Craigmillar – Portobello (1)

The railings near the east end of Braid Hills Road cast interesting shadows on the drifted snow. Photographed in the winter of 1978/9.

Looking north towards the city centre on the A68 at Prestonfield.

Boys playing in the narrow strip of woodland parallel to Ellen's Glen Road, formerly Stenhouse Road. Near Greenend and the Robin's Nest pub. In an email from Lawrence Target: that's me with my back to the camera, my brother Dawson in the black top on the right standing, Alan Blair the blonde one, Raymond Massie the wee guy on the swing, Dave Reed top right on the swing.. the rest I don't know ... (probably 1979-ish)

A Monkey Puzzle tree and recent snow combine to give this bungalow its strange appearance.

Previously featured in lower quality. Back in 1977, there still was a farm nearby. Whether the farmer was jolly or not is unclear. Rescanned in 2005 with a larger image.

The new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary is on the left hand side of Old Dalkeith Road at this point. A wet night meant an exposure of a second or two with the camera on a tripod.

A variation on the previous shot. This time the exposure was longer causing a much longer trail created by car headlights. This area is now rather more urbanised. The hospital has long since displaced the caravan and camping site.

The Inch housing scheme is adjacent to the same A68 road as the previous picture. This shot was taken not far from Cameron Toll.

Photographed from Arthur's Seat. The white building obscured by Craigmillar Castle is Edinburgh Royal Infirmary at Little France. The A7 road carries traffic south past Upper Craigour and Fernieside. More new building work is under way on the south east side of the Niddrie Burn.

At the junction of Gilmerton Road and Liberton Road. Northfield Parish Church can be seen 1.13km distant at top left, Alnwickhill 1km away at top right of the picture. Photographed March 2010.

Of no photographic merit, this picture shows where I used to play as a boy in the '50s. Then, it was a disused limestone quarry. It was later used as a landfill site. Houses built nearby are now uninhabitable due to subsidence.

Formerly a school, now the local community centre. The porta-cabin provides information about the effects of old limestone mines.

I much prefer the black and white photo of the Jolly Farmer in 1977. This one is provided to see how 34 years have affected its appearance.

A 'green field' site, formerly a camp site. It's not looking particularly green today (June 2001) due to the bare soil, the partially-built hospital and the cloud-burst. Hopefully the culverted Niddrie Burn in the foreground will cope with the vagaries of global warming. Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary relocated to this flood plain from the city centre.

There are great plans for this largely empty area between Little France Drive, The Wisp and Greendykes Road. This photo was taken from the north east end of Little France Drive where there's currently Site Access to Edinburgh University's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine. It should be completed by 2011.

There's an unofficial footpath between the hole in the fence in the previous picture and Greendykes. It's visible in that picture and also in this one where the camera is facing south west towards the Moredun flats and the Royal Infirmary. The Pentland Hills are in the distance about 8km away. The crane on the left is at the site mentioned above.

Three young cyclists are about to make a left turn into the Greendykes area, most of which is now demolished. Two tower blocks, Wauchope House and Greendykes House still stand in 2009. Beyond the trees lie the Jack Kane Centre and the A6106 road known as The Wisp. Mysterious lights may or may not have been seen near here...

On the bridge over the A720 from Dreghorn Link is this commemorative notice.

While about to take a photo of Salisbury Crags from Kirk Brae at Liberton, a 31 bus pulled into view coming up the steep hill - with this result.

While waiting on the 37 LRT bus to Loanhead I got my infrared camera out to photograph this intriguing sky. 10th October 2012.

The first of 5 night shots of speeding traffic on the Edinburgh City Bypass taken from the bridge at the Dreghorn junction. This picture is facing east towards the Lothianburn junction.

Reflections of other lights in the paintwork and windows of cars can create strange patterns when your camera's shutter stays open for a few seconds.

The remaining 3 shots were taken with the camera facing west towards Torphin.

There's more traffic in this shot, including a car which drove right across the bridge directly in front of the camera whilst the shutter was open. The car is invisible except for the pattern traced by its headlights across the bottom of the picture.

A car's lights have illuminated the signs on the westbound slip road which leads onto the bypass from the Dreghorn Link road.

On the southern edge of the city at Fairmilehead, near the bypass is the former Fairmile Inn which has somewhat succumbed to entropy and nature.

Standing next to the A702 Biggar Road with the Pentland Hills nearby, this decaying building will have been noticed by countless drivers heading to and from the A720 city bypass.

This must be a sad sight to those people who attended functions here, or who used to come here for a drink or something to eat after ski-ing, golfing or hill-walking.

Nature doesn't take long to colonise derelict buildings.

We entered Craigmillar Castle Park from Old Dalkeith Road near the top of the hill. There are numerous paths through the woods as well as open fields.

Nature has reclaimed the ground at this derelict building in the woods.

The path up the hill here is more obvious. It starts at the junction of Craigmillar Castle Road and Old Dalkeith Road, not far from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary at Little France.

From the top of the hill I took this long lens shot of the Moredun Flats.

Road works cause traffic to build up on Old Dalkeith Road.

Approaching the castle from the south.

The entrance to the castle as seen from just inside the grounds.

The entrance from directly in front.

Zoomed in a little to show the studded door and the intriguing tree just inside.

To the left of the entrance is one of the guard towers with gaps for firing guns. The basin protruding from the wall is for catching rainwater.

Inside the entrance now, looking at the two trees.

Another view of the trees at the entrance.

The fireplaces are huge as befits a castle.

Many of the surviving ceilings are arched.

The original wooden floors are missing.

It becomes apparent that the castle is like a rabbit warren inasmuch as there are spiral stone staircases all over the place. It's easy to retrace your steps without realising it.

A long lens look at the Moredun Flats from the castle.

Did this pigeon originally belong so someone's pigeon loft? It's quite unusual with its colour and its fluffy legs.

One of the car parks at the nearby hospital, as seen from the castle.

Here you can clearly see where there used to be another floor.

A grand fireplace and a fine restored wooden door.

Window seats. The last picture in the castle sequence.

Having exited the park we crossed the main road to Inch Park. This is a view of the flood gauge. It's not altogether clear what units are shown. These flood defences have yet to be tested. The Braid Burn flows nearby beside the Cameron Toll Shopping Centre.

'Bingham is Barrie' proclaims the paint-job on the bus shelter, painted to resemble a bus.

The entrance to Portobello's fun fair, not far from the power station and swimming pool.

There are houses on this site now, of course. It's a pity they didn't make this a listed building like the gasworks at Granton. It might have made a good industrial museum.

Crushed, twisted metal amongst the demolition debris.

If, like me, you spent some part of your youth at Portobello open-air Swimming Pool across the road from this edifice, then you'll remember the red-brick chimney looming over you.

This disused church isn't in Craigmillar but is next to the roundabout at Kinnaird Park shopping centre at Newcraighall Road.

Another view showing part of Niddrie Cottages on the north side of Newcraighall Road. Apart from these houses and the old church, virutally everything else round here has changed since the '60s.

The first of 3 long-lens photos from Arthur's Seat. Duddingston Road West crosses the railway bridge on the left. Behind the blue building is Craigmillar Police Station. Niddrie Mains Road runs across the top of the picture beyond the caravan site.

The first of 3 long-lens photos from Arthur's Seat. Duddingston Road West crosses the railway bridge on the left. Behind the blue building is Craigmillar Police Station. Niddrie Mains Road runs across the top of the picture beyond the caravan site.

Kinnaird Park shopping centre. The Toys 'R' Us sign is legible despite being nearly 4Km distant. On the left of the picture are 2 railway bridges. The nearest is the footbridge to the Asda superstore, the one beyond carries the A1 road (Musselburgh Bypass) over the railway line.

Make way for the new! Gone are Frankie & Bennie, the multiscreen cinema and the bowling alley.

Maybe a mall will materialise...

These shed-like constructions don't take up much space once flattened.

Shop late Monday to Friday but not just yet. Soon...

Duddingston Loch photographed from the Queen's Drive, the road which circles Arthur's Seat. Duddingston Village is just visible at the far left.

This shot shows more of the nature reserve in Autumn colours. The Innocent Railway footpath and cycle path is hidden behind the trees. Part of Prestonfield golf course is visible.

Zoomed into the nature reserve a little more. A sanctuary for waterfowl - although none is actually visible.

This could have been someone's beautiful launderette. Watch out Niddrie, your edges are being nibbled away...

The previous picture was taken in March 2002. It was a dull day with flat light and was better suited to the monochromatic treatment. This time in August 2005 the sun is shining, showing the colours in all their true glory. AQQA stores is open for business.

I think this building is a better candidate for a listed building than the White House pub.

Round the corner to the left of the launderette is this mural which seems to resemble an oil refinery or chemical plant blowing up.

Next door the entire shop has been welded shut. A notice advises that ball games are prohibited. The big slab of metal covering the entire shopfront has some interesting colours and textures created by rust.

Further east is the holy land of commerce, resplendent with numerous temples to consumerism.

It's all here, everything you want. If you need groceries, you can get them from Marks and Spencer. Update 2009: All these establishments have gone with the exception of PC World.

Included here only for nostalgia reasons. It's all a bigger carpark now.

The metallic colours and textures here are prettier than those in the launderette and Wauchope Avenue pictures above, as befits this 'shopping experience'.

Sparkling turquoise and chrome - a small American car. Photo taken in August 2003. As of 2009 the Megabowl is now just an extension to the car park.

The stylised metal chickens are reminiscent of the pigeons at the corner of London Road and Leith Walk.

fortkinnaird.com proclaims the poster on the temporary fence.

Now that they've flattened a few of the premises, the car park offers interrupted views of Arthur's Seat. Photo taken 2nd February 2009.

Zooming in on Arthur's Seat shows various footpaths up the hill, clearly outlined in the snow. The horizontal line is part of Queens Drive, the road which circumnavigates the hill.

Late February 2009 and the snow has gone. Two pictures show the morning sunlight highlighting the dome-shaped bumps on the paving slabs.

Two of the very tall lamp posts dominate this picture. The nearest one shows an inspection cover, possibly big enough for a person to enter. The more distant lamp post shows the tapered pole with its ten lamps. The poles sway visibly in the wind. Arthur's Seat is visible in the background.

A misty morning in June.

When demolishing the restaurant next to PC World, they dug through a water main with this result.

The steps in the above photo after the water had been gushing for a few minutes.

The last picture in this little sequence indicates the egress. My personal favourite.

Just west of the junction of the Sir Harry Lauder Road and Baileyfield Road at Portobello is Figgate Burn Park and its pond. Arthur's Seat is in the background to the west. Figgate Burn is much shorter than the Braid Burn which joins it under the Mountcastle Drive bridge, losing its identity in the process.

As seen from the slopes of Whinny Hill, the northern part of Arthur's Seat. Visible in the middle distance are Piershill Square East and Piershill Square West. In the distance to the North is Craigentinny Golf Course, Seafield and the Firth of Forth.

This pub in Craigmillar opened at 7am every day except Sunday. There are new houses immediately to the south, just behind the pub, and more are being built nearby.

Portobello Road runs diagonally across the picture, headed towards the seaside at the Firth of Forth. The Edinburgh-London railway line runs behind Safeway's carpark and Northfield Broadway after cutting diagonally below the main road. Part of Edinburgh and Portobello Cemetery is visible at the right, behind the trees on the railway cutting.

I first remember this site at Niddrie Mains Road as B&Q's car park (and store). Since then it's been a variety of cut-price supermarkets.

A mile east of Craigmillar are the twin outdoor shopping malls of Kinnaird Park and Edinburgh Fort, on the north and south sides of Newcraighall Road respectively. This 'Road to Nowhere' leads past the rear entrance to the Fort at its south west corner.

This picture is from the path on the left of the previous picture and shows what's hidden from view by the remants of this slag-heap. There's a large open area in a triangle between Edinburgh Fort, the A6106 road (The Wisp) and the Cleikiminfield and Wisp Green houses.

A few metres further on gives surprising views, considering this spot is adjacent to a huge shopping complex. Arthur's Seat is the hill in the distance. This industrial wasteland has some wild trees. It was deserted when I was there but I suspect that it's regularly used by NEDs on unlicensed, uninsured motor bikes.

Taken from the same standpoint but zoomed in for a closer look at the burned out car. The ruts worn into the mining waste will have been made by male adolescents on motor bikes. It would be nice if the area was landscaped and turned into a park that families could use.

This shot shows the view in the opposite direction, looking east back towards Lawhouse Toll and Mothercare.

The view south west shows The Wisp road on the left and the Pentland Hills in the distance on the right.

A more recent view taken with a Pentax *ist DSLR with a long lens. Distance appears shortened here; the Gracemount flats (centre) are 4.03 kilometres distant. The beige coloured Moredun flats on either side are much nearer. The white 5-storey building on the right is Liberton Hospital.

Another view looking north east. Mothercare's logo is on the brick building on the left. Craigmillar Community Art Centre occupies the little church with the steeple. Beyond, on the north side of Newcraighall Road is the start of Kinnaird Park.

The last picture in this series is another view eastwards. A car showroom selling Maseratis looks out of place here, relocated from its former home at Colinton. B&Q's large DIY store sits right next to the embankment of the Musselburgh Bypass section of the A1 road south.

This area next to the railway line at Peffermill Road has new flats (apartment buildings) on the site of the old brewery. They look quite smart from the road and those at the back will have fine views across Prestonfield Golf Course to Arthur's Seat. This footpath in adjacent Cairntows park leads to Duddingston Road West.

This building is listed for preservation but is decaying due to the ravages of time and nids. The previous black and white picture was taken in March 2002.

Looking west along what remains of Wauchope Square. A solitary seagull sits on top of a concrete lamppost, the only type of structure still standing here. The road leading off the right is Hay Terrace.

One or two homes are still occupied but most of the windows are sealed with heavy metal shutters. This mother and children were the only souls I saw in my wanderings lasting an hour and 20 minutes.

Signs of life here include a car in Niddrie Mains Drive and a caravan in Wauchope Avenue. The caravan is used by security guards. Despite the paucity of people, the grass is kept short. Britain's hottest July ever (global warming) has turned it a bit brown.

This building has been only partly demolished and now houses a vast population of pigeons. The interior is probably not a pleasant place for a person to venture. Some interior walls are exposed and the ground floor has TOLERANCE neatly stencilled above the fireplace in big black letters.

Zooming in reveals the pigeons on the broken roof. Trees now grow up beside the back walls, covering the metal-clad windows.

One or two families must be waiting to be rehoused before demolition / reconstruction can proceed. The red colour of the blocked-off windows contrasts starkly with the dirty beige walls.

YNT have left their mark here at the roadside. YNT stands for Young Niddrie Team and their clumsy scrawls have been around for years. There's never been an Old Niddrie Team, maybe because they went on to better things.

The distinctive shape of Arthur's Seat shows that this is indeed Edinburgh. Nether Hill (on the right) is where the views of Niddrie were taken from.

A surreal landscape covering a large empty part of the city of Edinburgh. With property prices rising, this situation will not last. The old Craigmillar Primary School is at the right.

This was once someone's livingroom but is now a garden of weeds.

The ubiquitous rosebay willowherb adds a pink splash of colour to the untended greenery at the back of this block of flats and shops.

The same building as Niddrie 21 but seen from the other side. The pillar box is at the south west corner of the Niddrie Mains Road / Wauchope Avenue crossroads.

This is the security guard's caravan, seen in the distance in Niddrie 12

The corner of Wauchope Avenue and Wauchope Crescent, previously pictured.

Womanzone still occupy the top flat here. There are burglar alarms on the wall, as well as their big sign and some colourful decorations lower down.

My beatiful launderette revisited. Pictures on page 2 of this section showed how it looked a year or two previously. These images are likely to be the last ones by me.

This is my favourite shot, the row of shops in Wauchope Crescent.

This business may now finally be closed at the end of July 2006. It was still open quite recently.

The last view of this row of shops. The nids have left their mark.

Returning to the building last seen above in Niddrie 22. The right hand side has TOLERANCE stencilled on it and the roof space is a pigeon loft. At the front there are two shops and the entrance to 21 Niddrie Mains Drive. A sign on the shop on the right may be over-optimistic.

Judging by the smoke damage the fire went right up the building. The hole in the roof which lets the pigeons in and out may have been caused by the fire. If the shop ever does open up again it's unlikely to have crowds of Edinburgh shoppers flocking to its fire sale.

Some grass germinated here and took root at the rusty metal door but the recent heatwave has killed it off. The bush sprouting up on the left has got deeper roots and is still green.

This is a former chip shop which probably did rather well in the days before this was a ghost town. A high proportion of the shops in nearby Niddrie Mains Road sell take-away food.

Further west on Niddrie Mains Drive looking back along to the Wauchope Avenue Crossroads. Windblown seeds find the cracks in the pavement and there's nobody to walk on the weeds that sprout out of the tarmac.

An IRN-BRU vending machine lies smashed on Harewood road near its junction with Harewood Drive. It was probably stolen then brought here to have its money and cans of IRN-BRU removed by brute force. The perpetrators must have been thirsty or in need of cash.

The vacant lots have been mown but cleaning the gutters of weeds is too labour intensive. A lorry at the other end of Harewood Crescent is the only sign of activity.

Harewood Road connects to Peffer Place but the road is barricaded to vehicles here. Local people have left these flowers and toys here to commemorate an abandoned newborn baby found near this spot.

A final look back at Niddrie before heading west into Peffer Place.

There are some occupied premises here and this quite attractive entrance provides a contrast to the previous scenes of desolation.

These brick-built terraced houses are quite unusual for Edinburgh. Judging by the steel shutters, the intention is to preserve them.

A closer look at the defences against potential intruders. When the area is regenerated these properties could be quite desirable.

If you travel along Duddingston Road West you'll notice this block of tenement flats at the junction of Peffer Street and Peffer Place just south of the bridge over the railway. Their only unusual feature is their distance from similar blocks of flats.

Just north of the suburban railway line, looking southwest towards Peffermill Road which crosses over the train tracks near the two tower blocks. The Pentland Hills are in the distance. There's an industrial estate called King's Haugh on the right, accessible from Peffermill Road.

The former industrial area is now home to some small businesses. It's good to see some of these old stone buildings being preserved.

May 2007 and there is new housing going up nearby. This is probably my final look at this desolate urban landscape.

AQQA Stores is most likely closed for business now.

August 2009. New housing did go up but not here yet. The new houses are called Craigmillar Parc. A resident pointed out to me that Parc is Crap backwards.

Another look at this pigeon infested building on Niddrie Mains Drive and Wauchope Avenue. Lack of pedestrian traffic has allowed the weeds to grow in cracks in the pavement.

The east end of the building shown above. It's hard to tell if TOLERANCE was stencilled on this livingroom wall before or after the other walls disappeared.

The northwest corner of the once busy crossroads. Hazy morning sunshine glints on a fire hydrant cover. This area is currently very popular with learner drivers.

Wauchope Terrace is fenced off on the east side as work goes ahead. The 'Tolerance' building is in the middle distance behind a pile of rubble. Arthur's Seat can be seen in the distance.

The east end of Wauchope Crescent.

Number ten.

Looking over number 6's front garden towards those shops again. The old cinema at the rear has long since been demolished.

Looking east along Wauchope Crescent.

Apart from the buildings shown here, the whole area has now been flattened mid-September. The clearance has opened up the views which I've tried to exploit here.

A zoomed-in look at this building and its ornamented windows, painted by a variety of artists.

The empty space behind the Rex Launderette was once occupied by the local cinema.

A view across the cleared ground where houses once stood at the west end of Wauchope Crescent.

More cleared ground further east along Niddrie Mains Road.

Another wide angle view of the junction of Wauchope Avenue and Wauchope Crescent.

An updated (and possibly final) look at the Launderette and the adjacent shops.

The first of two views of the building at the north east corner of the crossroads formed by Wauchope Avenue and Niddrie Mains Drive.

Getting closer - but the wide angle lens reveals that the place is deserted. There's not a living soul in the neighbourhood.

Nature doesn't take long to reclaim tarmac. Grass and weeds are growing from cracks in the pavement. The first close-up look at the artwork in this sequence.

The changing face of number 21 Niddrie Mains Drive.

In view of these buildings' continued existence, as well as the new signs here, it seems possible that the roosting pigeons might be chased out and shops re-opened.

An overall view of number 21 and its two shops and fourteen decorated windows.

The SINGH sign and the other one are both are comparatively new. I don't know - but to my eye the pictue above the Open Soon sign looks like a self-portrait by the artist.

Looking up through a wide angle lens.

A square-on view from the other side of Niddrie Mains Drive.

Diagonal view from the edge of the footpath.

Six windows and eight works of art.

Unlike the licensed grocer, it's unclear whether a fish and chip shop will trade here again.

Again, six windows and eight works of art. (Different ones)

At the east end of the building. The ground next to it has been tidied up since my previous photos. The word TOLERANCE was previously stencilled but now it's been painted by hand.

A closer look. The new artwork implies moneygrabbing by unknown person(s).

From further back we can see the recognisable shape of Arthur's Seat as well the Queen's Drive following a contour line half way up.

In this view trees at Duddingston Golf Course can be seen at the north side of the suburban railway line. Arthur's Seat is mostly hidden.

This fence is at the east side of Wauchope Terrace. New buildings are being erected behind it.

Photographed from the unofficial path connecting the Royal Infirmary to Greendykes.

A bleak vision awaits those visiting Greendykes in 2009. The remaining houses are almost totally empty now, except for the multi-storey flats.

The criss-cross effect of the grass was never intended in this communal clothes-drying area. A crack or gap is all grass needs to thrive once the people have gone.

There are one or two houses still occupied here it seems. Not all the windows have metal shutters. Someone has covered up the word Greendykes but left the word Gardens on the sign.

The houses await demolition. The doors and windows are shuttered with metal to keep out those who would start fires or steal copper pipe.

The tiles are peeling on this floor - all that remains of a leveled building. In the distance are the two blocks of flats: Wauchope House and Greendykes House.

Portobello October 2015 - Neglected by me because it's awkward to get to from Bruntsfield - so I cycled there.

The app used for these two photos was Smooth Reflection.

Markedly contrasting styles of architecture overlooking Portobello beach and the Firth of Forth.

Zoomed right in on those ornate bay windows.

More stark contrasts here. The building with the welcome sign takes its name (Tower Amusements) from the adjacent tower.

An extreme long lens look towards Gullane from Portobello Beach. The difference in air temperature close to the water refracts the light giving a mirage-like effect at this magnification.

Another long lens photo looking towards North Berwick Law. The effect referred to in the previous picture gives the illusion of cliffs below the trees.

The second visit two days later was also blessed with sunshine. I diverted via picturesque Figgate Park and took these two photos at the pond.

The railings and benches along the promenade are this shade of pale green which complements the colour of the sand. Salty sea air means regular maintenance is needed.

That green colour stands out again in the benches along the prom. Despite it being October it's a pleasant afternoon and people are out for a walk.

Seafield is not number one as a tourist destination. Part of Leith Docks is visible behind.

The building at the corner of Brunstane Road North is reminiscent of some at Bruntsfield. There's that nice green paint job again on the iron traffic bollards.

Red sandstone tenements on the left are a familiar sight in many parts of Edinburgh.

Looking towards the east end of Portobello Promenade at Joppa.

Tower Amusements have been here for decades. I remember coming here after swimming in Portobello Pool (open air with a wave machine).

A long lens view looking east towards Joppa

When I parked my bike against the wall I left its camera running and accidentally got this shot of this young lad watching me eating my chocolate ice cream.

First in a sequence walking west from Portobello. Former cinema, bingo hall.

wee house in Bath Street

Figgate Burn

This and the remainder are from a walk westwards from Portobello to Leith.

To continue to Leith Docks via Seafield see the separate page.