

Along the way

  1. Start: Balerno
  2. Finish: Leith

The line is drawn from OpenStreetMap data and simplified to 452 points. It can differ from what is on the ground: waymarks and the official page take priority.

Route and map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), saved 2026-10-25. Spotted a mistake? Fix the map.

Download GPX Official trail page (opens in new tab)

The GPX file holds the route as a track and the start, finish and waypoints, for use in a walking or hiking app. It is a planning aid, not a navigation guarantee.

Before you go

Safety and access notes come from official pages. Conditions change, so read the linked page for the day you walk.

Getting there

  • Nearest station or stop to the start in our dataCurriehill (rail, ScotRail), about 2.0 km in a straight line.
  • Nearest to the finishThe Shore (tram, Edinburgh Trams Ltd.), about 0.3 km in a straight line.

Straight-line distances from our station list, not walking distances. Check timetables and the route to the start before you travel. Getting between regions

Step-free and pushchair access

The official page does not say whether this route is step-free or suitable for pushchairs, so we do not either. Check the official page (opens in new tab) or ask the site.

Safety

How these figures were worked out

  • Distance: taken from the official page (source (opens in new tab)).
  • Grade: our rule, because the official page gives no grade. Easy: up to 8 km and up to 150 m of ascent. Hard: over 16 km or over 600 m of ascent. Moderate: everything else. No ascent figure is available for this walk, so the rule used distance only and the real grade may be higher.
  • Time: only shown when an official page states it.

Sources

  1. Water of Leith Conservation Trust: The Walkway (opens in new tab). 13 miles (converted here to 20.92 km), stage timings, closures, code of conduct, partial wheelchair access. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  2. OpenStreetMap relation 31454 (Water of Leith Walkway, with sub-relations 19763829, 19763830, 19763831) (opens in new tab). route geometry (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL; measured 20.72 km, matching the official 13 miles. Checked on 2026-10-25.
  3. OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab) (ODbL). Route geometry. Saved 2026-10-25.

More walks in Edinburgh

All walks · Edinburgh guide · Beaches · Parks and gardens