http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Loanhead – Gilmerton cycle route Consultation en Wed, 13 May 2026 02:49:37 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350891 Fri, 21 May 2021 15:26:40 +0000 Dave 350891@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>If you think Brompton wheels are small, may I introduce you to the painful world of riding uphill into the wind on rollerblades? :P </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350881 Fri, 21 May 2021 12:35:41 +0000 Arellcat 350881@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>More coming back (says Google).</em></p> <p>Yes, from Shawfair end as far as Lasswade Road is just a slog that makes you wonder where all your energy has gone. I once did it on my Brompton, riding into a storm force headwind, and could barely turn the pedals. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350841 Thu, 20 May 2021 13:05:46 +0000 ejstubbs 350841@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Arellcat: I explored beyond the Lasswade Road bridge early in 2018. At that time it was just ballast from there as far as Gilmerton Road. It was hard going on my CX bike so I gave up at that point so I don't know if there were any rails left in situ between there and Shawfair, though I doubt it.</p> <p>There is a fragment of the Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway still remaining on the east side of the old line of Millerhill Road, which was re-aligned a few hundred metres to the west when the new Borders Rail went in. You can see it if you head left past the (now defunct?) Cockatoo in Millerhill, and keep a sharp eye out to your left. It's actually easy enough, if a bit steep, to clamber down the embankment where the overbridge has been filled in/removed altogether and get a closer look. There's a buffer stop and a set of points, and even a colour light signal - which was showing a red aspect when I was nosing around so it looks like the line may still be in occasional use (or else not yet worth the time, money and effort to decommission it*).</p> <p>Bear in mind that crossing the fence to get a closer look would technically be trespassing on the railway and thus cause fire and brimstone to rain down upon you. So I <u>definitely</u> limited my investigation to peering over the fence through the gaps in the lineside vegetation, honest officer. (AFAICS there there is no video surveillance of that location, and certainly no sign of a robocop like on Whitehill Road.)</p> <p>You can see a bit more of the line from the overbridge that takes Old Craighall Road over the line, where Millerhill station used to be. Again there are apparently live signals and pointwork to be seen. It looks like it might be used as an occasional headshunt or run-round for activities still going on in the remnants of the Millerhill depot (mostly servicing of the new Hitachi EMUs** on the Edinburgh-Glasgow line now I believe - I think the PW storage yard is no longer there but I may be mistaken).</p> <p>There is an overbridge on The Kaims track, that runs from the new Millerhill Road roundabout to Dalkeith Road, that passes over the remnants of the trackbed to the west of Millerhill Road. There didn't seem to be much in the way of railway left down there when I last passed that way.</p> <p>* AIUI unpicking the signalling interlocking - and proving the result - can be more time-consuming and expensive than lifting the physical track. There are instances where "live" signals have simply been left in situ when all the other railway infrastructure has been removed and the site redeveloped. I believe there is/was one example of a signal permanently at red tucked away in the back of a superstore car park somewhere.</p> <p>** Which may or may not have experienced similar jacking point cracking issues to their more illustrious Class 800 cousins on the GWML and ECML. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350838 Thu, 20 May 2021 11:39:36 +0000 chdot 350838@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“that's very close to my 26 minutes on the Elephant Bike”</p> <p>More coming back (says Google). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350836 Thu, 20 May 2021 11:11:58 +0000 Arellcat 350836@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@chdot; that's very close to my 26 minutes on the Elephant Bike.</p> <p><em>I don't know whether all the track had been lifted from the remnants of the Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway by the time Borders Rail went in (work started in earnest in 2013 and the line opened in September 2015) but I'm pretty sure that it didn't reach as far as Straiton Pond by then.<br /> </em></p> <p>I remember walking from about the pond to a bit past the Lasswade Road bridge, back in about 2009. The surface was just ballast from the bypass underpass (where MLC's efforts famously ended) as far as Lasswade Road, and the rails were still in place beyond the bridge towards Gilmerton. I think there was a decrepit buffer stop somewhere about there. It was in late 2013 or early 2014, I can't remember, that the Lasswade Road bridge was removed for refurbishment and the bridge supports improved. The OS 1:2500 map seems to be up to date, though. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350834 Thu, 20 May 2021 11:02:49 +0000 chdot 350834@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51191084361_e772cdd43d_c.jpg"> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350831 Thu, 20 May 2021 10:56:52 +0000 Dave 350831@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Maybe, I guess it only really takes you to the park &amp; ride. But I saw many more cyclists yesterday (7-8pm) than I'd ever see on the WoL. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350830 Thu, 20 May 2021 10:10:18 +0000 Murun Buchstansangur 350830@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I bet there are ten or twenty commuters on the Loanhead path for each one on the Water of Leith."</p> <p>I doubt that's true, sadly - possibly the opposite </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-350829 Thu, 20 May 2021 09:44:30 +0000 Dave 350829@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Last night I went with my roller blades and did the whole path from Roslin to Sheriffhall park and ride. What a revelation! It's hard to believe there's such a wide, smooth and streetlit path for such a distance.</p> <p>It made me even more embarrassed for the (newer) "surfacing" on the Water of Leith up to Balerno - and of course no street lights there except where there are housing schemes. I bet there are ten or twenty commuters on the Loanhead path for each one on the Water of Leith. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-309992 Thu, 04 Jul 2019 12:15:17 +0000 Frenchy 309992@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>New artworks at Gilmerton Station Road and Shawfair officially unveiled today: <a href="https://twitter.com/SustransScot/status/1146736754319339522" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/SustransScot/status/1146736754319339522</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-305934 Fri, 03 May 2019 13:15:29 +0000 ejstubbs 305934@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Browsing around on the OS web site, I just noticed that the 1:50k map still shows the route from Loanhead to Millerhill as railway all the way, apart from a short gap around the back of the ERI. It does, however, show the Borders Rail track. I don't know whether <em>all</em> the track had been lifted from the remnants of the Edinburgh, Loanhead and Roslin Railway by the time Borders Rail went in (work started in earnest in 2013 and the line opened in September 2015) but I'm pretty sure that it didn't reach as far as Straiton Pond by then.</p> <p>If you zoom in to the 1:25k map, even that still shows tracks as being in place between Gilmerton station and Shawfair Park. I guess that those were some of the last to be lifted (you could certainly still see the impressions of sleepers in the ballast when I rode along it about a year before it was turned in to tarmac).</p> <p>Seems odd that at least the more up-to-date (but still not correct) detail on the 1:25k hasn't been transferred to the 1:50k. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-296295 Fri, 23 Nov 2018 13:34:16 +0000 Frenchy 296295@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Alternative options there are:</p> <p><ul><li>Old Dalkeith Road (highly unlikely to have an problems on the pavement if you wanted)</li><li>Newton Church Road. You can cut through at Newton Church to get to Shawfair Avenue without going on Millerhill Road, but there's a fairly narrow (~1m) gap in the wall, so some bikes will have problems. Pavement also an option outside of Danderhall.</li><li>Go straight on at Newton Church Road and go through the Drum estate. The road isn't tarred the whole way, but is perfectly passable. Turn left at Gilmerton Road onto the shared use pavement then take the new ramp onto the cycle path.</li></ul> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-296286 Fri, 23 Nov 2018 12:48:31 +0000 Frenchy 296286@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It doesn't, but Midlothian Council plans to fix that soon (think I was told "in the next year" a few months ago, but could have that wrong). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-296284 Fri, 23 Nov 2018 12:44:01 +0000 neddie 296284@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Does anyone know if the path from the cul-de-sac at Kaimes View connects to the new ramp?</p> <p>If so, there may be a problem with OSM:</p> <p>See: <a href="https://cycle.travel/map/journey/83886" rel="nofollow">https://cycle.travel/map/journey/83886</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-296270 Fri, 23 Nov 2018 10:02:54 +0000 amir 296270@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>:) I'll have to try it out </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-296268 Fri, 23 Nov 2018 09:19:17 +0000 Frenchy 296268@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ramp from Gilmerton Road now open, despite a sign at the top saying it'll open on Monday. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=6#post-293836 Fri, 19 Oct 2018 20:46:54 +0000 wingpig 293836@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Waggly work well under way.</p> <p><a href="https://flic.kr/p/NsBWBZ"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1943/30493652887_f9abd18ed4_n.jpg"></a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-289819 Tue, 28 Aug 2018 14:52:37 +0000 amir 289819@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>That's good news. Thanks for letting us know, Frenchy </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-289815 Tue, 28 Aug 2018 13:40:50 +0000 Frenchy 289815@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>Sustrans hope that the Drum Street ramp will be built late 2018.</em></p> <p>Work should start in the next few weeks (there are already some wee flags in the park marking out where the ramp'll go), and they're aiming to be finished by the end of November. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284926 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 17:15:34 +0000 jonty 284926@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Good point...perhaps the plan would actually be to bypass Dalkeith centre via the country park to get to NCN1? Assuming the Sherrifhall provision is any good, it would seem odd to pay for another arguably less direct crossing just along from it. I'm sure all will become clear one day! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284914 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 16:42:27 +0000 Frenchy 284914@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>That wouldn't need Buccleuch estate's cooperation, though, which was specifically mentioned. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284912 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 16:39:01 +0000 jonty 284912@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Presumably the Dalkeith extension would be done via whatever active travel infrastructure is being put in as part of the Sherrifhall upgrade? The last lot of plans looked fairly promising but who knows. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284904 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 15:39:06 +0000 Arellcat 284904@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>One of these would do it</em></p> <p>One of these would be even better:</p> <p><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/hQn3BCnpCi12" rel="nofollow">https://goo.gl/maps/hQn3BCnpCi12</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284902 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 15:22:11 +0000 Frenchy 284902@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>How will it cross the bypass? </em></p> <p>I didn't get the impression that plans are yet at that stage, of considering that. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284901 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 14:39:14 +0000 cb 284901@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>How will it cross the bypass?</em></p> <p>One of these would do it:</p> <p><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/6xrWvtAC7mG2">https://goo.gl/maps/6xrWvtAC7mG2</a></p> <p>I wonder how much they cost? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284897 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:58:11 +0000 neddie 284897@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>it will eventually go through Dalkeith Country Park to Dalkeith itself</em></p> <p>How will it cross the bypass? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284894 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:43:21 +0000 jonty 284894@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>&gt; Sustrans hope that the Drum Street ramp will be built late 2018.</p> <p>This would be nice - I gambled on one being there on Wednesday knowing that it probably wasn't, so ended up having to go down Gilmerton Station Road. A tip if you do the same: don't go through the fence and slide down the embankment in your nice shoes at the first available opportunity as there is a much friendlier gate a little further on! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284893 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:40:23 +0000 cb 284893@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Most of the new bit is on Mapillary (west to east).</p> <p><a href="https://www.mapillary.com/map/im/IujssioA0ho8mmbzytqfDw">https://www.mapillary.com/map/im/IujssioA0ho8mmbzytqfDw</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-284886 Fri, 15 Jun 2018 12:46:38 +0000 Frenchy 284886@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The Lasswade Road-Shawfair section was officially opened this morning, which mostly consisted of kids from Danderhall Primary posing for photos next to their bikes.</p> <p>Short speeches from John Lauder (Sustrans), Dave Kenny (Midlothian council) and Lesley Macinnes (Liberton/Gilmerton councillor/Transport convener).</p> <p>John Lauder said Sustrans hope that it will eventually go through Dalkeith Country Park to Dalkeith itself, and that the Buccleuch estate has been positive about this. They also hope to improve the connection to Shawfair station, although they don't know exactly how this will be done either. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11672&page=5#post-280917 Tue, 24 Apr 2018 09:21:11 +0000 neddie 280917@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The official opening will now be 10am, Friday 15th June, 2018</p> <p><em>We will be celebrating the completion of the Loanhead Path Extension – a 3km traffic-free route, delivered by Sustrans Scotland in partnership with City of Edinburgh Council, Midlothian Council and contractors RJ McLeod.</p> <p>We hope the launch will be a fantastic opportunity for all groups involved to come together to celebrate the extension and develop momentum for phase two of the project as well as for future similar schemes. </p> <p>The event should be no more than an hour long and will be held on the route, a 10 minute walk from Shawfair Rail Station – EH22 1SE. </p> <p>More detailed invitations will be sent out closer to the time, however I was keen to ensure to get the event in your diary as soon as possible! </em> </p>