Edinburgh: why you should visit Dean Village (and Circus Lane).
About a 15 minute walk outside the center of Edinburgh is Dean Village, an incredibly scenic little area that should be visited.
Dean Village is centered on a river (called the “Water of Leith”) that used to be the hub of the city’s grain mills. It was known as far back as 1535 as “the miller’s village”. At its peak in the 18th century, there were 11 mills here, all powered by the river (which, although it looks like nothing more than a stream, has strong currents).
Today Dean village is a residential area with quaint bridges and buildings. At its heart is the Water of Leith walkway, a 12-mile (20 km) path along the river and through the woods. As I’ll cover below, the walkway is the best way to get from Dean village to Circus Lane (another pretty spot in Edinburgh).
Getting to Dean Village
It’s easy to get to Dean Village from the center. From Princes Street, go up Queensferry street. Just keep going straight, it will lead downhill and you’ll come to a bridge with a church on the opposite side.
Just click on the map to enlarge
Don’t go across the bridge. Just before the bridge, on the left side, is a lane called Bells Brae. Take this lane, it will take you downhill right to the small bridge (Dean’s Brea bridge) where the photo below was taken. You are now in Dean village.
From here, take the little cobble stoned lane on your left (Hawthornbank Lane). It will lead you down to the river, views of a little bridge and some impressive buildings on the other side (including the impressive Well Court Clock Tower).
Walk down to the little bridge. More views here. Then cross over, turn right on Damside. The street will lead you back to Dean’s Brae bridge.
As you see, Dean village is very small.
From the bridge, follow the river up (not going back up Bells Brae, staying left instead). It will lead you to “Miller Wheels”, a monument to milling. You’ll see the informational sign pictured below.
Water of Leith walkway
From the information sign, pass the building indicated “Miller Row” and continue along the path under the bridge. You’ll be following the Water of Leith walkway along the river, a very peaceful path in the forest.
You’ll see various monuments along the way such as St Bernard’s Well, a well designed in Greco-Roman style (it was the late 1700’s, the time of the Scotting Enlightenment). People would come here, believing the water coming from the well had healing properties.
The park ends a bit further at St Bernard bridge.
Circus Lane
From the bridge above, cut up the street and stick towards the left. It’ll take you about 5 minutes to get to Circus lane.
Circus Lane: a curved street that’s considered one of the prettiest streets in the UK. Originally built to contain the stables and carriage houses of Edinburgh’s wealthy, buildings were later upgraded to what you see today. With St. Stephen’s Church in the background, the cobblestone street and all the flowers well-tended for by the residents, Circus Lane is a pretty spot.
Summing Up
It took us 15 minutes to get to Dean Village from the center. We explored the village for about 30 minutes, then walked along the Water of Leith walkway for about 15 minutes. From there it was about 5 minutes to Circus Lane. After about 10 minutes spent there, we walked about 15 minutes back to the center.
Adding all that up, that’s about 90 minutes.
We both agreed that exploring Dean Village, the walkway and Circus Lane are absolutely worth it. It is an area you should definitely visit if coming to Edinburgh.
Related: Edinburgh: a hike up to Arthur’s Seat (and what to prioritize instead)
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