There has been a port at Leith since the Middle Ages. From a
small hamlet, Leith grew in importance to become Scotland’s
principal port, only surpassed in the nineteenth century by
Glasgow. Over the years, the folk of Leith or ‘Leithers’ have
suffered invasions, looting, burning of their homes, bubonic
plague, famine and poverty. After the Second World War, Leith went
into decline, but over the last few years it has seen a programme
of huge regeneration. Luxury penthouse flats commanding views over
the Firth of Forth now also command sky high prices. In recent
times, Leith docks have hosted the Tall Ships, the Festival of the
Sea, and in 2003 hosted the MTV awards. The Royal Yacht Britannia
is permanently moored at Ocean Terminal. Although the public face
of government plays out in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood,
much of the work of government is carried out in the expansive
building of the Scottish Government, built on land reclaimed from
the dockyards. It is here that this tour begins at N55 58.657 W003
10.446, at the start coordinates. You can park at Ocean Terminal or
on one of the side streets At the weekends and after 6pm on
weekdays parking is available on the west side of the Scottish
Government building, accessed from Dock Place. The number 11 and 22
buses go to Ocean Terminal from Princes Street.
The Scottish Government
Victoria Quay is one of two
main Government buildings in Edinburgh (the other is St Andrew's
House on Regent Road). VQ now houses about 2,500 staff. On the
‘Discover Leith’ information point you will find the date that the
building opened – 1st July 199A. (Apparently there is a
different date on a plaque in the foyer of the building - so don't
use that one!)
South of the Government building are some of the many bond
warehouses in Leith. Many of these have been turned into flats and
offices. The railway tracks in the cobblestone road are still
there, which enabled goods to be transported. Originally the
warehouses were used to store wine imported from the Continent.
Trade was especially active with Rochelle, Bordeaux, Rouen and
Dieppe. Leith became the greatest wine port in the UK. Upon arrival
in Leith, the wine was clarified and bottled, then laid to mature
for 10-15 years. This trade continued to grow for about two hundred
and fifty years until the time of the Napoleonic wars, when the
price increased because of duties imposed on it. During the 17th
century, when England was often at war with France and the Low
Countries, the Leithers were considered to be traitors for carrying
on trading with these countries when they were prohibited from
doing so. Later on sherry from Spain and port from Portugal began
to be imported in increasing quantities. In the 1870s after the
failure of several wine harvests, the bond warehouses lay empty and
were snatched up to store whisky. Bond warehouses were secure
duty-free warehouses allowing the whisky to mature untaxed. By the
1960s, 85% of Scotland’s whisky was matured in Leith in just under
90 warehouses.
But it is not only wine and whisky that Leith is famous for. In
1749, William Younger established a brewery in Leith, a company
that was eventually to become Scottish Courage, the UK’s largest
brewer. Crabbie’s Green Ginger Wine was also a Leith invention in
around 1800 and until only a few years ago the name could be seen
emblazoned on a warehouse in Great Junction Street (now flats).
Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial was similarly a Leith invention, designed
for sailors who were prone to scurvy at sea from a lack of vitamin
C from fresh fruit and vegetables.
As you walk around Leith, you will see a huge variety of
buildings. The older ones are around the Shore, but Georgian and
Victorian buildings grace the streets surrounding Leith Links.
There are many buildings associated with the maritime, trading, and
industrial history. There are also 1960s monstrosities, some of
which have thankfully been pulled down. What you will notice most
is the large number of converted or new apartment buildings.
The Citadel N55 58.613 W003 10.474
From the
Scottish Executive, it is a short walk south to find a small
remnant of Cromwell’s occupation of Leith in the 17th century.
Leithers had invited Charles II over from Holland and acknowledged
him as King after the execution of Charles I. This prompted
Cromwell to invade. The fortifications of Leith repelled him and
his troops for over a month, but after the Battle of Dunbar,
Cromwell occupied Leith and stayed for nine years. His troops built
the Citadel stronghold in which to store their arms and ammunition
and established strict military discipline over the locals. All
that remains of the Citadel today is an archway. Find the date that
it was built 16B6. Due to construction work obscuring the
plaque, the number you need is 5.
Leith Harbour N55 58.648 W003 10.289
Retrace your
steps and walk north on the west side of the river. You will pass a
number of restaurants, Leith’s modern economy. Find the address of
'a room in Leith' – it is CC.
Whaling N55 58.699 W003 10.168
Carrying on North, find your way across Victoria Bridge over the
Water of Leith at N55 58.718 W003 10.225. Head south along
the east side of the river. You are looking for a relic of the
whaling industry. In 1909, the company of Christian Salvesen caught
its first whale in the Antarctic Ocean. By 1911, it had become the
largest whaling company in the world. By the relic is a picture of
Christian Salvesen’s base in South Georgia, named ‘Leith Harbour’,
dated 19D8. Whaling began in 1616 when James IV granted a
35-year patent to two Leith skippers. In 1750 the Edinburgh Whaling
Company was set up. Vessels mustered in the Firth of Forth and
sailed to artic waters in convoys for protection. The last whaling
ship left Leith as late as 1963.
Compare the picture of the old harbour with its modern day
version.
As Leith grew in importance as a trading port, all of the
industries associated with this activity also burgeoned. As well as
shipbuilding and repairs, fishing and trading, the industries of
rope, twine and sail making also flourished. As merchant ships
travelled the world and returned with their goods, Leith became a
centre for the storage and processing of sugar, grain and timber.
With the wine and whisky trade came glass making, bottling and
barrel making or coopering. The whaling industry and the resulting
trade in whale oil brought about the establishment of the first
soap making factory in Scotland.
In 1772 and 1787 the first dry docks were built. In 1806 the Old
East dock was built and in 1817 the Old West dock was built. The
bigger size of ships being built and the increased activity
necessitated further larger docks. Victoria dock, where the
Scottish Executive now stands, was built in 1852. Ocean Terminal
opened in 2001 on the site of the famous Ramage and Ferguson
shipyard. The Albert dock, Edinburgh dock and Imperial docks
followed in 1865, 1881 and 1902. Leith still has the largest
enclosed deepwater port in Scotland, and handles cargoes of timber,
coal, steel, cement and petroleum liquid. More recently it has
become a stopping off point for cruise liners. The dockyards are
now run by Forth Ports plc.
Built in Leith in 1837, the SS Sirius was the first passenger
steamship to cross the Atlantic. The journey to New York took 18
days, and the Sirius narrowly beat Brunel’s huge ship ‘The Great
Western’. 300 years earlier, James IV set out to establish a
national fleet for trade and defence. The ‘Great Michael’ was built
in nearby Newhaven harbour. Launched in 1512, she was 240 feet
long, 56 feet wide and had sides of oak 10 feet thick. Her huge
size made her difficult to navigate and she required a crew of 300
men. She also carried 300 cannons, 120 gunners and 1000
men-at-arms. It was reported that all of the timber in Fife was
used to build her, as well as much imported wood. In the end she
never saw active duty and was sold to the French to settle debts.
Models of the ship are in Ocean Terminal and Newhaven Heritage
Museum at Newhaven Harbour. The ill-fated Darien Expedition also
sailed from Leith, in 1698. Instead of founding a colonial market
for Scottish goods in Panama, disease and skirmishes with the
Spanish wreaked havoc. Of nine ships, only one returned. Douglas
Galbraith’s novel, ‘The Rising Sun’, is based on expedition
accounts and is a good read.
The Shore N55 58.674 W003 10.123
Passing Sandy
Irvine Robertson, seated on the bench, you will find a former
Sailor’s Home, now the Malmaison. This building provided
accommodation for sailors, as well as a canteen, shop, chapel and
recreation rooms. It was the place for skippers to come to find
crew for their ships. In the Foundation stone there is a date: 20
September 18E3. The words’ Sailors Home’ are still over the
door, though faint. The nearby street named ‘Timber Bush’ was a
storage area for timber; Bush being a corruption of the French word
‘bourse’ or exchange. This area of the Shore was the hive of
activity before the dock area was extended into the Firth of Forth.
Ships sailed right up to the streets to offload their cargoes. With
the building of wet docks during the 19th century, trading soared
in Leith. At its height in 1913, trade in Leith reached 1,564,999
tons in imports and 3,081,046 tons in exports
The King's Wark N55 58.596 W003 10.161
A plaque on a building on The Shore commemorates the landing of
King George IV on 1Fth August 1822. This visit was arranged
by none other than Sir Walter Scott. George IV was the first
reigning monarch to set foot in Scotland for almost 200 years.
Around the corner, at N55 58.574 W003 10.161, find a stone
carving of the Leith arms and motto. The house number below the
stone carving is G4 Across the road is the King's Wark pub,
and the outline on the wall shows an old set of steps. The King's
wark was originally built in 1H38.
The ‘Rough Wooing’ N55 58.501 W003 10.198
Go south
along the shore turn left to find Lamb's house, which is
signposted. Leith had to be rebuilt after the horrific years of the
mid 16th century when it was looted and burned twice within a few
years. The ‘Rough Wooing’ was Henry VIII’s retribution for the
Scots reneging on the agreement for the infant Mary Queen of Scots
to marry his son Edward. The Earl of Hertford was dispatched with
200 ships and 12,000 men. They killed all who tried to defend the
town, but many Leithers had fled into the wild hinterland until it
was safe to return. The houses were looted and burned, and the
lands around Edinburgh torched. The English sailed away with their
booty, only to return in 1547 defeating the Scots on ‘Black Sunday’
at Pinkie in Musselburgh. Leith was again destroyed. On the
‘Discover Leith’ information point find the date of the Earl of
Hertford’s first sacking of Leith in 154J.
Few of the very old buildings of Leith have survived owing to
repeated sackings of the town. Lamb's house is one of the oldest
houses remaining in Leith. It is reputed to be the early 17th
century house of a wealthy Leith Merchant. Mary Queen of Scots is
supposed to have dined here after landing at Leith in 1561, before
travelling to Holyrood Palace. The house is now owned by the
National Trust for Scotland. Note the original ‘wind doors’
(windows) fashioned to use as little glass as possible as it was so
expensive in those days.
The Leith Police N55 58.416 W003 10.089
Continue
right and then head East. Near to the Leith Police station is
another ‘Discover Leith’ information point. Find the date when
Leithers first enjoyed travelling on electric trams – 19K5.
Due to construction work for the new tram system, this
information is not accessible and the number you need is 0.
Leith was the first town in Scotland to have electric trams, as
well as the first town to install electric streetlights in 1889.
Try saying the famous rhyme about the Leith Police that is written
on the information point:
“The Leith Police dismisseth us
I’m thankful, sir, to say.
The Leith Police dismisseth us
They thought we sought to stay
The Leith Police dismisseth us
We both sighed sighs apiece
And the sigh that we sighed
As we said goodbye
Was the size of the Leith Police.”
Leith Links N55 58.282 W003 10.017
Continue East.
Leith Links are famous for golf and the plague. There were several
outbreaks of plague around the turn of the 16th century. The death
toll of the plague outbreak in 1645 was 2736. All who could fled
the town, leaving the infected unattended. Plague camps were built
on the Links, called ‘ludges’ where families of those infected were
housed while their homes were fumigated. Of course, many never
returned to them. Large trenches were dug on the Links to bury the
dead, as the churchyards could not cope. Bodies have been
disinterred by building work on nearby Wellington Place.
Leith lays claim to be the birthplace of golf. In 1457 James II
forbad golf to be played on the Links as it interfered with his
soldiers’ archery practise. However by 1505 James IV was known to
have played the game on Leith Links. It became a popular pursuit
and in the early 18th century ‘The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith’ was
established. In 1744 the Town Council presented a silver club to
the members to be played for each year under a set of rules that
were later adopted by the Royal and Ancient Club at St. Andrews in
1754. The original rules referred to hazards such as losing a ball
in the soldiers’ lines, which could be removed without penalty. The
site was not ideal for playing golf however, and the club moved to
Musselburgh and then onto its present home in Muirfield, West
Lothian in 1891. Golf was banned in 1909 and there are signs around
the Links forbidding it. At the coordinates there is a
commemorative stone cairn that gives the date the Honourable
Company moved to Musselburgh. It was 183L. NB. Don’t use the
date on the ‘Discover Leith’ point as it is, for some reason,
different to the one on the cairn.
Trade Guilds and Masonic Lodge N55 58.320 W003
10.276
Head West down a lane and through the gates of
South Leith Parish Church churchyard at N55 58.325 W003
10.162 if it is open. Otherwise you will have to walk around it
via Woolworths at N55 58.252 W003 10.304 and the shopping
precinct. This church has a long history associated with Leith. In
the main vestibule is a stone carving from a mansion house (now
demolished to make way for a bond warehouse) built near the Shore
by Mary of Guise. She was the wife of James V and mother of Mary
Queen of Scots. As Regent of Scotland, it was due to her links with
France that the ‘Auld Alliance’ came about. However, she was
unpopular as well as Catholic, and the Protestants, encouraged by
John Knox and allied with the English, laid siege to Leith in 1560.
The Leithers were reduced to eating horseflesh among other
unappetising animals. With Mary of Guise’s death, the French
influence in Scotland ended and the 3000 French soldiers billeted
in Leith departed. The fortifications they had built around Leith
were demolished, and none of it remains today.
In a cabinet in the west porch is a display of weapons used by
churchyard guards to fight off ‘resurrectionists’ or grave robbers.
It was not just the infamous Burke and Hare who lined their pockets
by selling dead bodies.
At the clue coordinates is Trinity House. All trades people were
members of one of the Guilds. The oldest and wealthiest was the
‘Masters and Mariners of the Trinity House’. Dues, called ‘prime
gilt’ were received on each ton of goods unloaded from vessels.
These dues were abolished in 1872, but funds were used to build a
seaman’s hospital or almshouse for the “poor, old, infirm and weak
mariners”. The guild also provided pensions for old members and
widows and their families. These guilds played an important part in
the social, religious and industrial life of the Leithers. Find the
date that Trinity House was rebuilt in 18M6.
Go down St Anthony's Lane and find Trafalgar Lodge at N55
58.332 W003 10.339. Notice the strange carvings and symbols all
over the building. Above the door find the date that it was
chartered on 1st February 18N8
Heading back towards the Shore you will pass the Vaults at
N55 58.447 W003 10.358, built around 1785, which is another
old warehouse for wine with a sumptuous former saleroom. It is now
a restaurant. The wine trade was managed by the ‘Fraternity of St.
Anthony’ guild, encompassing various tradesmen, including
‘stingmen’ and ‘rollers’. The former carried wine casks, while the
latter rolled them, to the taverns in Leith. They also reported to
the Clerk of Leith how much each inn used. There is a copy of a
stone carving depicting a 17th century trade stone outside the
Vaults. Look at the date 16P8.
The wine industry gave birth to Leith’s glass industry and in
the mid 18th century one million bottles were being produced in
Leith each week. The classic shape for the red wine bottle was
called the ‘Leith Design’ and adopted around the world.
The Water of Leith N55 58.506 W003 10.310
Look for a metal representation of the course of the Water of Leith
in the pavement on the northeast side of the bridge. This is the
end of the Water of Leith walkway. There is another of these at the
beginning of the walkway in Balerno, 12 miles upstream. (Click on
the cache trail sign at the start of this webpage for a list of all
the caches along the walkway.) There is also a pictorial
representation of the various mills that existed on the river.
Count the number of mills = Q1
From Church to Mill to Flats and Offices N55 58.534 W003
10.420
On the west side of the Water of Leith, find an
old building converted into offices and flats, with a distinctive
Dutch style bell tower. Originally part of the North Leith Parish
Church, the building was turned into a Mill. Note two numbers above
a window, one is 9, and the other is R
The Cache
You should now have numbers for the
letters A to R excluding I and O. The coordinates for the cache
are:
N55 58.UVW W003 10.XYZ, where
U=E+F-P-C
V=A+H-B+K
W=R-L-M
X=Q+D-M
Y=G+J+Q-D
Z=N+P-C