A walk along the Union Canal | Edinburgh

[@MuddyMaddeis]

We took the exact same walk last year, but we walked a little further to the crossing of the Union Canal and the Water of Leith. Then we followed the Water of Leith back into town, which made a beautiful round trip. Cheers from Switzerland. Missing Edinburgh...

[@slydermartin6008]

I just looked at that on a map. I've walked the Union and Leith but not that area. Wonderful! Thanks for the tip.

[@MuddyMaddeis]

@@slydermartin6008 You're very welcome. The other walk that I took was from Balerno to Dean Village, always following the Water of Leith Walkway. Just take the bus out to Balerno, get off at Balerno High School, where the Walkway starts. Beautiful walk and highly recommended! Cheers from Lake Zurich :-)

[@slydermartin6008]

@@MuddyMaddeis Wonderful!! And a Hey from New England.

[@MuddyMaddeis]

@@slydermartin6008 You can have a look at that walk here on my last year's blog... it's all in German but you can have a look at the pictures to get an impression... www.winghardt.com/blog-iwb2019-edinburgh/tag-21-water-of-leith-walkway-von-balerno-nach-dean-village

[@5SpotReview]

Thank you, Tony, for posting this lovely guided tour along the Union Canal. It's fantastic to see restoration of formerly abandoned infrastructure, such as the Millennium Link and the Borders Railway, now revitalised for use in the 21st Century. What was tossed aside in the 1960s and 1970s as obsolete, redundant transport relics are now significant contributions to contemporary mobility. I do hope you eventually extend your wanderings to include a look at the elegant engineering of the Falkirk Wheel. Can't help but contemplate if such mechanical marvels are in store for the M8 in 100 years?

[@areacode08]

I’d love to see the Falkirk wheel and even the Kelpies. Those are on my list for the next time go to Edinburgh.

[@nzaud]

They are an extraordinary sight and a 'hurl' up in the Wheel gives you a real appreciation of the engineering. My husband and I were married on the Canal boat Pride of the Union from Ratio;)

[@deanward3445]

The Kelpies were very fascinating. I enjoyed them. I thought they were well worth seeing at least once.

[@Stephanie-Gillespie]

Such a peaceful walk, thank you for taking us along Tony! Love that the “rambling” is back, you always have such neat little tidbits to share!!

[@gillfinlayson7894]

Great idea for a vid! On a wee wander I ended up by the canal one day in Edinburgh. Loved it. Must explore further next year when all this nonsense is over. Big fan of canals but then I'm a Brummie, despite my Scottish parents! it is in the DNA. I now live within a stone's throw of the Worcs & Bham! 🎵" This day for our new navigation We banish all cares and vexation; The sight of the barges each honest heart glads, And the merriest of mortals are Birmingham lads." 🎵

[@paul10hats5]

that's absoluteley the cutest barge-cafe i've ever seen! adorable!

[@guinn2415]

Can't wait for this pandemic to be sorted so we can get over there

[@slydermartin6008]

Amen to that.

[@marielcalder103]

Well now, this was a lovely start to the morning. I've watched this whilst propped up in bed having breakfast (scrambled eggs, tomato and toast) and fair enjoyed myself thank you muchly. Looking forward to part two when you get around to it. 🙋🌱🦆🙂

[@robinpunter4377]

Lovely video, as always. I too stumbled across the start in January when I was there for a few days. I only walked as far as the first road bridge. I had no idea at the time exactly what it was, I just saw Fountainbridge on a map and went exploring. Thank you for all your videos, you have inspired me to explore more of the non tourist parts of your beautiful city each time I come up. I had previously spend a glorious day walking around Stockbridge, The Colonies, The waters of Leith and Dean Village all thanks to your truly. Cheers mate and can't wait to come back.

[@ingaborlowski1536]

How excited I was to wake up to today’s video! The Union Canal is on my to-do list when I visit Edinburgh and you just gave me a sneak peek. So beautiful to see, I’m even more looking forward to it now. I would love to live alongside the canal. Thank you Tony, I really hope you do a part II. 😊

[@lozinozz7567]

Keep rambling on, love it when you do :) also how is Mrs Broonford doing. Hope she’s resting, must getting close ?

[@pandorabox82]

That walk looks so peaceful. The amount of ideas I’m accumulating for my next trip just keep increasing!

[@slydermartin6008]

At 12:30 in this video is where I stayed on my first visit to Edinburgh. Watson Crescent and Richie Place. The canal is very peaceful there. Not very far from Edinburgh center. Enjoyed that Tony. Thanks again.

[@Maria-lp9oc]

I know what I'm adding to my To Do List next time I'm in Edinburgh. What a great idea! Thank you for showing us this great walk.

[@Zandain]

A lovely walk, something to do with a baby carriage, as well 🧸👶 What surprised me was, no rowers 🚣‍♂️ canoes or kayakers on the Canal! 🤔 Would have thought that would be a prime place for that kind of sport?! Thanks for the outing, just wonderful 💙 - love from Denmark 🌸💕

[@languagepolicy]

Beautiful canal.

[@fabianovillari5783]

Lovely walk! I do like your videos, I lived 3 years in Edinburgh and miss it so much. I was eager to see the lovely the bridge inn pub, right by the canal a lithe further up, but you didn’t go there. Please do in your second video please..... best!!

[@Theresabrown1805]

Down at Meggettland we used to play there when I was a kid we used to walk all the way along to Kingsnowe at Longstone and back again every summer. Great memories.

[@JanGu1954]

Great tour! I especially enjoy the plants along the side. That's a walk that I would take.

[@alanafahy8940]

Nice video Tony. I lived by the canal about 20 years ago, near Wolverhampton. The council have cleaned up and done all new walkways by me in the last year or so and it's lovely. Like you said, it's a bit of countryside in the heart of the town. Inspired me to go on a local wonder now😊. Interesting history facts on the union canal.

[@ES-pc8kf]

Looks like a nice place for a young couple to walk with their baby in a stroller. There must be some eating establishments with patio seating to make pits stops along the way. Looking forward to hearing you sing 15 miles on the Erie Canal. Just remember you didn’t specify that it had to be a Scottish canal song.

[@thunder402]

This was a great walk along this canal. Loved it. Hope you can continue down the path some more. A great find for folks visiting to see. Thanks~

[@davewarren65]

Great show Tony! He's giving us one more thing to check out, when we get back to Edinborough. Been curious for years about the union canal. Hope there's more parts to this Union Canal Trek.

[@PS3GamingScotland]

I always look forward to your video's every Wednesday and Saturday. They are always very informative and I love learning about and seeing our city on the small screen. You genuinely should have lots more subscribers than you do it's only a matter of time. Thanks for continuously putting Edinburgh on the map. Thanks for sharing our beautiful city with the world. Great video! Keep up the fantastic work! :)

[@dianefoote9759]

Thanks for the walk, i wish I had known about this on my trip last year. You described it perfectly I so needed to get away from the crowds and the Royal Mile. this walk would have been perfect. Always enjoy your walks and rambling glad you can do it again.

[@jespersen8]

Love the video Tony 👍 Lived on Yeaman Place 100 meters from the canal for a year back in 2014/2015. So nice to revisite the canal! I walked the first bit of your trip multiple times to uni and Harrison Park was a favorite spot to go and get some peace and quite, plus you have a view of the Pentland hills from there. Great wee gem literally in the center of Edinburgh ❤️

[@annemariedeans4709]

Well done tony, with all the new builds on the north bank this is now a up and coming area to live in... Ggtthb

[@choccyfrolick]

I really enjoyed that walk!! Serious FOMO, lol!

[@Luckysevensoaps]

Yes lets keep going! This is a lovely walk.

[@larryfurman6735]

Looks like a lovely walk. Definitely on my to-do list for next visit. Thanks.

[@JKStayinVegas]

Hi Tony! This looks great and we definitely need to check that out when we are back in Edinburgh. Cool idea for an upcoming video... rent one of the bikes and put a GoPro on the handle bars and take us for a longer tour down the canal. Just a thought. ❤️ Love the videos!

[@treelimbtlc]

That was a fantastic video. I just added to my list for next year when we go to Edinburgh (hopefully). Such beauty in town and I loved the history and rambling. Keep it up. And I too vote for part 2.

[@chantelmcskimming6633]

Lovely walk!! Very calming.

[@karenwhite7023]

Hope Mrs. Broonfield is doing well. 😀☃️

[@kirstym5515]

That purple boat is a party boat, if you time it right you can see the orchestra on it sometimes :)

[@paul10hats5]

just lovely.

[@allysonrollitt210]

Great video, can't wait for part 2. I'm wondering if the barges that you saw at the beginning of your walk, the purple/pink coloured ones , are the Gin tasting cruise barges.

[@bumblebeesusan8034]

Ah Tony traunspotting in Edinburgh! Haha.

[@violeteclipse3912]

There's a song about the Union Canal (called 'The Union Canal') by Robin Laing - it's great and worth a listen. Also a barge bus would be such a fab idea wow

[@helengarriock8557]

Really interesting, I didn't even think about visiting a canal Definitely on my to-do-list for my next trip.

[@sandybutton243]

There were plans to build floating houses on union canal and use them as Floatels (close to the school). Maybe sometime in the future you'll walk there again and there are new things to explore.

[@alanco7456]

Another great video Tony....well done on getting the idea ..👍

[@veronicarains2276]

Hi Tony when i was in Edinburgh last year the Airbnb was right by the start . That frist cafe you comment on is pretty good. Sort of wish we had taken a bit of a walk now .

[@paul10hats5]

all the way to the Falkirk Wheel! that would be a great meet-up challenge.

[@paul10hats5]

hoover vs vacuum..classic!

[@ninettegok5378]

It’s nice to see you back out walking and the rambling is back Yes! You can always drive to the spots where you stopped in this video so you can do it in sections.

[@Ryan-rh1vc]

Rosie and Jim, Rosie and Jim Chugging along on the old Ragdoll Rosie and Jim, Rosie and Jim And John he steers their boat 😅

[@paul10hats5]

it goes all Benny Hill all of the sudden ;-)

[@Cheezsoup]

If you had kept going a bit you would have reached Meggetland which is where I used to go canoeing (Back in the mid to late 70s). That big red 'tin hut' was actually the boat shed for a rowing club(University of Edinburgh?) where all the big (long) boats are kept. Seem to remember, as well as the flight of locks at Falkirk(where the wheel is now) , the canal was also closed at Wester Hailes (somewhere) . The canal was revamped through Wester Hailes as well as the wheel being built as part of the Millenium. Live at Balerno now so can get on the canal at Ratho (going via Currie) or can go down the water of Leith walkway and get on the canal at Redhall. Once cycled down the Water of Leith on to the canal at Redhall then all the way to Falkirk and back (via Kirknewton) was fu^H^H knackered

[@susankane5597]

This was really interesting! Thank you 😁

[@wayneblanchard97]

The canal, as suggested by the sign saying it was shortened, used to run further along to the back of the former ABC Cinema (now the Odeon). Where you started your walk - right at the end of the quay - was until not too long ago an Arnold Clark auto rental office and parking lot. In more recent time the area to the right of where you encountered the riverboats was a massive brewery. Now demolished, that space, like all the vacant space in the area, is being occupied with flats. Many more years ago that area contained the North British Rubber Company. It became renowned in WWI for providing rubber boots to soldiers fighting in the trenches of Europe. Indeed, the vulcanised rubber boot, I believe, first made its mark here. Under the brand name of Hunter - Hunter Boots - it is now globally renowned. Edinburgh Printmakers now occupies one of the very few - I think there might only be a couple - buildings remaining. Indeed, much of the Fountainbridge neighbourhood has been demolished in the past couple decades. The large park you passed on your right is Harrison Park, in Polwarth. And yes, get off the canal and walk north and you would reach Edinburgh Zoo, which by foot is about 50 minutes (2.5 miles). A great thing about the canal is that it is possible to cross over the water at a number of locations and walk streets up the the Meadows, Bruntsfield, Mechiston and other scenic sights and communities. So, it is possible to make a day of walking, shopping, having lunch...even going to the cinema (walk up the the Dominion on NewBattle Terrace in Morningside). An afternoon out at Falkirk - the Kelpies and the Wheel - and lunch at the canal-side Bridge Inn in Ratho would likely make be fun for you and your viewers. For the curious, google 'images, north british rubber company, edinburgh' to see photos. Here is something: fashionpassionpage.weebly.com/blog/is-it-worth-it-hunter-wellies

[@scottmcmurray3233]

I work for Scottish Canals and manage the moorings. Very interesting to see your perspective on the canal.

[@elainebezuidenhout162]

Very nice video something different you don't usually get on other channels

[@ClanBroonford]

Thank you.

[@degorman4673]

As a free HongKongner I have been cycling at UC for a month with my used bike, quenching the initial desire buying a used car. Thanks Union Canal.

[@unicornmagic4654]

If u kept walking I could have waved to u 🤣😂🤣😂

[@kathlucy603]

Lovely walk. Maybe you could take us on a bike ride further down the canal 😉

[@katesouthworth2474]

Great video as always Tony! It looked so peaceful! Just wondering, when your walking along talking into the camera,do people ever look to see what you're doing?

[@paul10hats5]

let's ponder that Mr. Broonford, "Is it the start, or is it the end?" profound

[@deanward3445]

Which way does the water run?

[@michaelziegler223]

Getting really close to 8000 subs!!

[@scotsas21]

With the 'Virtual' Kiltwalk weekend upcoming on Sept 11 - 13. will be sharing this with those Kiltwalkers searching for their own individual route/challenge (walk/run/cycle etc), thanks!

[@ninettegok5378]

The flowers are beautiful and quite can you look for a way to reach the canal from other areas along the route?

[@wordgirl8100]

120 years ago sounds like an eternity to some, yet I knew people in my lifetime who were born around the late 1860's ... to think of what they must have thought to themselves going from that period of time (horse and buggie) to cars, airports, skyscrapers, electricity, and movies.

[@hmeyer827]

I often think that! I thought I was the only one! :-)

[@williamshaw354]

Another good video, canal song suggestion the Union Canal Song by Robin laing.

[@jimgamble4355]

Thanks for the vid! Just wondering when to expect the august questions video? Maybe i missed it somehow? Anyway, take care and be well!

[@ClanBroonford]

Hi Jim, filming it tomorrow. Should be up tomorrow night👍

[@surendersingal2192]

Interesting walk , what was the ourpuse if canal, sir.

[@1puzzledrobot]

The Erie Canal Song.

[@bobmarshall3700]

So you walk ON the canal? You must be a very special person......

[@hottubmobileneil]

I am not Neil , from Canada , I wonder if you are allowed to take a Kayak down this canal ? That would be fun !

[@BeardyBaldyBob]

I don't know if you can go the whole way along it, but you do quite often see people on kayaks at various parts of the canal.

[@hottubmobileneil]

Bob G , reply from I am not Neil , thank you

[@DeaconWilliamBrodie]

Why don't you walk the water of leith walkway, its a wee bit shorter. As for a canal song why not try Rosie and Jim.😊

[@kennethgrindlay7140]

Is their fish in there

[@climer588]

That's a long walk if you do the whole length but skip over and video the wheel operating.

[@kennethgrindlay7140]

What type of fish are in their

[@jastoddart]

I love the canal and for the most part, the tourist throngs haven't discovered it. It's a great day trip bike ride to the wheel. and Tony here's another off the beaten path www.drneilsgarden.co.uk/

[@carausiuscaesar5672]

What about midges?

[@ClanBroonford]

Think I got luck and missed them.

[@carausiuscaesar5672]

The Broonfords well i suppose if there be no midges there you can bring your own midges!

[@scottchristie6734]

How much is 2 kilometres in miles?

[@ClanBroonford]

About 1.25

[@andrewillingworth]

Can you hire canal boats?

[@andrewillingworth]

www.abcboathire.com/our-routes/featured-routes/falkirk/edinburgh-and-glasgow?gclid=CjwKCAjwmrn5BRB2EiwAZgL9okyWieYZjQ1-UNyBp04XESmSFzzJtR77-Y9p1Bi6anbjdiiwmPj-whoCeJwQAvD_BwE

[@morrinpat7154]

i cycle to Wester Hailer bought a gun

[@gregoreastlander8112]

that kind of bikes are everywhere in the world at the moment, welcome in the new world order, how do you enjoy first couple months?