Permits for Edinburgh citizens to fish on the Water of Leith
Not many cities in the UK can offer retail therapy and a spot of fishing in the same day.
But, just half a mile north of Princes Street, Edinburgh’s Water of Leith is home to a healthy population of brown trout and residents can fish there for free!
The Council currently owns the fishing rights to the Water of Leith, which has been run as a brown trout fishery from 1897. The fishery is managed by a volunteer group called the Honorary Bailiffs, who can trace their origins back to 1606.
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Free to the citizens of Edinburgh, a permit is required before you can fish. Public fishing begins at Balerno and continues down to Leith with only a few short interruptions from private gardens.
Permits cover the whole season and you can get them from:
- the Council’s office at 1 Cockburn Street
- the Countryside Ranger Service at 69a Braid Road
- the Water of Leith Conservation Trust at 24 Lanark Road
- most tackle shops
- Post Offices at Colinton, Juniper Green, Currie and Balerno.
- For more information on conservation on the river, contact the Water of Leith Conservation Trust at: www.waterofleith.org.uk