Those who live in Leith generally consider it to be a land-apart from Edinburgh. Certainly it’s more than just the city’s docks, with part of its identity coming from its edgier feel than most of central Edinburgh. This was made famous in book and film Trainspotting, which documented social problems that thrived here once the sun had set on Leith’s maritime trade.

History

Historically, Leith hit its stride through medieval trade with the likes of Holland, Scandinavia and the Baltic, and some of this can be revealed by poking around its network of narrow harbour-side streets and quays where warehouses and 13th and 14th century merchants’ houses survive.

Many more port buildings remind of 19th-century trade before all this dwindled and Leith became incorporated into Edinburgh in 1920.

Attractions & gentrification