General Category > Rides and Touring

Edinburgh Advice Needed

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Rowan:
Wanting to get from Balerno to Haymarket Station.

Was thinking of following the Leith Walkway until it meets the Union canal then following that to its end.  Is this  sensible option for a road bike with 28c tyres ?  Is an hour ample time ?


Relayer:
I have cycled the Water of Leith Walkway a few times up to a couple of years ago on 32mm tyres without any issues; I think it would be fine with 28mm but it did get very messy in wet weather.

The trip is about 10 miles but I'm not sure about an average speed given unpaved surfaces by the Water of Leith, negotiating past walkers/dogs and other cyclists, and very narrow cobbled surfaces over the Slateford Aquaduct and under the many bridges on the canal towpath.

Personally I would go by road unless you are going at morning rush hour when the main road gets extremely congested. Given it is mostly downhill and with a prevailing tailwind I would expect to do it well within an hour on roads.

FifeingEejit:
Ride to Currie and hop on a train in from there?
Or ride up through the uni and onto the union canal tow path IIRC it's much wider and more speed friendly.

fimm:
This is my neck of the woods.
If this journey is to be made soon, I would not touch the Water of Leith path with anything other than a mountain bike as sections of it will be very, very muddy. Canal towpath is tarmac and would be fine, but I wouldn't bother. The road is much faster
I cycle the A70 from Balerno through Juniper Green and Currie and down towards Haymarket most weeks. It is a busy road but there's nothing exceptional about it.

Rowan:
thanks for the replies, think I will take the advice about not following the water of leith  (was in edinburgh yesterday and it was pretty big flowing through dean village and stockbridge).   So as I will be coming through livingstone following the almond, thought I would head north east and join the union canal, its only a couple of klicks

Don't fancy the roads in Edinburgh, I have little experience of city cycling so on this occasion will stick to cycling only routes.

hopefully doing all this on Friday, coming in from Bigger - should be a bit of an adventure, haven't been out of the borders on the bike for a while

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