Curious Edinburgh Walking Tour
granton:hub was given the opportunity to develop a virtual walking tour, covering 20 stops, telling the story of Granton’s rich industrial and heritage past.
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Stops on the walking tour
1 / Madelvic House and Vehicle Production
This Victorian red stone building was the original office of The Madelvic Motor Carriage Company.
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2 / Granton Square
The first tramline in the Granton area dates from 1909. Edinburgh’s modernisation, starting in the 1880s, was from horse-drawn tramcars to cable cars
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3 / The Railways
The Edinburgh Leith & Newhaven Railway opened on 31 August 1842 between the New Town and nearby Trinity Crescent.
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4 / The Building of Granton Harbour
The idea of building a harbour at Granton is said to have been suggested in 1834 by R.W. Hamilton, the manager of the General Steam Navigation Company.
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5 / Granton Ferries
In 1849, the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee Railway Company commissioned Victorian engineer Sir Thomas Bouch to design and build a ferry service at Granton.
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6 / Granton Harbour, Gunpowder, and Other Industries
In 1937, the harbour consisted of a Middle Pier (this road) protected on the east and west sides by two breakwaters, forming two harbours covering a total of 122 acres.
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7 / Granton Esparto Grass
In the 1950s, about a third of all the esparto grass that came into the UK arrived at Granton – 100,000 tons of it.
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8 / The Northern Lighthouse Board
The Northern Lighthouse Board was created by an Act of Parliament in 1786.
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9 / Original Entrance to Granton Castle
10 / The Three Bridges
From this viewpoint, you get the first glimpses of the three bridges, with the oldest one, the Forth Bridge, nearest. The Forth Bridge is an iconic railway bridge and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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11 / WWII Air Raid – 16 October 1939
Walking Granton’s shoreline, visitors will often see aircraft overhead making their final approaches towards Edinburgh Airport, but on 16 October, 1939 these same skies were filled with enemy bombers.
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12 / Charles Darwin in Granton
Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and entered Edinburgh University to study medicine in 1825.
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13 / Granton Sea Quarry
This stretch of grassy fields (Gypsy Brae) was the location of Granton Sea Quarry. The earliest recorded use of stone from this quarry is for Holyrood Palace (1532).
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14 / Granton Gas Works
In the 1890s, gas was being produced in Edinburgh, Leith, and Portobello and the sites were operating at full capacity. It was decided to build a substantial new single-site gasworks capable of future expansion.
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15 / Granton House
Near this site once stood Granton House, a 24-room three-storey mansion with a balustraded roof, built by the Earl of Hopetoun in 1807 on the Duke of Buccleuch’s land as part of a 99-year lease.
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16 / Granton Gas Works Train Station
The Granton Gas Works Station (awaiting repurposing) was opened on 27 February, 1903. This was a substantial station built to take the workers to and from the Gas Works
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17 / Caroline Park House
Caroline Park House, originally known as Royston House, was built around 1585 by Andrew Logan.
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18 / William Speirs Bruce Way
Walk from Caroline Park house to this new walkway. This is named after William Speirs Bruce (1867-1921) one of the foremost, and most successful, polar scientists of his age.
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19 / Granton Castle Walled Garden
You will remember in stop 9 where we encountered the original entrance of Granton Castle, facing the Firth of Forth. This stop is the location where nearby the Castle once stood, and these grounds are now developed by Social Bite.
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20 / Granton Mural
Granton:hub were awarded funding from Sustrans for a mural designed by Eve Murray telling the story on the history and culture of Granton.
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21 / Granton Industries
22 / Madelvic Electric Car Factory
We have now returned to Madelvic, the legacy of Sir William Peck (1862 – 1925) who was a Scottish astronomer, scientific instrument maker and a prolific inventor.
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Download Curious Edinburgh
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In 2018, University of Edinburgh academics Niki Vermeulen and Bill Jenkins were given the Tam Dalyell prize for excellence in engaging the public with science. They generously offered the prize money to granton:hub as part of the funds to develop the tour. You can see the prize given via this YouTube video as part of the Edinburgh Science festival in April 2018.
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Gina Fierlafijn Reddie, member of the then g:hub steering group, liaised with the Curious Edinburgh team and gave the talk at the event in Playfair Library (scroll to 56:51 to view Gina’s talk on the Granton Tour).
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A paper copy of the tour is availble. The tour has now been translated into Polish, and is about to be available in Arabic. If you are interested in receiving a copy, please contact community@grantonhub.org.
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The tour has 22 stops, commences at Madelvic House, towards Granton Harbour, along the shoreline, back up, past Granton Gasholder and Granton Station. It continues along Saltire Court and ends at Madelvic Car Factory. It takes around 2-3 hours to complete at a slow pace. The route is suitable for biking and pram.
