Last year, The City of Edinburgh Council established a new Quiet Route from Greenbank to the Meadows. Quiet Routes are developed by councils to make it easier to walk, wheel and cycle by reducing traffic, usually with the use of what are known as modal filters (planters and the like).
The Greenbank Meadows route includes several parks, as well as schools, nurseries, and residential areas. The route is popular with families walking and cycling to school, as well as those accessing green spaces, shopping areas, and the city centre, by bike.
While the route is now an important active travel corridor, it also has an interesting past. It loosely follows the first piped public water supply to Edinburgh’s Old Town. At the end of the 17th century, fresh spring water was supplied via lead and wooden pipes northwards from Comiston to Edinburgh Castle with the help of gravity and the high altitude of the springs. You will find evidence of the water supply on marker stones along the route which have the numbers 5 and 7 engraved on them. These numbers indicated the diameter of the pipes as they crossed property boundaries.
To celebrate the opening of the Quiet Route, and to encourage people to try it out and explore its surrounds, the Friends of the Quiet Route have organised a spring Treasure Hunt. If you complete it by 20 April, you can enter the prize draw for vouchers to spend at the Edinburgh Bike Co-op.
I cycled the route to try my hand, following the golden hares (with their QR codes) and pondering the clues. Where was the thoroughfare for the crème de la crème? How old is Comiston Spring House? What did Ben Wade draw a picture of? Would anyone laugh if I played Pooh sticks on my own?
I got off my bike several times to admire the spring daffodils, to examine historic buildings and walls I hadn’t noticed before, and to enjoy the views. It was a peaceful, informative, and fun cycle. And that’s what makes the Quiet Route so special. You can relax and enjoy the ride or the walk.
For information on the Quiet Route and the treasure hunt, see https://sites.google.com/view/friendsofthequietroute/home?authuser=0
