Edinburgh

Leith by Tram – The Shore, Britannia and Newhaven Harbour

A day on foot, from St Andrew Square tram stop to Newhaven tram stop.

The route

Leith was a town of its own until 1920 and Edinburgh's port for centuries, and this day takes the tram down Leith Walk to find it.

It starts on Leith Links, where the oldest known rules of golf were written in 1744, and walks down the Kirkgate, past Trinity House, the old mariners' hall, to the Shore for lunch, where the Water of Leith meets the docks and Mary, Queen of Scots came ashore in 1561. The afternoon belongs to the Royal Yacht Britannia at Ocean Terminal, and the tram takes you on to Newhaven, the old fishing village at the end of the line, for its harbour, its little lighthouse and fish and chips. It's about 2.5 miles on foot, nearly all of it level.

Before you go

Book a bed near the city centre
Stay anywhere near Princes Street and the tram takes 12 minutes from St Andrew Square to Foot of the Walk, where the day begins. Edinburgh's visitor levy adds 5% to the first five nights of any paid stay, from 24 July 2026.
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Book Royal Yacht Britannia
A Britannia ticket is for a day, not a time, and it's £2 cheaper booked online than at the door, where tickets are always sold.

The day

Leith

A day by the sea without leaving the city, from the old golf links in Leith down the Kirkgate to the Shore for lunch by the water. The royal yacht fills the afternoon, and the day ends by the harbour and little lighthouse at Newhaven, the old fishing village at the end of the line. Set off from St Andrew Square at about 10.15am.

Leith Links
It's a 12-minute tram ride from St Andrew Square down Leith Walk to Foot of the Walk, then 5 minutes' walk by Constitution Street and Laurie Street to the cairn at the west end of Leith Links. The oldest known rules of golf were written for a competition here in 1744, and the 1994 cairn shows the five holes played. Five minutes east, on the north side, David Annand's bronze of 2019 shows John Rattray, the first captain, about to tee off, with the 1744 rules on a plaque.
16 min on foot
Leith Shore
An attraction
Walk 16 minutes by Links Lane and Constitution Street, then through the churchyard of North and South Leith Parish Church and down a few steps to the Kirkgate, where Trinity House, the old mariners' hall, faces the church. Go on down Water Street, past Lamb's House of about 1610, to the Shore. Opposite the King's Wark, a plaque at the water's edge marks where Mary, Queen of Scots landed in 1561. Walk the quay past the Signal Tower to the Victoria Swing Bridge, then stop for lunch.
More about Leith Shore
12 min on foot
Royal Yacht Britannia
An attraction
It's a 12-minute walk across the river and west along Ocean Drive to Ocean Terminal, and up to its second floor for the Royal Yacht Britannia, the royal family's yacht from 1954 to 1997. Go in at about 1.30pm. The audio tour starts on the Bridge and takes you through the State Apartments and the crew's quarters down to the gleaming engine room. Have tea in the Royal Deck Tearoom at about 3, once the lunch queue has gone, and give her two and a half hours in all.
More about Royal Yacht Britannia
4 min by tram, 7 min on foot
Newhaven
An attraction
It's a 4-minute tram ride from Ocean Terminal to Newhaven, the end of the line, then 7 minutes' walk to the harbour. On the way, the old Victoria School on Main Street is now the Heart of Newhaven, with the story of the Newhaven fishwives, open to look round until 5pm, Monday to Saturday. James IV's warship the Great Michael was launched here in 1511. The little lighthouse on the pier dates from 1869. Finish with fish and chips from the Fishmarket, held tight against the gulls, and take the tram home.
More about Newhaven

If it rains

In rain, the day holds well. Leave out Leith Links and walk straight down the Kirkgate from Foot of the Walk to the Shore, 10 minutes, and have lunch inside. Britannia is indoors, with lifts joining all five decks and only the open decks needing a coat, and its ticket is for the day, so go aboard as early as you like. After it, the Port of Leith Distillery's top-floor bar is 4 minutes' walk away, open from noon Wednesday to Sunday. At Newhaven, eat in the Fishmarket's dining room rather than on the harbour wall.

Worth a detour

Trinity House
On a Friday from April to September, Historic Environment Scotland opens Trinity House, the hall of Leith's Masters and Mariners on the Kirkgate, for booked guided tours at 11am and 1pm. Take a tram at about 9.35am instead: after the Links you'll be at the door by about 10.40, in good time for the 11am tour, an hour among the portraits, maps and navigation instruments of a house of 1818 built over the vaults of an older one. Book online ahead: £7.50 an adult in 2026. Then go on down the Kirkgate to the Shore.
The Leith History Mural
Leith's big history mural is by the river. Follow the Water of Leith upstream from the Shore by Sandport Place and Coalie Park to Ferry Road. There, Tim Chalk and Paul Grime's mural of 1986 covers a gable where Great Junction Street meets Ferry Road and North Junction Street, Leith's port and people drawn from local memories, faded now. Leith Theatre's art deco front is beside it, open only for its events. Walk on up North Junction Street to Ocean Terminal, about 8 minutes more than the direct way.
Port of Leith Distillery
A 4-minute walk from Britannia on Whisky Quay, the Port of Leith Distillery is built as a tower, and its bar on the top floor looks out over the docks and the Forth. It's open from noon, Wednesday to Sunday, until 9pm, or 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays; there's a lift, and tables are kept for walk-ins. The tour and tasting take about 90 minutes, from £25, booked ahead.