Skulferatu #4 - Granton Harbour, Eastern Breakwater, Edinburgh

 

I walked out from Leith to the Eastern Breakwater at Granton Harbour.  I took the path along the Water of Leith and then went down Trinity Path and on to Lower Granton Road, where I followed the coastline along to Wardie Bay.  The sun was out, but the wind was a raging howl.  The clouds above me zoomed over the sky, as if they were making up for the lack of aircraft in these Covid riddled times.  The tide was high, and the air tasted of the salt spray from the water.

Granton Eastern Breakwater from Wardie Bay 

The walk along the Eastern Breakwater is one I only discovered recently, as though I’ve passed it many times on the bus, I had always assumed it would be closed to the public.  Given that its rather exposed and the walk is a bit uneven, it will probably be closed for ‘health and safety’ reasons at some point in the future!

The harbour at Granton consists of three parts, the main harbour, Granton Harbour Breakwater and the Eastern Breakwater.  The main harbour is now mainly used by leisure craft and the Royal Forth Yacht Club is based there, the Granton Harbour Breakwater is closed off due to construction in that area, while the Eastern Breakwater is a popular spot with local fishermen.  However, the harbour once had a busy and industrious past.  It opened in 1838 and the construction was funded by the 5^th Duke of Buccleuch.  The lighthouse engineer, Robert Stevenson (grandfather of the famous author Robert Louis Stevenson) then oversaw the construction of the outer breakwaters.  These were completed in 1863.  The harbour became a port for the export of coal, the import of esparto grass, used in making paper, and a large fishing fleet was also resident there.

 

In 1847 the Edinburgh and Northern Railway operated a ferry service from Granton Harbour to Burntisland in Fife.  In 1850 they opened the first roll-on-roll-off railway ferry in the world and this allowed a direct rail link from Edinburgh to Dundee without passengers having to leave the train.  This service ended in 1890 with the opening of the Forth Bridge.

Warning sign at entrance to Eastern Breakwater

On the Eastern Breakwater I was blasted by the wind as I carefully made my way along the walkway.  There is a narrow walkway on either side of the jutting, uneven stones that make up the main part of the structure.  Here and there are rusting moorings and chains and there are a couple of small, crumbling buildings.  The buildings are both now sealed, but up until recently were open.  There was little in them other than discarded beer cans, fishing line and the smell of stale piss.

View along Eastern Breakwater

One of the buildings on Eastern Breakwater

At the end of the Breakwater I reached a white, box structure.  I don’t have a clue what this is, but assume it was a lighthouse of sorts at one point.  There I found a circular hole in the wall which was a perfect place to leave a Skulferatu.  So, I left one there.

End of the pier – Eastern Breakwater

Skulferatu #4

Skulferatu #4 in hole in wall in lighthouse

I then struggled back along towards the shore as the wind tried to whip my feet away from me and the low winter sun dazzled my eyes.  Overhead seagulls soared and screeched their eerie calls to one another.

Map showing location of Skulferatu

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are – Latitude 55.987863 Longitude -3.220660.