Innocent Railway Tunnel
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As one of the UK’s best cities for walking, Edinburgh has many options for outdoor sightseeing. Most visitors to the city will experience at least one of these, Arthur’s Seat, the highest point in the city and without a doubt the most crowded outdoor attraction in town. Few tourists realise that just a few hundred metres away another walking opportunity awaits, one that gives some historical perspective on Edinburgh.
At the foot of Holyrood Park is a hidden tunnel, dividing Arthur’s Seat and the crags to the east from the burgeoning city to the west. This tunnel is a formerly railway line, disused for years but now refurbished into a walkway and cycle path. It is called the Innocent Railway tunnel, built in the 1830s to connect Dalkeith in the south with Edinburgh on a main railway line that has since been decommissioned. The tunnel’s name remains in doubt; rumour has it the title refers to the fact that none of the workers were killed during construction of the tunnel (unusual for the time). Others say the word "Innocent" refers to the fact that this railway line used horse-drawn carriages in a time when steam engine trains were thought to be unsafe and thus unpopular. Regardless, this was the first public railway tunnel in Scotland and possibly the first in all of Britain.
Walkers can reach the south end of the tunnel directly from Holyrood Park by crossing Queens Drive on the western edge of the park and follow the path on the outer side of the roadway. From the city, the northern entrance can be found below Saint Leonard’s lane, near the Commonwealth Pool and Pollock Halls. The interior of the tunnel, all 320 metres of it, is well lit and can be compared to a modern art gallery, as the walls are lined with intricate graffiti designs.
The Engine Shed Café is just minutes from the north side of the tunnel, and as this was a former building used to support railway operations, it makes for a more than appropriate stopping point. For walkers wanting to head further afield, the tiny hamlet of Duddingston is only 15 minutes along, following the pathway to the south out of the tunnel.
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More on the Innocent Tunnel from the Univ of Edinburgh
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