Greener Leith Images > Leith Links to Portobello Bike Adventure (13)
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The Gang Set off....
The gang set off for Portobello Car Free Day only to be faced with our first non-bike-friendly barrier - lots and lots of steps up to the railway line. Surely this could be replaced with a ramp fairly easily?
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Setting off 2
Yes, some of our bikes are 'dressed up' as there is a best dressed bike cometition to enter in Porotobello...you can see Leith Links in the background to this photo.
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Walking over Seafield Place
The original railway bridges are gone - but the council has obviously spent money on putting these pedestrian bridges in place at some stage. They're great because the keep everyone safely above all the traffic.
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Between Seafield Crematorium and Seafield Road.
The cycle path is pretty good here - but it could benefit from a proper hard surface (like the North Edinburgh Cycle Network) - and the trees and bushes need to be thinned out to make it a bit more light and friendly.
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An Abrupt Halt at Seafield Street
The disused railway line comes to an abrupt halt at Seafield Street, so we need to find a way down to street level. Unfortunately, there is a set of really steep steps which you have to carry your bike down - not good. Or, there's an informal path at a shallower gradient that you can just about cycle up and down if you've got some mountain bike skills. If you haven't, or if it's muddy, or if you've got a push chair, or wheel chair - this part of the path is the worst bit. But again - it could be fixed fairly easily by putting in place a proper hard surfaced ramp.
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Steep Path down to Seafield Street
This is the informal path down to Seafield Street. Narrow, poorly surfaced, steep - not good.
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The Start of the Next Leg
Once we got down from the disused railway line onto Seafield Street we needed to cross Seafield Rd and join the next bit of the footpath that runs alongside the railway to Leith Docks, starting from Marine Esplanade. It would have made it much easier to cross the road if there was some sort of pedestrian crossing. You can see that the next section of path is narrow, and without a hard surface. But it is flat and away from the road.
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The Steep Path up to Seafield Road
If you haven't got a mountain bike it's quite hard to get up the steep path to Seafield Road. The path is narrow, steep and unsurfaced. Again pretty easy to fix surely?
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Half a Mile alongside Seafield Road.
For about half a mile, we needed to cycle alongside Seafield Road. The pavement is pretty wide, but more could be done to separate bikes, cars and pedestrians here.
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Portobello Ahoy!
Once off Seafield Road, there is a wide path that runs along the Portobello West Beach. Great!
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Music on the Streets at Porty Car Free Day?
Strip the Willow on Porty High Street?
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