The Most Popular Running Routes around Edinburgh

One of Edinburgh’s great charms is that it packs a lot of different hamlets and terrain into a city that’s small enough for residents to walk everywhere. From the gothic ‘wynds’ of the Old City, to the green expanse of the Meadows, the seaside stretches down by Leith Portobello, and the crags of Arthur’s Seat, you could run every day for a year in Edinburgh and never take the same route.



One spot where you’re guaranteed to see joggers out and about, whether it’s the peak of summer or the depths of winter, is the Meadows, a large public park just south of the city centre. One or two laps around the Meadows provides a scenic, if short, run, and can easily be accessed by anyone who lives, or is staying, fairly centrally.



Another highly popular and scenic run is along the Union Canal, which starts in Fountainbridge near the city’s centre, and runs all the way out along 31.5 miles (50.6 kilometres) to Falkirk. In spring and summer runners will likely be able to watch boats travelling up and down the stretch of water, from professional rowers to leisurely canal sailors. You can run for as long as you like along the canal, but beware – once you’re outside the city limits, opportunities to cross the canal become few and far between, so the only way back is often the way you came.

The more adventurous might also trial a run up Arthur’s Seat in Holyrood Park – a short, though steep, run which will reward joggers with unrivalled views over Edinburgh and the surrounding countryside. Fans of the seaside rather than the hills, meanwhile, can run the three miles (five kilometres) from the city centre to Portobello Beach and then continue along the scenic promenade. Those who find themselves exhausted after this endeavour can even catch a bus back into town.



One spectacularly scenic run which is curiously absent in much of the running information relating to Edinburgh is the path along the Water of Leith, the main river running through the city. The river flows for 24 miles (35 kilometres) from Colzium Springs in the Pentland Hills, all the way to the Shore at Leith, where it joins the sea at the Firth of Forth, while the Water of Leith Walkway runs beside the river for 12.25 miles (19.6 kilometres) from Balerno to Leith.



The most popular spot to join the riverside walk is at Dean’s Village, a beautifully picturesque ravine very close to the city centre, which is home to historic water mills and heritage buildings. Runners can then follow the Walkway down to Leith and back, passing by the remnants of railway tracks, tunnels, bridges and aqueducts along the way.



Besides these popular and scenic routes, though, runners can head off at a jog in any direction in Edinburgh and be guaranteed of an invigorating and picturesque run – in fact, the only time when running in Edinburgh becomes less than a pleasure is when the entire city is buried beneath three feet of snow!