Skulferatu #41 - Leith Walk Railway Bridge, Leith, Edinburgh

 

Today I went for a walk to Leith Walk Railway Bridge, a place that is no more and was taken down years ago.  However, the viaduct buildings and the abutments that the bridge sat on are still there.

 

Remains of Leith Walk Railway Bridge on Jane Street

 

The bridge was built as part of Caledonian Railways, New Leith Line, that ran from Newhaven to the east of Leith Docks.  It crossed over Leith Walk from the viaduct at Jane Street over to the viaduct at Manderston Street and on to the docks.  An elevated two platform passenger station was also built at Manderston Street but was never used.  The railway never carried passengers and was instead used as a goods line.  The line was closed in 1968.  The bridge was dismantled and taken down in 1980.

 

The Leith born poet, Jock Scot, recalled that he used to live near to the bridge, and it was something he saw as being part of the fabric of Leith Walk.  One day he and his family went off on holiday and when he came back the bridge was gone.  Being upset about the disappearance of the bridge he wrote a poem for it called ‘Farewell to Ferodo.’ 

Today, on a hot summer’s day I took a stroll down Leith Walk accompanied by the noise of heavy machinery from the ongoing tram works, that take up much of the road and pavement at the moment.  I then cut round the back of the buildings that ran along the Walk to the bridge.  Most of these are now empty and will form part of a development project that is rumbling its way through the council Planning Department.  There is then a dirt path that leads up to where the railway ran.  It is fenced off, but part of the fence has been removed, so it is easy to gain access to…for just now anyway.

 

The walls that run along the viaduct buildings on the Jane Street side of Leith Walk are colourful with graffiti, while the track bed for the railway is now very overgrown.  Looking out over the walls there were some great views over Leith and up Leith Walk into Edinburgh.

 

Site of the railway that led to the bridge

 

Site of the railway that led to the bridge

 

Graffiti on wall running up to site of bridge

 

Graffiti on wall running up to site of bridge

 

Graffiti on wall running up to site of the bridge

 

Wall blocking off gap where bridge once stood

 

View across Leith Walk to the other side of viaduct on which the bridge stood

 

View from Leith Walk Bridge up to Arthur’s Seat

 

View from bridge over rooftops up to Calton Hill

View from bridge up Leith Walk to Calton Hill

 

I left the Skulferatu that accompanied me on today’s walk in a gap in the wall near to some metal girders that would have once been part of the bridge over Leith Walk.  

 

Skulferatu #41

 

Skulferatu #41 in wall at remains of Leith Walk Railway Bridge

 

Skulferatu #41 in wall at remains of Leith Walk Railway Bridge

 

Map showing location of Skulferatu #41

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.968975

Longitude -3.173440