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Leith Walk
Leith has been described as "halfway between decay and the future". Until recently Leith Walk (the stretch between Princes Street and Leith) has shown more signs of decay than anything else.
But something strange is happening on Leith Walk - in between betting shops and greasy spoons brightly painted shop fronts are appearing, chrome and glass blocks adorn bar/restaurants. Now obviously glass blocks have been around for so long in most areas that they're practically old fashioned - just not on Leith Walk.
For several hundred years Leith was separate from Edinburgh, in 1833 it became a burgh in it's own right and in 1920 it was incorporated into Edinburgh. Halfway up Leith Walk was The Boundary Bar, so called because it marked the boundary of Leith and Edinburgh.
Inside the pub there was actually a line showing the boundary and before licensing laws were changed people would shuffle over the line to the Leith side to get extra drinking time.
Earlier this year The Boundary Bar was re-opened after being closed down and done up. Previously it was one of Irvine Welsh's favourite drinking holes as well as having the reputation as being the most violent pub in Edinburgh.
One tale/urban myth tells of a drinker beating another into unconsciousness, stamping on his head and leaving the pub, only to return to revive him with water and carry on the beating.
It was a pub with a lot of history and many weren't impressed when it re-opened with a new name, 'City Limits' and laminate flooring. Other traditional pubs have had the same treatment and many of the regulars sit clutching pints looking confused the their new 'light and airy' surroundings.
Sofas have found their way in and sticky carpets have been taken out. With more and more of the heavily fly-postered windows of boarded up shops being cleared it seems that the old school of Leith Walk are up and leaving too.
Shops that have been there for years now display signs in their windows claiming "leaving Leith Walk before the yuppies move in" and "made an offer we couldn't refuse".
New flats are springing up in every available space, most seem to be sold before the building is even finished, all are extortionately priced. Apparently having an overpriced home squeezed between the sorting office and Poundstretcher is very in on Leith Walk.
Just across the road the bus depot lies empty waiting for developers, planning and residents committees to come to an agreement on just how many flats can or can't be crammed into the space.
While it's still possible to get no end of second hand (dare I say stolen?) goods, a decent fry up or one of those lovely pictures with moving waterfall effect there's no doubt that the wind of change is howling up Leith Walk. The day a shop opened selling paper mache fish we knew things were never going to be the same again. |
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