Water of Leith walk: Dean Village to Stockbridge and on to the Shore

Most visitors to Edinburgh never see its river. The Water of Leith runs through the city in a wooded gorge, a few minutes' walk from Princes Street, and for most of its length it feels nowhere near a capital city at all.

A walkway follows it for around 13 miles, from Balerno at the edge of the Pentland Hills to the docks at Leith. This self-guided Water of Leith walk takes the best of the city stretch: from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, down through Dean Village, past a Georgian spa temple and through Stockbridge, then on to finish by the water at the Shore in Leith.

The walk at a glance

• Distance: about 7km (4.5 miles) to Leith, one way. The short version, to Stockbridge, is about 2km.
• Time: 2.5 to 3 hours to Leith with stops, or about an hour to Stockbridge
• Start: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Belford Road
• Finish: the Shore, Leith (or Stockbridge for the short version)
• Terrain: riverside paths, some steps and slopes, cobbles in Dean Village. Paths can be muddy after rain.
• Getting back: buses and trams run from Leith back to the city centre

1. The Gallery of Modern Art

Start at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, whose two buildings face each other across Belford Road. The grounds are worth a wander before you set off, but the real reason to start here is what's below them: the river, and the walkway that follows it.

Keep an eye on the water as you walk from here. Somewhere along the way you'll see a man standing in the river. He's one of six life-size iron figures by Antony Gormley, a work called 6 Times, placed along the river between the gallery and the docks at Leith. Most of them stand in the water itself, and they are genuinely startling the first time you spot one. Counting them is a good way to keep children walking.

Follow the signs down to the Water of Leith Walkway and head downstream towards Dean Village.

2. Dean Village

For centuries this was a milling village, powered by the fast-flowing river, and it still looks like one. The narrow valley, the weir, the old mill buildings and the steep lanes all tell you what this place was for.

Look for carved stones set into some of the older buildings. The designs include bakers' tools and loaves: the mark of the Incorporation of Baxters, Edinburgh's bakers' guild, whose mills ground flour here for the city.

The big red sandstone building with the clock tower is Well Court, built in the 1880s as housing for local working families. It was commissioned by John Ritchie Findlay, owner of The Scotsman, who could see the village from his house on the ridge above and wanted to improve it.

Dean Village is very popular with photographers, and very much lived in. Keep your voice down on the residential lanes.

3. Under the Dean Bridge

Walk downstream and the path passes beneath the Dean Bridge, carrying the road far overhead on tall stone arches. It was designed by Thomas Telford, one of the great engineers of the early nineteenth century, and completed in 1831. Stand underneath and look straight up: the height is the point.

Until it was built, getting from the Old and New Towns to the land west of the gorge meant dropping down into the valley and climbing out again.

4. St Bernard's Well

A little further downstream, a small circular temple with columns stands beside the river. This is St Bernard's Well.

The mineral spring here was found in the 1760s, and for a while Edinburgh treated it as a fashionable spa, with people coming to drink the water for their health. The temple, designed by the artist Alexander Nasmyth in 1789, is modelled on a classical Roman one. The statue inside is Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health.

Nobody drinks the water now. It's still one of the most unexpected sights in the city.

5. Stockbridge

The path brings you out into Stockbridge, a former village that's now one of Edinburgh's best neighbourhoods for a wander. It's full of independent shops, cafés and places to eat, and there's a market on Sundays.

Just downstream, look out for the Stockbridge Colonies: neat parallel terraces of stone houses built in the 1860s by a co-operative building company as good-quality homes for working families. Each building is split into an upper and a lower house, with the lower one entered from one side and the upper one from external stairs on the other.

If you're doing the short version, this is where you finish.

6. Towards the Botanics

Carry on downstream from Stockbridge along the path by the river. At Inverleith, you're close to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which is free to enter and makes a very good detour if you have an hour to spare.

7. Canonmills to Bonnington

The walkway continues past Canonmills and on through quieter, greener stretches towards Bonnington. This part is less visited and feels more like a country walk than a city one, with the river never far away and the occasional Gormley figure still standing in it.

It's a good stretch to walk without stopping much. Let the river do the work.

8. The Shore, Leith

The walk ends where the Water of Leith meets the sea, at the Shore in Leith. Once a busy port, with warehouses and quays lining the river, it's now one of the best places in Edinburgh to eat and drink, with restaurants and bars along both banks.

You've walked from a gallery of modern art, through a medieval milling village, past a Georgian spa and out to the docks. Find somewhere to sit by the water.

Practical notes

• Best time: early morning in Dean Village, before the photographers arrive. Autumn is spectacular in the gorge.
• Food and drink: plenty in Stockbridge and at the Shore. Fewer options on the stretches in between.
• Accessibility: parts of the walkway are step-free and suitable for wheelchairs, but there are steps, slopes and cobbles on this section, especially around Dean Village.
• Dogs: welcome on the walkway, on leads.
• Closures: sections of the walkway occasionally close for maintenance, with local diversions signposted. The Water of Leith Conservation Trust publishes current closures.
• Going further: the Trust also runs an audio trail covering the whole walkway, and its visitor centre at Slateford is worth a visit if you're walking the upper river.

Questions people ask

How long is the Water of Leith Walkway?

The full walkway runs about 13 miles (roughly 21km) from Balerno to Leith. This walk covers about 4.5 miles of it.

How long does it take to walk from Dean Village to Stockbridge?

About 20 to 30 minutes at a relaxed pace, longer if you stop at St Bernard's Well.

Where are the Antony Gormley statues on the Water of Leith?

The six figures of 6 Times are spread along the river between the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the docks at Leith. Most of them stand in the river itself.

Is Dean Village worth visiting?

Yes, especially early in the day. It's a small, steep, very photogenic former milling village a short walk from the West End, and it's the highlight of the city stretch of the walkway.

Can you walk from Stockbridge to Leith?

Yes. The Water of Leith Walkway links them directly, and it's about 3.5 miles at an easy pace.

Walk Edinburgh with Pilgrim

Edinburgh is one of the first cities we're building journeys for, and there's far more to it than the Royal Mile. If you know its closes, courts or river paths the way only a local does, you could make a journey of your own.

Practical details checked September 2026. Things change, so check opening times and closures before you go.