King George V Park & Rocheid Path

Victorian Railway Roots Reborn as Parkland

Spread across sheltered hollows between the New Town's Royal Crescent and the border of Stockbridge, King George V Memorial Park occupies the former depot and railway cutting of the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway. Opened in 1950 to honor the late monarch, this welcoming neighborhood park blends leafy open lawns with rich industrial archeology.

The Scotland Street Tunnel Northern Portal

At the park's southern boundary stands one of Edinburgh's most legendary subterranean artifacts: the colossal rusticated stone portal of the Scotland Street Tunnel. Engineered in 1847 by Thomas Grainger, this 1,000-yard rail tunnel carried rope-hauled locomotives beneath the New Town to Canal Street (now Waverley Station). During the Second World War, the sealed tunnel was repurposed as the city's premier underground air-raid shelter.

Rocheid Path & Active Travel Greenway

Modern visitors enjoy extensive tree-shaded walking and jogging tracks, expansive timber adventure playgrounds, and smooth asphalt cycling links connecting directly into the Rocheid Path and the wider North Edinburgh Path Network, providing traffic-free routes out to the Firth of Forth.