ALL PHOTOS CLICK FULL SCREEN
Village window box with Halloween theme. This made me smile. Another bus visit to Edinburgh from Glasgow but as I'm flexible in my plans, having intended to do another one of Edinburgh's seven hills and a sunny day predicted I changed them on arrival as I found both cities still misty and it looked like it would linger. Typical autumn weather in Scotland.
Edinburgh Castle. As I might not see much of the city up a hill I instead jumped a number 10 bus to Bonaly on Princes Street. I would go to nearby Colinton instead as I knew a series of impressive murals had been painted there in Colinton Tunnel and in Cuddies Lane in the village.
Lothian buses have been named National bus operator of the year and I can see why. Most of the stops have an automated bus list which tells you when they are due, where they all go, and how long to the next one. It's the same inside each bus with each stop mentioned out loud and visually on a screen. With an over 60s or under 22, national entitlement card etc it's free. You just need to stand at the correct bus stop on the right street. Full 'Edinburgh Bus Routes' are available to look up online and the attached route map shows you where they go through the city, including bus stops. Easy. ( Lothian buses. Bustimes.org is the best one for me.) I'd already used the 10 bus to get to Wester Craiglockhart and Easter Craiglockhart Hills so I was feeling almost like a local by now. I got off at Rustic Cottages bus stop in Colinton.
From there it was only a short 10 minute walk down to Spylaw Park and the Water of Leith. Full autumn colours on show. A Collins Edinburgh Street Map is handy to have as well.
Several murals exist in Spylaw Park...
These are two of them.
It is quite a long curving tunnel and inside is a wonderland of different murals set to the Robert Louis Stevenson poem, which I must admit I had never heard before now but it is a good one.
Full mural info here. Mural painted by a local Edinburgh artist and friends as it entailed a huge amount of work just to prime it, scraping and filling in gaps to create a smooth surface for the mural to go on. Because it is inside a tunnel and covers every surface it has a huge visual impact and I came out the other end thinking I had viewed one of the true modern wonders of Scotland.
Artist on the bridge. It's a matter of personal taste of course but give me something like this every time rather than a pile of bricks, an unmade bed, or a paint dribbler. It must have took ages... but a real achievement. Up until now Glasgow has been the mural city, with many full sized gable end commissioned iconic works but arguably it needed a mural trail, not having a hilltop castle, a skyline of volcanoes, or a well preserved ancient street layout at it heart. Murals have arrived late in Edinburgh and indeed I've still not seen many in the city centre district but this has certainly put Colinton Village on the mural map. A small car park is near the murals off Gillespie Road, B701 and about a dozen cars were already parked up when I arrived plus a dozen local families with their young children were already inside.
Not surprised it's popular. It is magnificent art on show. And it's free for now. No car park charge... yet.
I would recommend anyone to see this... and you have the Water of Leith walkway/ cycletrack running in both directions, a scenic village to explore, and wooded dells/ valleys to walk through.
The stonework/ bridge over The Water of Leith at Colinton.
Words to the RLS poem, a prolific Edinburgh author who also produced classic books like Kidnapped, Treasure Island, and The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Troubled by ill health all his days he only made it to 44 years of age yet made a huge mark on popular culture, worldwide.
This giant mural is a massive tribute to his talent and also the modern artists, funders, and helpers who created it.
All the young children in the tunnel loved it as well, shouting out together to see if it had an echo and jumping up and down in excitement.
Crowd at the train station.
Going through the tunnel on foot.
The magic realm.
Mushrooms and Toadstools.
Witch and Dragon.
Scottish Piper.
Not content with that the same local artist, friends, funders, and helpers have also created a village mural in Cuddies Lane in Colinton a short walk away. So I went there as well.
Village info board.
This was also a delight in even finer detail, some of it painted on wood or plastic panels by the looks of it.
A cracking mural trail.
Colinton Village Life. This is just a few of the images.
Colinton Village in past days.
So I made the very best of a misty day in Edinburgh and also got a walk along the Water of Leith walkway down to Slateford, filling in yet another jigsaw piece of modern Edinburgh.
I discovered this talented young violinist around five years ago when this video came out and had never heard this catchy song or band before so I was delighted and impressed all round. A young adult now she is an internet sensation with loads of videos and cover songs. But this still remains my favourite. Boldly marches up to the camera and stuns with a confident delivery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEPVwM9ruIo&list=RDoEPVwM9ruIo&start_radio=1
6 comments:
Wow! i rarely stray out of the centre of Edinburgh, but that is worth looking out for.
but... were there any donkeys? (Cuddy Lane) I like the 'history of Colinton Village' type murals best - interesting to see those. Good idea for an activity on a dreish day though...
Hi Anabel, That was only the start of the murals I found on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Luckily they are all on Lothian bus routes and relatively easy to find once you know where they are. I've really enjoyed my Edinburgh trips. Darker and colder nights creeping in now though. No longer feels like summer when the sun disappears.
No donkeys. Need to go to Spain for that where they filmed all the spaghetti westerns. Yes, or a wet or windy day as it sits down in a wooded gorge. Nice and sheltered from the elements.
I love RLS but I didn't know that poem either! The artwork in the tunnel is amazing! Those last few of the figures made me do a double take, I thought they were real. Being honest here, many murals look like messy graffiti to me and even if well done, don't fit in with the area. The opposite is true here. The thought and skill behind this is stunning. Thanks very much for showing us. Oh and that autumnal photo with the trees? That looks like a painting!
Hi Kay, Just wrapped up my last Edinburgh bus trip today but that means I've still got about 6 or 7 posts still to come on Edinburgh that I've done in the last few weeks. Glad I'm not as active as this every month as I'd have a huge backlog to deal with.
Post a Comment