Leith combines maritime history with whisky experiences and events. When planning your visit, it’s worth distinguishing the offerings by their focus: historic sites and tours, experiences at the Port of Leith Distillery, and festivals, markets and walking routes. This will help you decide whether you’d rather devote your time to culture, tastings, events or getting active.
Maritime History and Culture
Trinity House was the headquarters of the Incorporation of Mariners and Shipmasters of the Port of Leith. Events are regularly held there exploring its collections and Leith’s maritime history. Alongside the building’s historic role, there is also a recurring cultural programme to discover.
Another historic landmark is Leith Theatre, which first opened in 1932. Visitors to the Royal Yacht Britannia can explore five decks on a guided tour, available in 42 languages. These experiences have different emphases: the history of an institution and a theatre on the one hand, and a tour of a yacht’s decks on the other.
Whisky Experiences with Different Focuses
The Port of Leith Distillery offers a 90-minute flagship experience exploring the building’s architecture and the whisky-making process. Visitors also fill their own miniature bottle of the spirit. There is also a one-hour whisky tasting featuring four drams, including grain whiskies, malts, blends and single casks.
The two experiences differ in both duration and content: the flagship experience focuses on the building and production, while the tasting is about sampling the four types of whisky. This gives you a practical basis for choosing, depending on which part of the subject you’d like to spend more time on.
Festival, Pageant and Weekly Market
Leith Festival week features music, theatre, exhibitions and workshops in Leith. It ends with the free Leith Festival Tattoo at the Shore. During Leith Festival, a pageant also proceeds along Leith Walk on the second Saturday in June, heading to Gala Day at Leith Links.
Leith Market is a different kind of event, with a regular weekly date: it takes place every Saturday at Dock Place. It offers food and drink, as well as distinctive products from local makers and designers. The festival and the market therefore differ in both their content and timing. As the market day may change, check the current schedule before visiting.
The Water of Leith Walkway
The Water of Leith Walkway stretches for 13 miles and ends at Leith, where it flows into the Firth of Forth. Here, the focus is on a longer route rather than a one-off event or tasting. The walkway is suitable for cycling and is also partially accessible by wheelchair and on horseback.
This distinction is important when choosing the right activity: cycling is listed as an option, while wheelchair and horse access is only available on some sections. Together with the distillery’s clearly timed experiences and the different cultural programmes, this provides a practical overview of the various ways to discover Leith.
Discover more destinations: Newbridge, Ratho, Currie, Queensferry.
For the main travel overview: Edinburgh.
