6 places to spend an afternoon.
Port of Leith Distillery on Whisky Quay does floor-by-floor tours of Scotland's first vertical whisky distillery, ending at a rooftop bar with Firth views. The Biscuit Factory at Anderson Place cycles through markets and club nights - check the schedule. Logan Malloch at the foot of Leith Walk sells the ceramics its two owners quit their careers for, and Argonaut Books feels like borrowing from someone with impeccable taste. Walk down to The Shore around 4pm - the light on the water is free.
3 things to do, 3 shops, all in Leith.
Leith's culture sits in repurposed industrial bones: a nine-storey distillery on Whisky Quay pouring grain top to bottom, a 1932 theatre on Ferry Road clawed back from decades of dereliction, a Crawford's biscuit warehouse off Bonnington Road now packed with 32 studios and a stage that's hosted half of Scotland.
The UK's first vertical whisky distillery, nine storeys tall on the waterfront, with production flowing top to bottom and grain from a single East Lothian farm. The rooftop bar has panoramic views across the Firth to the three bridges.
Category A listed 1932 theatre on Ferry Road, derelict for decades before being partially brought back to life by the Leith Theatre Trust. It hosts gigs and festivals on an event-by-event basis, so check the schedule and take any excuse to get inside the grand auditorium.
A 1947 Crawfords biscuit warehouse off Bonnington Road Lane, now home to 32 creative businesses behind mostly original fixtures. The top-floor Atrium takes 120 under natural daylight, while the ground-floor café pours SANTU coffee to whoever wanders in. Gigs happen here too.
Leith's shopping is small but pointed: Argonaut Books runs genre fiction out of the old Central Station, Logan Malloch sells design objects from a space the owners gutted themselves at the foot of the Walk, and Handsel keeps Scandi homewares and zero-waste goods on Leith Walk. Three shops, three clear points of view.
Philip Logan and Brian Malloch quit their old careers, gutted a derelict space at the foot of Leith Walk themselves, and opened in April 2019 with ceramics, textiles, and prints from local makers. The bookshop corner leans toward humour and politics.
Independent bookshop inside the old Leith Central Station building on The Walk, specialising in sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, and independent publishing. Also a cafe and community space with six book clubs, board game nights, and a full bay of horror at the front that sets the tone.
Independent gift and homeware shop on Leith Walk stocking handmade goods, Scandinavian homewares, zero-waste products, and jewellery. Sister company to Leith Framing Studio next door.
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The hotels worth booking in and near Leith.
Restaurants, bars, and cafes in Leith.