Leith Waterfront & Docks

Home of the Royal Yacht Britannia

Leith is the docks area of Edinburgh but few tourists come here except to shop at the Ocean Terminal and see the Royal Yacht Britannia. The port of Leith is mostly an industrial area as docks usually are, but the rest of Leith has a unique character consisting of a mixture of old and new, industrial and fashionable.

Leith is a thriving area of Edinburgh, mixing trade and commerce with leisure and entertainment thanks to developments in recent years. There are numerous pubs and restaurants on the waterfront and the cuisine offers fresh seafood cooked in true Scottish style. Local and international events include the Festival of the Sea.

Leith is also home of two famous residents -- Royal Yacht Britannia and the Scottish Executive. The arrival of the Scottish Executive in Leith has brought development to the area and now many companies, architects and designers have their offices in the area.

After the decline the Leith experienced after World War II, it has now become a model of urban living although more must be done to attract business and tourists to the area.

The Royal Yacht Britannia - Five star Leith attraction

The most famous of Leith's local attractions is the Royal Yacht Britannia. Tourists come in huge numbers every year to board the decks of this Royal Yacht where four Royal couples spent their honeymoon including Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

The Royal Yacht Britannia has sailed more than one million miles around the globe and was finally decommissioned in 1997 marking the end of a Royal Yacht. Since 1998, the Ocean Terminal in Leith has become its permanent home. The Britannia was voted 'Best Visitor Attraction in the UK' in 1999.

Walking around the Port of Leith

If you feel like walking around, hearing the seagulls and filling your nostrils with the sea weed smell then this is a great place to spend an afternoon. The Leith harbour area is a particularly nice area.

There are still remains of the past in Leith: the old piers now populated with cormorants remind you of the Victorian era. Nowadays, it's hard to tell which dock is which partly because the Old Dock has changed. The Victoria Dock, the Albert Dock and the Edinburgh Dock are fairly intact, barely changed from the way they were in the past.

Water of Leith Walkway

The Water of Leith Walkway follows the course of the river for 12 miles from Balerno through Dean Village at the heart of the city through to the docks.

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