Greener Leith News

Sandport Boardwalk plan surfaces on The Shore

Ally — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:54:59 +0000

Former Leith Ward Councillor Rob Munn has started a new blog called Leith Notes. One of his first posts reports from a recent public meeting where developers outlined their ideas for a new boardwalk running along the Shore. We're grateful to Rob for letting us republish his report below.

Sandport Boadwalk is the working title for a plan to change the Water of Leith basin as we know it.

Some years back a company called Water of Leith 2000 put forward plans for barges along the shore line for use as houseboats. However the plans changed to office use and today the barges moored between Malmaison and the Ship on the Shore house a variety of offices.

Expansion of this scheme upstream through the inner basin and on to Bonnington weir at the Quilts had so far not materialised. Water of Leith 2000 put their property (the shoreline on both sides) up for sale by auction in 2009 but failed to find a single bidder.

Recently it was revealed that Water of Leith 2000 had changed into Bluefield and that a new plan was in the offing. Friends of the Water of Leith Basin made contact and suggested that once they had some ideas to share they would be happy to host a presentation at one of their meetings. On 4th April as part of a General Meeting of FoWL.B a presentation was made of the proposal 'Sandport Boardwalk' by well known Edinburgh architect Malcolm Fraser.

It was tentative - Malcolm had only got involved about a week before the meeting. He stressed that what was proposed would balance commercial use (that's the bit that will make the proposal economically viable) and public space (the boardwalk bit). There are no definite plans yet and planning permission will have to be sought and further detailed public consultation would be required.

Concerns were raised at the meeting regarding visual impact, the consequences of changing the Shore in this way, practicalities such as access and increased pressure on parking in the area. As the proposed structures are intended to float as the barges do it was pointed out that the silting up of the inner basin could scupper the plans.

Another concern was the effect of 'deadening' the Shore - before the barges went in people used to spill out of the bars and restaurants on the Shore on warm summer days and evenings animating the area in a social way. By contrast while the office barges are visually interesting their effect creates a barrier between the shore and the Water of Leith. This could be the effect of the what is being proposed for the upper reaches though to be fair the boardwalk could alleviate this effect by allowing people to walk around these units.

The plans need to be fully fleshed out before being exposed to full public scrutiny and consultation. I certainly want to see more about what these structures would look like and how they might look on the Leith Shore. It may be that some of it will find support and some of it won't. Malcolm Fraser is a renowned architect and capable of coming up with something interesting and challenging. Interestingly there were other locally based architects present at the meeting perhaps most notably Groves Raines Architects who have recent restored Lamb's House as a home and working architects office. Their response at this initial stage seemed to sit between lukewarm and hostile.

The Council has recently spent a lot of public money improving the road, footways and general public realm at the Shore and it looks fantastic. These plans could change the whole look of those improvements and it could be argued exploit this public investment for private gain.

One thing is clear - more public debate is needed on these proposals and much more detail of what is proposed needs to come into the public domain to allow as full a discussion as possible. There will be great interest in these proposals as the plans come forward and the public debate will be lively.
The Friends of the Water of Leith Basin are to be thanked for organising this initial presentation on Bluefield's proposals.

You can read more from Rob Munn on his blog at http://leithnotes.blogspot.co.uk/

If you would like to write a guest post for Greener Leith, get in touch.

Lochend Park - teeming with bird life

Ally — Mon, 21 May 2012 09:12:44 +0000

Everyone together - awwww.

This short video clip of goslings in Lochend Park was shot at the weekend, but the baby geese are not the only bird life to be seen there.

There's a whole load more photos on the Friends of Lochend Park Facebook page including this one of a little grebe.

And of course, if you are interested in finding out more about some of the other Spring birds you might see around Leith, check out this recent guest post by Elaine O'Mahony.

Leith Central Community Council writes to Westminster over VAT changes

Ally — Sun, 20 May 2012 21:11:33 +0000

Leith Central Community Council has written to the Westminster Government backing a campaign to abolish proposals to charge 20% VAT on alterations to historic buildings. Currently alterations are zero-rated for VAT. This helps to keep the costs of maintaining and restoring old buildings low. Adding 20% to the VAT bill will make paying for alterations much more expensive.

Given the age of many buildings in Leith, it is likely that a change of this nature could have a disproportionate effect in this area.

The letter to the Minister, from Roland Reid, Secretary of the Community Council reads:

"I am writing to you on behalf of Leith Central Community Council, Edinburgh. We discussed the implications of the changes to VAT exemption for our community at our meeting of 14 May. Our area forms part of the historic port of Edinburgh and is predominantly late Georgian/Victorian in date.

"We have a number of vacant listed community and former church buildings including some on the "Buildings at Risk" register. We are keen to see these properties sensitively altered in order that they can be brought back into use and contribute to the area's regeneration.

"However, projects involving alterations to listed buildings are often complex and costly and so the application of 20% VAT to building works will add a further disincentive to both community groups and commercial developers. The churches are no longer places of worship so would not be eligible for the newly extended ecclesiastical grant scheme.

"Listing may safeguard properties from demolition but not from vandalism and water ingress resulting from the theft of lead. Derelict buildings in key locations can have a disproportionately negative impact on a community. We therefore request that the UK government review its current budget proposal before it comes into force this October."

The community council is not alone in voicing concern over the VAT proposal. The Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland have also written to the Government calling for an urgent review of the proposals.

You can read their letter here.

Local MP, Mark Lazarowicz, has also called for the government to abandon these proposals, citing a specific concern that the proposal could hamper efforts to bring older buildings back into community use. He said:

“Alterations to buildings such as historic churches and other community buildings can be essential to enable them to continue as living buildings and to open them out to wider use by the community.

"That ought to be a good fit with the Government’s idea of the Big Society but instead it intends to introduce a massive hike in VAT which could stifle community projects like this.

"Edinburgh is world famous for its architectural heritage but our historic buildings are also widely used especially at Festival time and often that’s only possible because of alterations of this kind.

"Fundraising is already difficult enough in the current climate without increasing the target still further and I am urging the Government to think again.

"Edinburgh North and Leith includes many historic buildings in areas such as Leith and the New Town, and is likely to be particularly badly hit by the change if it goes ahead."

Although the formal consultation date on this proposal is over, if you want to make your opposition heard on this issue there is an online petition here, which has already gained more than 11,000 signatures.

Leith Central Community Council is also leading efforts to establish much of Pilrig as a Conservation Area.

Leithers invited to take part in the Big Lunch

Ally — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:55:28 +0000

At Greener Leith we like the idea of The Big Lunch, so we invited Emily Watts from the Big Lunch Scotland to explain a bit more about the project in this guest post, below.

The Big Lunch is a simple idea from the Eden Project that aims to get as many people in the UK as possible to come together and have lunch with their neighbours, on one day.

This year we’re working towards the 3rd June, which is a Sunday. Our Big Lunch pack is undated though, so you can have your lunch whenever best suits you. We know already that there’s a fair bit of activity in Edinburgh, and we’ve spoken to a few Leith Lunchers.

If you haven’t heard anything, but fancy the idea – there’s still time! A Big Lunch can be anything from a small picnic in a green space, to a full blown street party involving hundreds. You can even have one inside if you prefer – or if the Harr dictates.

We offer packs to help you get started – they’re downloadable and contain posters, invites, a growing planner (though two weeks might be pushing anything but cress), a crowd cooking recipe book and various other goodies. You can get hold of yours at www.thebiglunch.com

We offer the idea as an invitation – what you do with your Big Lunch is entirely up to you.

The Big Lunch happens every year – this is our fourth! We’re really hoping to get more Scottish communities on board and the team up here (Emily and Emma) are really keen to hear from folk planning lunches big and small. We know that good things happen when people get together to talk and eat – what will you bring to the table?

The only thing we ask is that you let us know if you go ahead. You can send your tales to stories@thebiglunch.com and photos to photos@thebiglunch.com

At Greener Leith at the moment we're super busy at present on other projects, but if any readers wanted help to promote or organise a Big Lunch in Leith - tell us and we'll do our best to support. As a starter for ten, posting your event details to thegreenerleithsocial.org is a really good way to reach a lot of local folk.

Real nappy world record smashed in Leith

Ally — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:49:10 +0000

Well it's got to be one of the more obscure world records in the Guiness book of records, but this week it was confirmed that around 30 parents and babies who gathered in the Calton Centre last month made a successful contribution towards a global attempt to smash the world record for the 'largest simultaneous real nappy change in the world.'

The new world record which they helped to set saw 8,251 nappies changed at the same time. This was 3,225 more than last year. Events were held in 11 different countries.

Leslie Dible, Changeworks' Real Nappy Project Co-ordinator said: "We're delighted to take part in this fantastic event. It was great fun and demonstrates how people can do amazing things which, when brought together, make a real impact. In this case, Edinburgh's tots helped trump a world record for real nappies and waste prevention."

Should you be curious about real nappies you can find out more here: http://www.goreal.org.uk/

Changeworks volunteers organise 'napachino events' in Leith fairly frequently where Mums can find out more about using real nappies - details are usually posted to thegreenerleithsocial.org

What do you want to know about your local park?

Ally — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:18:18 +0000

Some months ago, the City of Edinburgh Council were amongst five Scottish local authorities to be awarded some cash from the NESTA Make it Local Scotland programme.

They were awarded money to help them develop a web based service, and some mobile phone applications, that would help people to find out more about their local parks. And in somewhat radical move for the City of Edinburgh Council they suggest that this could even include "user generated" information, such as people's photos, or stories about their parks.

The people involved in developing the service are currently calling on Edinburgh residents to let them know what kind of information they'd most like to see and how they might use this sort of a service.

Before we put our ideas in, we'd thought we'd ask for your ideas and throw out some suggestions we can think of, that aren't already on the list.

Number of Dog Fouling and Litter fines issued in the park
Location of nearest bus stops and bus services (bus tracker)
Geo-tagged photos from Flickr
Latest nearby Fixmystreet.com reports
The park quality score and development plan
Information about local Friend of Parks group
"Virtual park notice board"

There are probably loads of other things that people might find useful. Can you think of them?

If so, you can tell the council here:

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/674/consultations/1729/help_shape_our_new_digital_service/1

But feel free to also share your ideas with the world by sharing with us in the comments for this blog post.

Leith MSP Malcolm Chisholm praises city coalition deal

Ally — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:08:25 +0000

Stewart Lochhead from Three Men In A Blog recently posted this audio interview with Leith MSP Malcolm Chisholm to Soundcloud. In the interview they discuss the new Labour/SNP coalition deal at the City Chambers.

Whilst the chairs are still being shuffled on the Royal Mile, it looks as though Leith councillors are set to take up some key roles in the new administration.

Leith Walk councillor Deidre Brock is lined up to become Deputy Provost, after serving as Convenor of Culture and Leisure in the previous administration. In the same ward Labour Councillor Angela Blacklock is set to become vice-convenor of the Regulatory Committee according to the Edinburgh Labour website, whilst her party colleague in the Leith Ward, Gordon Munro, is lined up for the vice-convernorship of the Economic Development Committee.

You can read the Labour and SNP coalition agreement in full below:

A New Contract With the Capital

Leithers will be interested to note that one of the more specific pledges in the document is a commitment to oppose commercial biomass plants. This will give some comfort to No Leith Biomass campaigners, who remain concerned that Forth Energy will return with a new proposal for another large biomass power plant on the docks.

Leith Waterworld survey

Ally — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:24:54 +0000

Locals working on their bid to re-open Leith Waterworld need your help.

They're doing a bit of research into how people used the pool, and what people's ideas for the future of the pool - if it were to re-open - might be.

So, please help them by taking a couple of minutes to fill out this online survey:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHJRYmN3OTJXUC1Ya0Y5dDdnLVZqVlE6MQ

The more people that fill it out, the greater the chance that volunteers will be able to put together a realistic, and convincing, business case to re-open the pool.

And you can win £33.20 in a prize draw if you do it too (This is the cost of train travel to and from Burntisland and entry to Beacon Leisure Pool for two adults and two children).

Local anarchists invest in creative Leith Walk advertising solutions

Ally — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:40:02 +0000

Local anarchists, have apparently been inspired by the council's own alledgedly higher quality 'authorised' flyposting sites, to up their own game. Less of the black and white A4 flyposters that campaign groups of this ilk are famed for, they've produced a series of bespoke, hand painted, wooden signs to advertise their message.

Signs like the one below have been screwed onto some of the hoardings along Leith Walk, alongside the council signs advertising business start-up workshops.

Meanwhile, in Abbeyhill, we spotted this thought provoking chalk message.

We subsequently learnt from Twitter that this is a quote from neo-marxists, Hardt and Negri.

And last but not least, lurking just around the corner from the Gayfield Police station you may find this:

Greener Leith is not aware of any radical political message in this last image, or of any connection between any of these bits of graffiti/street art/vandalism (delete as appropriate).

More anachist street-art-adverts, should you like that sort of thing, in our Flickr account.

Of course, as a footnote we should point out that whilst the anarchist art advertises the UK wide Anarchist Federation website, you may have more luck getting in touch with the "friendly and organised" Edinburgh Anarchist Federation.

Enforcement cameras rumoured for Shore

Ally — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:25:23 +0000

Although most people seem to support the recent upgrade at the Shore, one thing that doesn't seem to to be working is the North bound traffic ban.

A few days ago we spotted this taxi flouting the rules, but we've also heard local residents complain too.

Indeed, one local resident posted this report onto fixmystreet.com this week:

"I cannot believe after spending over £500, 000 in new road restrictions , that there is no one overseeing the illegal parking and miss use and ignoring the signs on the shore.

"Firstly on Saturdays and Sundays and after 6pm the cars parked along the shore on the double yellow lines is unbelievable, also cars entering from Henderson street and sand port place along the shore passing the Huge no entry sign is just unacceptable.

"When will this ever be manned as after spending huge amounts on the re- generation in the area at tax payers expense this should be looked at?"

A council officer, who would probably prefer to remained nameless has assured us that moves to install a safety camera to catch illegal drivers are now afoot.

Of course, that won't stop the illegal parking though, but it'll soon put a stop to people ignoring the traffic restrictions.

Spring birds around Leith

Ally — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:07:10 +0000

Elaine O'Mahony is a Leith resident who has recently started blogging about her encounters with urban wildlife. We're delighted that she's agreed to let us re-post her Leith-centric blog posts here on Greener Leith.

We had a lovely sunny morning in Edinburgh recently and I enjoyed a wonderful wildlife-filled walk along my local stretch of the Water of Leith. It really brought home to me how fast Spring is progressing so I wanted to share some of my top wildlife encounters of the season so far. The struggle for spring migrants that I complained about in an earlier post is no more! No sooner had I turned off St. Mark’s path and onto the Water of Leith walkway proper, than I was greeted by a singing Chiffchaff flitting among the branches.

Only last week I spotted one in the Royal Botanic Gardens and another in Pilrig Park. I was delighted to then hear a second migrant: a Blackcap. Although this bird has a very similar song to the Garden Warbler, I was left in no doubt as I had a clear view of the male’s black cap after which the bird is named. Do check out this useful BTO video that highlights the differences between these two warblers.

Just upstream from what must be the last weir of the 80-odd that used to decorate the river in times past, I heard a Song thrush. Although these are considered common birds, I always delight in hearing one as they are on the decline, sadly. A short time later a male Grey Wagtail on the opposite bank caught my eye. It was engaged in a series of short flights from the edge to the middle of the river and back again. It took me a few minutes to realise he was foraging for insects. But my heart melted when I saw him hop upriver to feed his offspring! Although the fledgling was in plain sight, I had missed it earlier as its largely grey colour, with none of the yellow adult plumage, allowed it to blend in with the background.

Mute Swan on nest

A couple of weeks ago I came across a Mute swan nest and was relieved to see that it was surviving still. The big nest was attracting many House sparrowsand even a Greenfinch. As I carefully inched closer I could see that some caring neighbours had left scraps of bread. The swan had even used a sliced pan wrapper as nest material! The bread was attracting a lot of attention from Mallards and even two Moorhens were trying to get in on the action. Then the seemingly settled female suddenly lifted off the nest. I could not believe my eyes when I counted 8 large pale green eggs beneath her! And she was ringed with the letters IJY on her left leg; I can’t wait to find out more about her.

Cormorant showing white breeding patch

In the centre of Leith itself I got a cracking view of a Cormorant resting in the middle of the river. It’s not often that you see the white breeding patch usually concealed beneath the wing. These patches are used as part of a breeding display to attract the opposite sex. From here I went past the back of the Scottish Government Buildings at Victoria Quay. I rarely take this route but it is interesting to see what ships are currently moored at Leith docks. Today I saw the tall ship Jean de la Lune. I definitely wasn’t expecting to see nearly a dozen Sand Martins foraging over the lagoon at VQ. These birds are brown above, white below and have incredibly long pointy wings for their body size. It was only yesterday that I finally spotted several Swallows, a closely related species, in the car park of Cameron Toll shopping centre. I do hope the Sand Martins find suitable nesting sites there and stay for the summer.

As I walked around the side of the Ocean Terminal shopping centre, the screeching of Common Terns filled the air. I really feel summer is on the way when these delicate looking sea birds are around. Some were in the middle of the docks themselves but about 20 or so were resting on this weather-beaten wooden pier pictured above.

For my final stop of the day I visited the small garden outside the car park to the west end of the Ocean Terminal. This garden was created to celebrate Scotland’s most famous botanists. The reason for the stop was not to enjoy the garden but to check out the lamp posts, obviously! A few weeks ago I noticed Blue tits coming and going from holes in the lamp posts, so I assumed that these canny urban Blue tits were nesting there. Unfortunately I didn’t see the same today. Maybe this means that the young have already fledged. This would make sense as lately the food on the bird table attached to my kitchen window has started to disappear very quickly and I think some voracious juvenile Blue tits are responsible!

Thank you if you have managed to read this far. There’s a lot going on out there! Please let me know of other unusual nesting places.

Elaine first published this post on her really rather good, Urban Tails blog.

Labour and Greens gain in Leith Wards

Ally — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:28:45 +0000

The LibDems have lost both their seats in Leith, following a local election which saw them reduced from the largest group on the council to the smallest - with just three councillors city wide. None of the three remaining LibDems are in Leith or Leith Walk.

The Leith Neighbourhood Partnership, which is comprised of both Leith and Leith Walk wards saw anti-cuts activist Nick Gardner get himself elected in Leith Walk Ward, whilst Chas Booth got elected for the Greens in Leith.

Both had been supporters of the Splashback campaign to re-open Leith Waterworld.

The SNP had hoped to get two people elected in both Leith Walk and Leith Wards. In the event, only Deidre Brock was returned in Leith Walk, whilst, in one of the big surprises of the contest, the incumbent Rob Munn lost his seat in Leith Walk.

Instead, voters opted to give more of their votes to his younger party colleague, and Adam McVey.

This may have been because he was first on the ballot paper, because of the 'Leith Water World factor' or because of bad "voter management" by the SNP who were the only party confident enough to stand two candidates in the Leith Ward. Most probably it was a combination of all of these things.

Either way, on learning of his election McVey said:

The worst kind of win for me personally. But I'll do my best to fill the enormous void left by 1 of our party's brightest stars @robm2
— Adam McVey (@adamrmcvey) May 4, 2012

Whilst he represented Leith Ward, Rob Munn clearly took his work seriously and was always very helpful in resolving local issues that Greener Leith raised. Indeed, re-elected Leith Walk Councillor Maggie Chapman was quick to post her thoughts on the result on Twitter as well:

@robm2 Really sorry not to have you in Leith ward, Rob! We've lost a really good local cllr - I'll certainly miss you!
— Cllr Maggie Chapman (@MaggieEdinburgh) May 4, 2012

Rob Munn has let it be known that he's likely to disappear from public life for a bit - primarily on account of the fact that he needs to find a job.

So your new councillors are as follows:

Leith Walk

Angela Blacklock - Labour
Deidre Brock - SNP
Maggie Chapman - Green
Nick Gardner - Labour

You can find detailed results on this page on the City of Edinburgh council website.

Leith

Chas Booth - Green
Adam McVey - SNP
Gordon Munro - Labour

You can find detailed results on this page on the City of Edinburgh council website.

The Leith Neighbourhood Partnership system brings councillors from both Leith Walk Ward and Leith Ward together with other representatives to make some local decisions. There's a chance it will see a bit of a shake up under the new administration, but for the foreseable future it is likely to continue.

Indeed, given that Labour and the Greens gave commitments to devolve power away from the city chamber we can expect, if anything, that the Neighbourhood Partnerships will be strengthed, not weakened over the course of this administration.

The Leith Neighbourhood Partnership is regarded as one of the more successful ones in the city, and this in large part is due to the fact that no one political party could dominate the discussions. The fact that the Leith Neighbourhood Partnership has gone from a four party body to a three party body may be concerning in this sense, but if you look at the balance of power - locals may take some comfort from the fact that no single party has a majority.

This means they'll still need to work together at a local level.

Leith Walk Cycling: It's a Nightmare

Emily Dodd — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:32:45 +0000

Leith walk is one of top 10 worst roads to cycle on in the UK. But is it really that bad? I attached a camera to my bike (basket-cam) and cycled from the top to the foot (bottom) of the walk to find out:

Watch Leith Walk: It's a Nightmare (for bikes) on Youtube

Last weekend Leithers joined with 4000 cyclists in Edinburgh and 10,000 cyclists in London for the national 'Pedal on the Parliament' protest. The aim was to raise awareness of the need to make cycling safer. You can read about the Pedal on the Parliament Leith Feeder Ride on Greener Leith and more about the Edinburgh protest on STV Local.

It's much harder to control a bike when you're continually hitting potholes. Add speeding motorists, meandering pedestrians and parked car doors that could open at any moment.... you can see why cycling on Leith walk is a nightmare.

If you see a dangerous hole in the road you can report it to the council through Fix My Street, it takes less than a minute. Don't just moan about it, why not report it?

Sustrans named Leith Walk in their UK cycling black list, have you cycled on any of their top ten worst roads? How does your street compare to Leith Walk and do you think it should be included in the list? Send us a photo or even better, make a video and add it to the comments below.

The good news for Leith Walk is the Council have set aside at least 3.5 million to improve things this year and they're consulting the locals too. Read more about their plans on the City of Edinburgh Council Website.

Hurrah for movie stars Ewan Fleck and Judith. Ewan saw me attaching a slightly rickety basket-cam and came over and offered wire to help secure it. Judith told me all about her experience of cycling down 'The Walk' holding on for dear life. Because I chose a movie trailer style film template I wasn't able to add additonal credits, boo!

Read more from Emily on Sustainable Stories, Twitter or Facebook.

Free walking tour of historic Leith available for download

Ally — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:36:03 +0000

Lothian Buses have produced a free audio guide to Leith, aimed at highlighting the long and varied history of the neighbourhood to tourists.

Of course, there's no reason why you can't be a tourist in your own neighbourhood, and having had a listen it's quite likely that most Leithers might learn something about their story of the place where they live by going for a wee wander with some head phones on.

The tour starts and finishes at the Foot of the Walk and according to the blurb:

"This walk comes in two stages and can be done in one go or can be completed in two separate visits. The commentary is educational and entertaining, historic but with a light hearted touch and has something to offer to all ages and all levels of interest. Each walk should take about an hour."

You can find out more and download the audio files from the 'Uncle Bob's audio tours' page here.

leithtour

You'll note that there is mention of The Leith Trust being involved in the tour. The Leith Trust currently has no website, but it does involve some high powered people, according to this website.

Indeed, it appears to be an organisation made up of Edinburgh residents who have Leith sympathies. These include Sue Bruce, the Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council, The Lord Provost (for the next few days at least) George Grubb, Ian Craig, Chief Executive of Lothian Buses, and Professor J.R Hume.

Gordon Munro, sheds some more light on the mysterious Leith Trust organisation, which in no circumstances should be confused with The Leith Civic Trust, in this article in the Leither.

Leithers Pedal on Parliament to call for safer cycling

Ally — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:42:05 +0000

Last Saturday, Greener Leith helped to organise the Leith Feeder ride for the Pedal on Parliament protest.

The day dawned sunny, if a bit chilly, and as is tradition for Greener Leith organised bike rides we convened outside Mal Maison, on the Shore.

We eventually set off with about 20 folk, including local MP Mark Lazarowicz, a two year old in a bike trailer, a couple of folk on folding bikes and Leith's leading podcaster. As the idea for a Leith feeder ride was born on Twitter, it was perhaps unsurprising that lot's of folk on the ride began by introducing themselves to each other our Twitter handles - a sign of the times indeed.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the ride, was that all along the route we met other cyclists who were either waiting for us, or who tagged along because they were heading to the same place. So, by the time we arrived in the Meadows there were more than 30 of us - including at least three more kids.

As progress of the ride was documented mainly by other folk on social media, it seemed appropriate to try to pull all the Leith related tweets together using Storify. You can see these below.

Local photographer Richard Cross also shared the best photos of the day taken by anyone on Flickr (discuss!). You can see one of them illustrating this post - and another below.

The turn-out on the day was incredible - perhaps an order of magnitude greater than both the organisers and the Police had forecast - with somewhere between 2500 and 3000 people taking part.

This is further evidence, if it were needed, that there is a really strong desire from people all over Scotland to see tangible action, rather than political platitudes, on the issue of cycle safety.

Locally, Greener Leith has been campaigning on this issue since 2007, and whilst there's notable improvement in liveable streets in the area - for example at The Shore - perhaps the next key test for the council will be on how it approaches the redesign of Leith Walk once the utility works are complete.

So, if the event has inspired you to back the campaign you may want to consider the advice in this SPOKES post on 'What to do next - vote in this weeks election and if you get the chance, ask your local council candidates what they're Vision for Leith Walk is.

Will they commit to providing better cycling and pedestrian infrastructure on the street - or do they want it to return to a dual carriageway? Of course if any of them wish to explain their views on active travel in the comments below they're welcome to post them!

Special thanks should also go to Emily Dodd who interviewed some folk on the Greener Leith camcorder on the ride. When we've wrangled the clips into some semblance of a thing then we'll post them to our YouTube account.

If you can't see anything below this, try clicking here.