artwoodland

Dean Village: the Belford gorge and the modern-art galleries

Two galleries of modern art, a wooded river gorge, the Dean Cemetery, and the old milling village below.

Photo: Grousebeater2 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

3.3 km

Time

~ 80 min

Difficulty

Moderate

Start

Haymarket

End

Stockbridge (Lothian Buses)

Best at

afternoon

Right now

15°C· Fog

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Edinburgh keeps its modern art and its prettiest village in the same wooded gorge, ten minutes from Princes Street and somehow nobody's there. The Water of Leith cuts a green ravine through the west of the city, and along it sit two galleries, a Telford bridge, a Victorian cemetery full of the famous dead, and the milling village that fed the old town. This is the art-and-woodland walk, best in the afternoon when the gallery light is good and the gorge is in leaf.

Start at Modern One, with Charles Jencks's grass ramparts on the lawn, then cross to Modern Two and the reconstruction of Paolozzi's studio — both free, both a single visit really. East to the Dean Cemetery, where half of clever Edinburgh lies under the cedars, then out to the Dean Bridge: Telford's 1831 span, a hundred feet over the river.

Drop into Dean Village for Well Court and the old mills, then take the Water of Leith path downstream past St Bernard's Well to Stockbridge, where the walk ends with a drink and a bus.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 106 m·↓ 109 m·40–68 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
Modern One
Start at the first of the two modern-art galleries, set back from Belford Road in its own grounds. Charles Jencks landscaped the front lawn into great grass ramparts; the building behind holds the Scottish moderns. Free to enter, and the grounds are worth it even if you skip the rooms.
01
Modern One
Start at the first of the two modern-art galleries, set back from Belford Road in its own grounds. Charles Jencks landscaped the front lawn into great grass ramparts; the building behind holds the Scottish moderns. Free to enter, and the grounds are worth it even if you skip the rooms.
02
2
Modern Two
Cross the road to its twin — the old orphanage that now holds the Paolozzi gift, including the reconstruction of his London studio, a glorious chaos of casts and clutter. The two galleries are a single visit pretending to be two. Take both.
02
Modern Two
Cross the road to its twin — the old orphanage that now holds the Paolozzi gift, including the reconstruction of his London studio, a glorious chaos of casts and clutter. The two galleries are a single visit pretending to be two. Take both.
03
3
Dean Cemetery
East along Belford Road to the great Victorian cemetery on the gorge's edge — the resting place of half of intellectual Edinburgh, under cedars and grand monuments. Wander the upper terraces for the views down into the Water of Leith. Sombre, beautiful, and almost always empty.
03
Dean Cemetery
East along Belford Road to the great Victorian cemetery on the gorge's edge — the resting place of half of intellectual Edinburgh, under cedars and grand monuments. Wander the upper terraces for the views down into the Water of Leith. Sombre, beautiful, and almost always empty.
04
4
Dean Bridge
Telford threw this bridge across the gorge in 1831, over a hundred feet up — lean over the parapet and the river is a thread far below. The drop is genuinely vertiginous. Cross it, or drop down before it on the steep path into the village.
04
Dean Bridge
Telford threw this bridge across the gorge in 1831, over a hundred feet up — lean over the parapet and the river is a thread far below. The drop is genuinely vertiginous. Cross it, or drop down before it on the steep path into the village.
05
5
Dean Village
Down in the gorge, the old milling village where Edinburgh ground its grain for centuries — Well Court's red-tiled tenement court is the picture everyone comes for. It's tiny, so it gets crowded; come midweek or late afternoon and have it more to yourself.
05
Dean Village
Down in the gorge, the old milling village where Edinburgh ground its grain for centuries — Well Court's red-tiled tenement court is the picture everyone comes for. It's tiny, so it gets crowded; come midweek or late afternoon and have it more to yourself.
06
6
Water of Leith Walkway
Follow the river path downstream out of the village — past St Bernard's Well, a little domed temple over a mineral spring, on towards Stockbridge. The water does the navigating. End in Stockbridge for a drink; buses run from there back to town.
06
Water of Leith Walkway
Follow the river path downstream out of the village — past St Bernard's Well, a little domed temple over a mineral spring, on towards Stockbridge. The water does the navigating. End in Stockbridge for a drink; buses run from there back to town.

Dean Village: the Belford gorge and the modern-art galleries

On the map.

Things to notice.

Modern One

Modern One

Modern Two

Modern Two

Dean Cemetery

Dean Cemetery

Dean Bridge

Dean Bridge

Dean Village

Dean Village

Water of Leith Walkway

Water of Leith Walkway

Two more, on similar days.

The University: South Bridge and the Old College

Corstorphine Hill: the wooded western brae and the old village