Tag: Granton Edinburgh

Community Walking Projects

Knots, a community walk

Knots, a community walk. Saturday 26th September, 1:45pm-3.00pm. Part of the Granton:hub / Madelvic House Doors Open Day (details below). Knots community walk booking link

Madelvic House, the fifth wheel and the William Peck sphinx

The walk will involve local history, play, art activities, and nature. We will begin by learning a little about the fifth wheel and sphinx on the front of Madelvic House (below). The weaving part of our walk relates to our neighbour, United Wire, a local and international business which was once situated where Granton:hub is now. One of our other historical and contemporary industries, fishing, is the inspiration for the basic knotting practices (appropriate for children and adults) which we will use to make a joint artwork. (During the walk, we will be learning about Quipu. Quipu are record-keeping devices fashioned from knotted cords. They were historically used by various cultures in the central Andes of South America, most prominently by the Inca Empire, and used to store data and tell stories.) It will start and end at the Granton:hub / Madelvic House.

Places are limited for participants’ safety and enjoyment. It will be suitable for those with wheels / sticks. Dogs on leads will be welcome on the walk.

Tamsin Grainger is a Paths for All walk leader. In 2024/5, she was the Granton Archive Community Development Worker, and she is an experienced pedestrian.

This event is free to attend. Knots Community Walk booking link

Knot (near Iona) and Weaving (by Tamsin Grainger)

Knots, the music

I recommend a track of the same name by Lisa Hannigan from her album ‘Passenger’; the official video is good fun! “I, I tie the knots to remember in my heart.”

A varied programme at Madelvic House / Granton:hub between 11.00am – 3:30pm, including several exhibitions, an archive drop-in session and this walk

Doors Open Day Saturday 26 September 2026

Visitors will be able to enjoy a varied programme at Madelvic House / Granton:hub between 11.00am – 3:30pm, including several exhibitions, an archive drop-in session and the above walk. Booking link here

Knots – a Community Walk

Knots, a community walk for all the family on Saturday 26th September, 1:45pm-3.00pm
Community Walking Projects

Walking the Taskscape

I walked a patch of land to the side of the new Spiers Bruce Way, opposite the Granton Castle Walled Garden in Edinburgh and imagined who had walked there before me, human and other-than-human.

Walking the Taskscape* on the first Friday of June 2026
///image.flames.voted

I walk these grounds belonging to Granton Castle in 1160. As Head Gardener, I nurture the soil to provide vegetables, fruit, and herbs for my master’s table. King William the Lion is on the throne.

I proudly walk this land surrounding Grantoun House in 1479, a member of the Melville Family of Fife. I survey my many turrets and admire my grand old trees, rooted deep in the earth to shelter us from the gales coming off the Firth of Forth.

I walk this property in 1684. Appointed gamekeeper, my task is to tend the deer and fowl, providing cover for the breeding animals, and open land for my lord’s sport.

I walk across these pastures in 1834, estates which belong to Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. His cattle thrive on the rich grass.  

I walk this place in 1905, Controller of Granton Gas Works. Coal arrives from the Niddrie fields on the other side of the city, and is heated in oxygen-free furnaces to produce combustible gas. Inside the tall, round cylinders and metal frames you can see from Princes Street, the gas levels rise and fall, providing for the industries and homes of the city. 

I walk on hard, pale-brown Craigleith stone in 1920, speculating for the new quarry. Bain’s my name, and this Castle has been in ruins for years. The Corporation may have said the heritage should be preserved, but if they did, I did not get the message.

I walk along the ridge in 1952. I’m Robert Mushet and it was my father who discovered the black iron which I now smelt in the furnaces of the Steel Foundry in front of me, the most modern factory of its kind in Britain today.

I walk here in the year 2000, between rubble and stalk, stumbling over mounds of contaminated soil. This is not wasted land; it waits for fox and badger to bring barbs of Herb Bennett on its fur and for the wind to spread Fireweed seeds; starting the process of renewal.

I walk this plot in 2026, cut-off wires sticking out of the soil, debris and black plastic all around. The lone fawn over by the wall picks her way over devastated soil; recent destruction of the woods no longer offers shelter. The homeless people who lived in the Social Bite Village have been moved on, making way for blocks of flats to address the ‘declared housing emergency’.
Illustration for Walking the Taskscape by Tamsin Grainger

This was in response to a prompt for the Walking the Land June 2026 First Friday Walk provided by Caroline Morris (@curioverse on instagram)

* Taskscape is an anthropological concept introduced by social anthropologist Tim Ingold. It describes the temporally unfolding field of human and non-human activities that occur within a landscape.

Community Walking Projects

Remembrance Day for Lost Species 2025

This community walk took place along the coast from Wardie Bay to Granton / Royston (the ‘Brick’) Beach to search for flat oyster shells on Remembrance Day for Lost Species.

Date: 30 November 2025.

Time: 2-3.30pm (14.00 – 15.30).

Meet: Wardie Bay, Granton, Edinburgh.

Ending: walk to Granton (Brick) Beach and The Pitt.

We met on November 30th 2025 at 2pm to walk together and find out about the restoration of seagrass habitats and European flat oyster populations in the Firth of Forth – a species which used to be abundant and was fished to local extinction around 100 years ago. Together, we searched for evidence of these flat oysters. There was talking and sharing about the history of the oyster industry in the area. We discussed our concerns for the health of the sea and the species who live in and depend on it.

We anticipate the event lasting 1.5 hours. It may be cold, so please bring a flask of something hot and wear warm clothes and suitable footwear. We will end at The Pitt where a variety of drinks and food will be on sale.

Granton (Brick) Beach, Edinburgh

This event has been thought up by Katie Smith from Granton Community Gardeners who is working to gather local knowledge about our wildlife and build a Granton nature restoration plan, and Tamsin Grainger, local walking artist with an interest in local history and community wellbeing.

Cost: Free (you can make a donation to cover costs if you would like to). Everyone is welcome including children and dogs. This walk will be manageable on wheels. We aim to be inclusive and open.

Research and Process

Research was made in advance through consultation with Restoration Forth. An initial meeting / training session was had, and we followed their guidelines in our search for flat oysters. The knowledge gained was jointly presented to members of the public on the walk, who all participated in the search, recording and reporting process.

There was also some collaboration with Edinburgh Shoreline with whom Tamsin previously worked on the 100 Species project.

Community Walking Projects

Seaside City: revisiting the history of Edinburgh’s coastline

A Scottish Historic Buildings Trust evening event on November 12, 2025 at Riddles Court, Edinburgh with Tamsin Grainger and Dr Jonathan Gardner. Ticket link

Stretching from the River Almond to the River Esk, Edinburgh’s remarkable coastline runs from one of the few Roman ruins in Scotland to buried quarries and beaches made entirely from the rubble of the city’s demolished buildings. Through docks and ports to beach resort, nature and culture, past and present are brought together in diverse ways. 

This part of the city has enjoyed something of a revival of interest over the past few years: esplanade, beach, and shore, making new lungs for the city. How might engaging with this oldest and most ephemeral boundary of the city help us re-imagine it anew?

Jonathan Gardner is a contemporary archaeologist and critical heritage studies researcher. His work examines processes of recent and contemporary large-scale landscape transformations in the UK using archaeological methods, with his current research looking at the longstanding exploitation of Scottish hydrocarbon resources as a form of contested heritage. Gardner’s talk, ‘Washed up on the beach: revisiting the heritage of Edinburgh’s coastline‘, aims to provide an overview of some of the history and heritage of the city’s coastline and its importance for thinking about the city of the future.

Granton / Royston / the ‘Brick’ beach ©Tamsin Grainger

Tamsin Grainger is a Walking Artist and writer. Her recent work, ‘Walking Like a Tortoise’, explored the edge of Granton using maps from 1870 to the present day, each showing a different boundary line, and collected stories of peoples’ heritage and local history. This work asked, ‘How are the people who live in Granton related to each other, the wider area, and the rest of the world?’ and became an enquiry into the links between geography and community, into mapping and belonging.

1896 Granton map (annotated to show the Granton Burn and nearby wells and springs)

Tamsin’s talk, ‘A walk along the Granton Burn, from Hill to Sea’ follows a newly created map that traces the Burn’s journey from Corstorphine Hill Tower to the sea, reflecting May East’s* advice not to rely on old maps when navigating changing urban landscapes.

The Granton Burn, detail (in progress) ©Tamsin Grainger

*May East

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The Granton Boundary

Pilgrimage for COP26

Patrick Geddes (Wiki)

Community Walking Projects

Wheatley Elm Wellbeing Walk

Wheatley Elm Wellbeing Walk, May 10th 2025 (2-3.30pm).

Wheatley Elm (detail)

A free community event beginning at Granton Crescent Park with some walking, art activities and gentle exercises. Part of the country-wide Urban Tree Festival, it focuses on our local trees, ones we go past everyday, and celebrates how brilliant they are.  

Booking Link: https://urbantreefestival.org/wheatley-elm-well-being-walk

Meet here: There is a bench just inside the gate at the top of the path which runs between Granton Crescent and the bottom of Granton View and we will gather there. What3Words: ///skips.bets.aspect

Meet at Granton Crescent Park

We will visit some of the resilient and versatile Wheatley Elms in Edinburgh, find out more about this unusual species which is only found in 2 places in Britain, Edinburgh being one of them, and identify how we can benefit our sense of wellbeing besides.

A Granton Wheatley Elm

Walking, well-being ‘exercises’, art, talking and learning about the Wheatley Elm trees in the city.

All welcome – adults, children and dogs, prams and wheelchairs. Bring water and wear sensible footwear. Chocolate provided.

Contact me if you have questions. tamsinlgrainger@gmail.com

Connected links:

‘Hi, Wheatley Elm, nice to meet you…’