Edinburgh retro: looking back at Leith Walk over the years

Part of our Edinburgh retro series, this video looks back at Leith Walk over the years.

Transcript

00:00 Hello I'm Neil from the Evening News and this video is part of a retro series

00:04 where we look back at historic pictures of Edinburgh. In this video we'll be

00:09 looking at pictures from Leith Walk over the years.

00:13 Here we see a bird's-eye view of Leith Walk and the surrounding streets in 1977.

00:18 In this picture you can spot the old railway bridge across Leith Walk which

00:22 was built in the early 1900s by Caledonian Railway as part of their new

00:27 Leith line. Locals were faced with piling rubbish on Leith Walk during the

00:32 Binman strike in November 1987. Much like today Leith Walk was a bustling

00:39 street in 1898 and in this picture we can see Leith's original horse-drawn

00:44 trams. While you can still find some strange shops on Leith Walk today you

00:50 won't find a gun store but from the 1970s to 1990s the Edinburgh Street was

00:55 home to Guns and Ammo which sold air guns and hunting goods.

01:00 Here we see Hillside Church which used to sit at the top of Leith Walk during

01:05 its demolition in April 1989.

01:09 Decorated floats and lorries drove down Leith Walk to celebrate the Leith

01:14 pageant in June 1986. Here we see a brass band marching down Leith Walk en route

01:20 to Leith Links celebrating the Scottish Miners Gala Day.

01:25 Another picture from that day shows miners showing solidarity with the

01:30 National Union of Seamen as they ride down Leith Walk in a float.

01:34 Long before the Trams to New Haven project construction workers installed

01:38 the original tram lines on Leith Walk in 1904.

01:43 This picture from 1964 shows the 10-foot high bronze statue of Queen Victoria

01:49 standing tall at the foot of Leith Walk which was erected in 1907.

01:54 And finally this picture shows apprentices waiting to start their day

01:58 outside Bertram and Son on Leith Walk in June 1966.

02:04 If you'd like to check out more retro content you can visit our website at

02:08 www.enbrinews.scotsman.com and click on the retro tab.

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