Great floods in the Water of Leith

I do apologise for the brevity of my tone, indeed the lack of substance in the article which follows, but I have just borne witness to a most unusual sight, and I hope the photographs included below do go some way to justifying such a journalistically uncharacteristic short article.

Edinburgh has today received a rather shocking amount of rainfall - especially given the season. Naturally, after such a spectacle, one could expect the resulting surges of the rivers and streams to be nothing short of spectacular themselves. Indeed, this was my prerogative for taking the path I did this evening, down to the Water of Leith walkway at the Modern Art Gallery, thence to Dean village by means of the path. The Water itself was fascinating, moving at a pace I had seen rarely, save for the fresh mountain spring, but with a tempestuosity as yet to be paralleled. Great tonnes of water came barreling down, at a velocity quite unusual for that section of the Water.

As I made for Dean Village, I was stopped in my tracks by a person coming the other way. “It’s rather flooded that way”, she warned, though I decided to try to get as far as I could before turning back. I felt the upcoming weir must be rather impressive. As it turns out, she was very much correct - in fact the walkway which sits astride the weir had indeed become part of the weir! But not even so much as that mattered - for the path a good hundred feet prior was a good measure underwater, perhaps beginning at about a foot, going to a good three or four by the crest of the weir itself.

I decided that perhaps it was the best course to take the steps back up the steep banks of the valley, and make for Dean Village by the road. It was certainly less flooded than the walkway - though in places puddles had formed. I ventured cautiously to the entryway to the Water of Leith - a few yards downriver from where the flooding had made the path impassible. It was there that I saw a most unusual sight - the railings showing the spectacular extent of the flooding. I stood in the middle of the bridge for a good while, watching the water rush underneath, youthful as a spring, full as an estuary - a deadly combination I am certain were one to be unlucky enough to enter.

I was, by this point, entirely sodden through, having foregone my waterproof coat on account of the temperature. It was something of a relief indeed - and I was past the point of trying not to get wet, and indeed just embraced the rain. I concur I must have been quite a sight, being entirely drenched. I trotted on through Stockbridge, and back up to Haymarket by way of St. Mary’s Cathedral. The bellringers were at work and I stopped for ten minutes, alone in the rain to admire the majesty of the building and their work.

It was thereafter though, back home post-haste for a warm change of clothes, a towel, and a cup of tea.

Tagged as: walks outdoors