Scenes from Rainy Edinburgh: The Water of Leith

Edinburgh is famous for its wild and unpredictable weather, categorized by frequent rain showers, fog, and chilly winds — the kind of weather that makes you want to bundle up with a tartan scarf and wile away the day in glorious cafes.

Well, most of the time, that is.  I happen to have incredible luck with Edinburgh weather, timing my visits perfectly for sunshine.  The first time I came here, it was late September and the temperature was 30 degrees (86 fahrenheit).  That is UNHEARD OF in Edinburgh.  People were lying out on the grass, actually sunbathing!

So yesterday, when my friend Kash invited me to walk around the Water of Leith, one of his favorite places in Edinburgh, I didn’t bring an umbrella.  It looked nice out.
Ha.  That was a mistake.  Not only did it start raining within 20 minutes, it began pouring buckets!  We got absolutely soaked.

But rainy days sometimes lead to the loveliest of photos.

The Water of Leith is a pathway that runs along a canal.  It’s a lovely respite from urban Edinburgh, and we saw few others (though to be fair, the downpour probably put most people off!).

The path eventually leads to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art — one of the many free museums in Edinburgh!

There are surprises along the way — like St. Bernard’s Well with its statue.

Few cities lend themselves to black and white photography better than Edinburgh!

And a plaque with a lovely, if fairly obvious, message — The Liberal Deviseth Liberal Things.

This is why Brits wear wellies!  Not just for fashion!
And because Edinburgh regularly goes through several seasons in a day, the sun was shining by the time we finished our walk.

As we made our final turn around the bend, the weather turned absolutely gorgeous.

And this is why I fall in love with Edinburgh a little bit more each time I visit.  It’s more than a beautiful city — it’s absolutely magical, every last bit of it.