Breakwater at Granton Harbour

Today's walk took us to Granton on the shores of the Firth of Forth.
Wikipedia tells us that in "1834 Edinburgh debated the need for a larger harbour. James Walker in his capacity as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers oversaw a committee, also including Admiral David Milne, to choose between three options: an extension to the existing Leith Docks; a new harbour at Trinity or a new harbour at Granton. The initial bid for Trinity did not receive parliamentary consent and in 1836 a second Bill promoting Granton was agreed. It received Royal Assent on 21 April 1837.

Construction began in June 1837 and the initial central pier was opened on 28 June 1838, coinciding with the coronation of Queen Victoria. The entire project was funded by the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. The original project included a central pier named the Victoria Jetty and a road running eastwards to Leith. The young Queen Victoria landed at the pier on RY Royal George on 1 September 1842 on her first official visit to Edinburgh as queen. In 1843/44 the pier was extended in length to a total of 1700 feet (around 500m) this stage being completed in October 1844.[3] By 1845 an "exceedingly low" cost steamboat service used to run between Stirling and Granton.

Lighthouse engineer Robert Stevenson oversaw the later construction of the outer breakwaters, which were completed in 1863. Thereafter the Resident Engineer was John Howkins, followed by his son, also John Howkins. The original concept to create two large wet docks on the landward side was abandoned as this proved impractical.

Granton became a successful port for the export of coal, and import of esparto grass for making paper. The fishing fleet grew considerably, leading to the development of an ice house in the late 19th century, to the west of the harbour. There were some 80 fishing trawlers resident just before World War II. The first example of the fossil crustacean Waterstonella was found in the Granton shrimp beds by the keeper of geology at the Royal Scottish Museum, Dr. Charles Waterstone.  The foreshore area between Granton and Newhaven is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) aimed at encouraging and preserving the resource of fossils in the area.

From 3 February 1850, the world's first ferry-train began operating between Granton and Burntisland, Fife.[9] The paddle-steamer Leviathan carried the trains, which formed the main link across the Forth until completion of the Forth Bridge in 1890. Passenger and car ferry services continued into the 1960s.

In 1884, John Murray set up the Marine Laboratory in Granton, the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. In 1894, this laboratory was moved to Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, on the Firth of Clyde, and became the University Marine Biological Station, Millport, the forerunner of today's Scottish Association for Marine Science at Dunstaffnage, near Oban, Argyll and Bute.

During the First World War Granton harbour was used as the base for mine-sweeping equipment: mainly Scottish trawlers and their crews, called into active service and conscripted as part of the Royal Navy Reserve. During this period the harbour was officially renamed as "HMS Gunner" when referred to in military documents, in reference to the name of the largest trawler in its fleet. The harbour was then home to mine-sweepers, decoy ships (Q-ships), and anti-submarine vessels. The north section held smaller support vessels specifically built for Navy use, including 24 motor launches, 18 paddle mine-sweepers, and 30 boom-defence vessels, with a total of 103 craft.

Granton was the key base in Scotland of the Northern Lighthouse Board with their boats taking lighthouse keepers and their supplies to and from lighthouses around the coast of Scotland. Granton also became the base for pilots from 1920, guiding ships into the Firth of Forth, a service it still provides a base for today.

From 1942 to 1946, Granton harbour was home of shore-based minesweeping training establishment HMS Lochinvar. As the scale of the harbour restricted ship size, it became a site for scrapping former Royal Navy ships, including HMS Newport and HMS Hedingham Castle.

Today two boat clubs jointly run the Edinburgh Marina: the Forth Corinthian Yacht Club and the Royal Forth Yacht Club."

Extra Photo:  Gone Fishing !  (Grantown Breakwater)