Locals take the long way home through Stockbridge, and one morning here shows why.
It was a village outside Edinburgh until the city grew down the hill and swallowed it. It never quite accepted the fact. Lower buildings, more sky, a river at the bottom and a Sunday market of its own. Here's how to spend a morning.
Start on the bridge
Stand on the bridge on Deanhaugh Street and look upstream. There's a man standing in the river. He's cast iron, by Antony Gormley, and one of six between the galleries and the sea.
Circus Lane
Round the corner off North West Circus Place. A curved mews lane built for coach houses, now the most photographed street in the neighbourhood. It's at its best in the hour before sunset, when the light from the windows catches the cobbles. People live here. Keep it quiet and keep moving.
St Stephen Street
Basement shops, antiques and bars. Look for the stone arch on St Stephen Place. It's all that's left of the old Stockbridge Market, built in the 1820s. Golden Hare Books is on this street too, with a wood burning stove and an opinionated selection.
The Colonies
Rows of small stone houses built from 1861 by a cooperative of working men who were tired of renting. Check the gable ends for carved plaques of the trades that built them.
The Botanics and Inverleith Park
Cross the river at the far end of the Colonies and follow the signs to the West Gate of the Royal Botanic Garden. It's free, and it has been collecting plants since 1670.
Then cross the road to Inverleith Park. Walk to the pond and turn round. Castle, Old Town and Arthur's Seat in one line. It's one of the best views in Edinburgh, with no climb and no queue.
Back through the village
Come down through the park to Raeburn Place. The painter Henry Raeburn laid out this estate, and the first rugby international was played on the ground here in 1871. Scotland beat England. One block south is Ann Street, named for his wife, with front gardens, which are rare in Georgian Edinburgh.
Sunday
The market on Saunders Street runs on Sundays. It's small and it fills fast. By one o'clock on a dry Sunday you're queueing for everything, so go early.
Where to eat and drink
Books and Cups for a quiet coffee. Go early.
The Raeburn if the sun is out.
Lannan on Hamilton Place, if you can face the queue. The custard slice is worth it.
Eòrna, on the same street, if you want the meal of your trip. Twelve seats. Book weeks ahead.
Getting there
Fifteen minutes downhill on foot from Princes Street, by Frederick Street and Howe Street. The full loop, 4 km with a sketch map, is walk four in Ten Walks Around Edinburgh.
Walk it with StoryLed
Stockbridge is the neighbourhood. The Old Town is where the stories are. The StoryLed Old Town walk takes six guests at most through the closes and courtyards off the Royal Mile. Three hours, led by a resident of twelve years, with a list of where to eat tonight when you're done.
