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The Portobello Bottle Kilns, two brick kilns shaped like bottles beside new flats on a bright day.
Lothian

Portobello Bottle Kilns

Two bottle-shaped pottery kilns of 1906 and 1909 at Portobello, the last traces of the town's potteries and the last of their kind in Scotland.

Welcome

A short walk from Portobello beach, in a street of new flats, stand two tall brick kilns shaped like old bottles.

They are the last traces of the potteries that once made Portobello busy, and the last of their kind left in Scotland.

They were built in 1906 and 1909 for the Thistle Pottery of A. W. Buchan and Co. Today the kilns are listed and have been restored and repaired to keep them standing, and an information board tells their story.

The women who once decorated the pottery are part of it too. Each painted her own mark on the pots she decorated, and in 2023 a group of former decorators worked with the artist Nicky Bird on a colourful banner round one of the kilns. It takes only a few minutes to see them on the way to the sea.

Round the cornerShrimpwreckA seafood shack on the promenade at Portobello, serving shrimp buns, burgers and fries through a hatch to eat by the sea.1 min by roadSee itCustomer at the wooden Shrimp Shack kiosk beneath coloured flags
Before you go

In the street, seen at any time.

Where
Bridge Street, Portobello, EH15 1DB.
Built
1906 and 1909.
Pottery
A. W. Buchan and Co.
Where it is

On Bridge Street by Pipe Street in Portobello, a short walk from the beach, EH15 1DB.

Close byPortobello.
  1. Cyclist passes Oscar's ice cream kiosk with painted barrels outsideOscar's on the PromUnder a mile 1 min by road
  2. The Portobello BookshopThe Portobello BookshopAn independent bookshop on Portobello High Street, opened in 2019 in an old tackle shop, with a thoughtfully chosen stock and author events.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Portobello BeachPortobello BeachThe sands a few steps away.Under a mile 2 min by road
  4. Empty plates and coffee cups on a wooden table overlooking a sandy beachThe Beach House, PortobelloThe cafe on the promenade.Under a mile 2 min by road
  5. Coade Stone ColumnsCoade Stone ColumnsThe old columns on the prom.Under a mile 4 min by road
Directions
Customer at the wooden Shrimp Shack kiosk beneath coloured flagsRestaurantsShrimpwreckA step away
Cove shop front listing gifts, skincare and jewellery, covescotland.com signage aboveAttractionsPortobello’s High Street0.3 miles
Cyclist rides past a mural-painted pink kiosk on the promenade under coloured flagsRestaurantsCiverinos Slice0.5 miles
Woman standing between a gallery and Twelve Triangles bakery shopfrontAttractionsThe Velvet Easel0.6 miles
Cyclist rides past a mural-painted pink kiosk on the promenade under coloured flagsAttractionsPortobello Promenade0.8 miles
Rocky outcrop on a snow-dusted hill before Edinburgh's tenement rooftops and chimneysAttractionsMargaret Hall’s Cairn1.8 miles
Water of Leith winds through Dean Village beneath timber-fronted tenements and stone wallsAttractionsAround Duddingston village2.0 miles
Pink chaise longue in a hallway with chandelier and dark red wallsRestaurantsRhubarb2.1 miles over the water
White-washed Sheep Heid Inn Duddingston with black-framed windows and a ram's head signRestaurantsSheep Heid Inn2.2 miles
The Daily for 19 October, from Scotland with love. bare tree stumps standing in an autumn loch, forested hills reflected in the still water

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the kilns, and when each is next free.

A turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • 3 miles from the Portobello Bottle Kilns
Check datesA man walks past Bucken Booths entrance flanked by black lamp postsOld Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • 3 miles from the Portobello Bottle Kilns
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • 3 miles from the Portobello Bottle Kilns
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Lothian
  • 4 miles from the Portobello Bottle Kilns
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in LothianAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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