Join Euan Baxter of the Save the Roseburn Path campaign and me as we walk the Telford and Roseburn paths on his morning commute. Once a railway line, the Paths were opened in the eighties by cycling campaigners and the route is now teeming with cyclists, walkers and runners either commuting or just enjoying their local stretch of nature. With trees, birds and other wildlife it's a valuable part of Edinburgh's parklands.
Join our chat about the path, listening to birds, spotting plant life and finding out about the campaign to save the Path from becoming a major tram route from Granton to the City centre.
The City Council is launching a consultation on the tram route during August for 12 weeks, so listen in, visit and enjoy this special place, then have your say.
You can find out more about the campaign here: https://www.savetheroseburnpath.com/
You can find the consultation details HERE
We met at the Red Bridge HERE
And walked to HERE
Read my Substack HERE
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28:23
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28:23
Holyrood Park with photographer Jason Baxter
Edinburgh is a beautiful city and of course, many of its views make great photographs. I headed up Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park with photographer Jason Baxter to find out how to get that killer shot of my home town. We talked careers, the beauty of Holyrood Park and Arthurs Seat and the frustration of an easterly wind which brings Edinburgh's haar.
Jason has photographed Edinburgh and Scotland for many years and his pictures grace the walls of the Airport, so take a look next time you're there.
To find out more about Jason: https://www.jasonbaxter.media/
We were photographing up the Crags: HERE
And then after a circuit of the Crags we walked back to the Palace via Hunters Bog which is HERE
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26:42
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26:42
Crossing the Causeway to Cramond Island
Cramond Island is a tidal island in the Forth Estuary which has a long and varied history and is really worth a visit. The area was an important port during Roman times and remains of a large fort can still be seen beside the church. The island was once a farm, a popular holiday destination and then was occupied during the first and second world wars as a strategic defence site. Many WW2 remains can still be visited including gun emplacements, armouries, lookout posts and traces of an old railway on the beach.
I crossed the causeway with Ian Rodger of the Cramond Heritage Trust to discover the history of this fascinating place. The Cramond Heritage Trust offers tours of the island via their website and also has a great museum in the Maltings on shore at Cramond itself.
To visit the island you should first checkout the safe crossing times on the South Queensferry RNLI website: https://www.queensferrylifeboat.co.uk/cramond-tides
The Cramond Heritage Trust website is here: https://cramondheritage.org.uk/
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29:15
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29:15
Edinburgh's City Walls with Hetty's History Walks
Many people don't know that Edinburgh was once a walled city, so we set off to find traces of the old walls that still remain. In the times when the extent of the city covered the area we now call the 'old town' it was enclosed to protect its residents from attack and also to control commercial activity. Remnants of the wall remain today, some dating back to the fourteenth century, and many people walk past them unaware of these ancient relics. There are also indications of walls dating as far back as the twelfth century. Many of our road names are indicators of the location of the walls and gates - known as 'ports' - in and out of the city.
I headed out with podcast regular, Hetty Lancaster of Hetty's History Walks, to discover some bits of the wall and its history. It was one of the most interesting podcasts I have recorded. Listen in to join Hetty and me as we disappear into the closes of the Royal Mile to find original sections of the wall and learn when and why they were built. There is a lot more of the original walls remaining than you might realise!
A useful map of Edinburgh city walls which is discussed on the podcast, can be found here:
https://www.trove.scot/image/1323636
Places we found parts of the wall include:
Tweedale Court, location of the oldest, King's Wall: here
John Knox House, probable original site of the Netherbow Port: here
Wall based image of the original Netherbow Port (look up!): here
Brass markings on the roadway showing the later site of the Netherbow Port: here
Long section of the Flodden Wall: here
You can find sections of the walls in Greyfriar's Kirkyard: here
Further sections of the Flodden and Telfer wall are in the Vennel: here
And to find out more, the Book of the Old Edinburgh Club has been publishing scholarly articles about Edinburgh's history since 1908. Enter what you are looking for (e.g. city walls) in the pages 'search' function:
https://oldedinburghclub.org.uk/boec/
Details of Hetty's History Walks can be found here: https://www.hettyshistorywalks.co.uk
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34:12
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34:12
Into the woods with Wild Workforce
Early in the year I met with Clare Stephen of Wild Workforce to talk about how getting out into our forests can help HR and employee wellbeing. We discussed Clare's experiences around mental health at work and about her ambition to turn her relatively new business into a CIC so she can work with a wider range of organisations. Since we met she has now succeeded and her CIC has launched. Her work on mental wellbeing and the outdoors is going from strength to strength.
We met on the shores of Loch Leven: HERE
Clare's business can be found https://www.wildworkforce.com/
Edinburgh Outdoors is a podcast exploring the city’s green spaces and the people in them. From community gardens to secret spaces, learning about the city’s history or just finding a space to breathe, getting outside brings benefit to everyone, and being outdoors in Edinburgh is the best place to be!