Edinburgh Quay, east end of the Union Canal.

My wife was meeting her sister and her friend in Edinburgh for lunch today. I dropped her off and parked in one of the wealthy suburbs, as per a plan I devised the other evening. I walked east along the Union Canal towpath to the Lochrin basin at Fountainbridge, or Edinburgh Quay as it’s now called. It was 20° C, lovely blue skies at times.

Several extra photos today ….. The area gradually started to run down before WW2, when the canal basin closed. There has been a lot of regeneration in recent years; indeed several projects on approach to the basin are still underway. Edinburgh Quay has many offices, residential developments, civic spaces and some eating places. The buildings are glass fronted, high rise and of quality construction. Boroughmuir High School is canal side, some pupils were having lunch. The Leamington lift bridge is the only hydraulic bridge on the Union Canal. It lifts the road for boats to pass underneath and pedestrians can cross over (not a vehicle bridge nowadays). The bronze swans on the boardwalk are "waddling out of the Union Canal and heading for the City Centre" at Edinburgh Quay. They were designed by Shona Kinloch, who created the flock of pigeons on the pavement at Elm Row, Leith Walk, (family connection).