Miscellaneous

Bookcrossing

Bookcrossing is the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise. The book's journey can be tracked online using a unique reference.

Bookcrossing happens all over the world. You can leave a books at a bus stop or swap them at an organised event or leave them at an Official Bookcrossing Zone. In Edinburgh there are several 'OBCZs' including:

 

Kleofas Cafe (342 Gorgie Road, Edinburgh EH11 2QU)

Canongate Books (Tweeddale Court, 14 High Street , Edinburgh EH1 1TE)

Guildford Arms pub (1 West Register Street, Edinburgh EH2 2AA)

In a similar vein is the Little Free Library in the Botanic Gardens (currently Scotland's only littlefreelibrary.org) - simply leave a book and take a book.

Buildings at Risk Register

If you have ever passed a ruinous or empty building and wondered about it's history, take a look at buildingsatrisk.org.uk. Edinburgh has almost 100 structures considered to be 'at risk'.

Community Cafes

Facilitated by Edinburgh Community Food (edinburghcommunityfood.org.uk), the network of over 40 community cafes support each other while working towards one or more of these aims:

• Improved access to healthy food across the city
  
• Tackling health inequalities in low income areas
  
• Offering professional nutritional advice
  
• Carrying out health promotion activities
  
• Empowering people of all ages to make healthy choices and have the confidence to cook nutritious meals.
  

Support some great social enterprises by having lunch at a community cafe!

Cycle Paths & Railway Walks

Edinburgh has 75km of off-street paths for cycling and walking – yet many people don't even know about this fabulous network!

The Innertube Map (www.innertubemap.com) was created by Mark Sydenham of The Bike Station (www.thebikestation.org.uk ) to show these paths as 11 differently coloured routes like a Tube Route, with entrance points in place of stations.

Many of the paths are former railways – be sure to check out the street art in the tunnels.

Geocaching

Geocaching (geocaching.com) is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices (e.g. smartphones). Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

With over 200 geocaches in the centre of Edinburgh and over 15,000 in the greater Edinburgh area), the chances are that you have already walked past several!

A “multi-part” geocache, based on a series of puzzles, is a great way to get to know an area. If you see someone counting the number of windows or calculating dates on a headstone, the chances are they are geocachers!

Letterboxing

A forerunner to geocaching, letterboxing requires the participants to seek out hidden letterboxes by following clues, and then record their discovery in their personal journal with the help of a rubber stamp that's part of the letterbox. In addition, letterboxers have their own personal stamps which they use to stamp into the letterbox's logbook. There are just a handful in Edinburgh. Find out more at atlasquest.com.

LothianBuses

Much of Edinburgh's attractions can be reached on foot and, walking in and out of the city's nooks and crannies is the best way to discover hidden gems. But...Lothian Buses are cheap!

There are over 50 bus routes across Edinburgh and the Lothians and the flat fare system makes longer journeys (such as the 63 to South Queensferry, home of the Forth Bridges) an absolute bargain.

The circular 61 route covers such a small area that it appears to exist purely to shuttle those in the financial sector between offices and is a nice way to see the New Town.

If you prefer to get the most mileage for your money, try the 44 which covers 22 miles.

Want to visit the neighbouring counties? The 15 goes from Prestonpans in East Lothian to Penicuik in Midlothian.

Travelling to the airport? No need to pay extra for the “airport bus” - the 35 goes the same route, it just stops more frequently.

Forget tourist buses – jump on a 6 and enjoy the sights (and the free wi-fi)!

See lothianbuses.com for latest prices, day tickets and the bargainous family day ticket.

Secret Book Sculptures

On Tuesday, 2 March 2011, an intricate paper sculpture was found in the Scottish Poetry Library together with the message "It started with your name @byleaveswelive and became a tree.… … We know that a library is so much more than a building full of books… a book is so much more than pages full of words.… This is for you in support of libraries, books, words, ideas….. a gesture (poetic maybe?)".

Since then, twenty sculptures have been deposited anonymously around the city, some as part of Book Week, one part of the Macmillan Art Exhibition and another to raise funds the Patrick Geddes Centre.

All that is known about the sculptor is that she is female and that she believes passionately in the importance of libraries, books, words and ideas.

So, pay attention, you might just find the next sculpture!

Water of Leith Walkway

Water of Leith Visitor Centre, 24 Lanark Road Edinburgh EH14 1TQ

The 12 mile walkway starts in Balerno and passes Colinton Village, the Union Canal, Saughton Winter Gardens, the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art and the Royal Botanic Gardens before it reaches the Firth of Forth at Leith.

The Water of Leith is a haven for wildlife and herons are a regular sight.

Along the way, there are numerous interesting features including:

• a series of sculptures by Antony Gormley
• the domed structure of St Bernard's Well (the interior can be seen on Doors Open Day) with the statue of the goddess Hygieia
• former industrial buildings which have been been converted into luxury apartments
• the remnants of a Catherine Sinclair Fountain with the inscriptions “A Blessing on the Giver”, “Drink and be Thankful” and “Water is not for Man Alone”
• and... an unofficial budgerigar cemetery!