Harrison Park West

Harrison Park West — the canal-side commons of Polwarth

Harrison Park is the green heart of Polwarth and Shandon, a tenement district a mile and a half south-west of the city centre, and its western half is the part locals mean when they say they are “going to the park”. The Union Canal glides along the boundary, so the soundtrack is swans rather than traffic; inside, the ground is laid out as plain, useful greenspace — full-size and seven-a-side football pitches, two play areas, tree-lined walks, a formal bedding garden and a wildflower meadow that local schoolchildren helped to sow. It is not a grand designed landscape and it does not pretend to be. It is a genuinely everyday park, and the towpath running past its edge turns it into the start of a walk or ride that can carry you clear across central Scotland.

Highlights

• The Union Canal frontage — the canal, engineered by Hugh Baird and opened in 1822 as a contour waterway to Falkirk, runs along the park boundary; moorhen, coot, mallard and mute swans work the water all year.
• The towpath long-distance routes — the path beside the park carries both the John Muir Way and a National Cycle Network route, so a casual stroll can become a traffic-free ride towards Falkirk.
• The west playground — a multi-play unit with slide, climbing wall, fireman’s pole, nets and frames, plus springer rockers, swings including toddler seats, and activity boards, all on soft rubber surfacing.
• The dog-free fenced area — an enclosed picnic and play space kept free of dogs, a rarity in Edinburgh parks and a relief for parents of very small children.
• The formal garden and meadows — bedding displays and roses at the formal end, annual flower meadows elsewhere, and a wildflower meadow created with local children.
• The Green Flag record — the park has held the Green Flag Award for quality greenspace since 2007, sustained by the council working with the Friends of Harrison Park.

What you’ll find

The park covers around 7 hectares (17 acres) in total and is split in two by a road, with the western section the one addressed here. It is flat, open and heavily used: pitches occupy the centre, paths cross the grass in straight lines, mature trees line the edges, and the canal seals one side. Facilities are practical rather than showy, and the Friends group has quietly added the details that make it a habitat as well as a playing field.

• A full-size football pitch, home ground of North Merchiston Football Club, plus four seven-a-side pitches.
• Two children’s play areas across the park, one of them within the western section.
• Surfaced paths with seating, lighting and step-free access, upgraded steadily since 2008.
• A cycle path linking through to the canal towpath and the wider city network.
• Formal flower beds, roses, a herb and community growing area, and wildflower meadow.
• Bird and bat boxes installed by the Friends group; pipistrelle bats hunt over the canal at dusk.

Things to do — and who it’s for

• Families with toddlers — the fenced dog-free enclosure and the soft-surfaced play unit make this one of the lower-stress playgrounds in the south-west of the city.
• Cyclists and long-distance walkers — join the towpath at the park and you are on a level, traffic-free route heading west out of Edinburgh.
• Five-a-side and club footballers — five marked pitches in one place, from full-size down to seven-a-side, in constant use through the season.
• Dog walkers — a straightforward off-park circuit combining park paths with the towpath, with the fenced play area conveniently out of bounds to dogs.
• Wildlife watchers — swans nest along the canal, moorhen and coot forage in the margins, and bats emerge over the water on summer evenings.
• Local residents wanting green quiet — surrounded by dense Victorian tenements, this is the nearest thing the district has to a back garden.

Getting there & practical

Harrison Park sits in Polwarth, on the Shandon side of the district, about a mile and a half south-west of the city centre and within the wider Merchiston area. Lothian services 10 and 27 serve the park directly, and the 38 runs along the neighbouring corridor with a stop a short walk from the western entrance. The nearest rail station and tram stops are at Haymarket, roughly twenty-five minutes on foot or a few minutes by bus, from where trams run to the city centre and the airport. Arriving by bike is arguably the best option: the canal towpath delivers you to the park gate without touching a main road. Entry is free, the park is unenclosed and open at all hours, and there are no tickets or charges of any kind for any part of it. Half an hour covers a walk round; an hour or two if children are using the playground.

When to visit

Spring is when the park looks its best from a distance — blossom on the boundary trees, swans pairing off along the canal and the pitches drying out after winter. Summer brings the meadows into flower and fills the pitches every evening; the towpath becomes a genuine commuter route, and long northern daylight keeps the playground busy until late. Autumn turns the tree-lined walks amber and is the quietest, most pleasant season for the canal walk, with mist sitting on the water in the early morning. Winter is bare and often wet, but the paths are surfaced and lit, the canal rarely freezes for long, and this is the season when the park’s role as a simple everyday shortcut and dog-walking loop matters most.

Good to know

The park was created on land feued by Edinburgh Corporation from Heriot’s Hospital in 1886, with more ground added in 1902, and it takes its name from Sir George Harrison (1811–85), Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1882 to 1885 and briefly Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South — the same civic figure credited with securing Blackford Hill for the city. Its Victorian recreational fittings included a five-hole golf course laid out in 1889, a bowling green and tennis courts, most of which have since given way to football pitches and open grass. Behind the tenements on the northern side runs a footpath along the former trackbed of the Caledonian Railway main line into its long-closed city-centre terminus, and there was once a Merchiston Station on that line close to the park. The canal alongside was mothballed for decades before the Millennium Link reopened it end to end in the early 2000s, and the boathouse just along the water from the park is now the base of the Edinburgh Union Canal Society, a charity that keeps traditional rowing boats on the water and runs canal events such as the Flotilla of Lights.

Visitor tips

• Approach along the towpath rather than by road — it is level, car-free and much the prettiest way in.
• If you are with a toddler, head straight for the fenced enclosure: it is the only part of the park where dogs are excluded.
• Check pitch bookings before planning a picnic in the middle of the grass; on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings the pitches are usually all in use.

Questions & answers

Is there an entrance fee for Harrison Park West? No. It is a free public park with no gates, no tickets and no closing time.

What is the difference between Harrison Park West and Harrison Park East? They are the two halves of the same park, separated by a road. The western section is the one with the main playground and the bulk of the football pitches; the eastern section lies to the north-east.

Who was the park named after? Sir George Harrison, who lived from 1811 to 1885, served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1882 to 1885 and was also elected to Parliament for Edinburgh South.

Can you walk or cycle to the Falkirk Wheel from here? In principle yes — the towpath along the park is a continuous route west along the Union Canal towards Falkirk, and it forms part of both the John Muir Way and the National Cycle Network. It is a long day’s ride, not a stroll.

Is the playground suitable for older children? It is aimed mainly at toddlers and primary-age children up to around eight, although the standard swings and climbing frames suit older ones too. Teenagers tend to use the open pitches instead.

Are dogs allowed in the park? Yes, throughout the open park, but not inside the fenced play and picnic enclosure, which is signed as dog-free.

What wildlife might I see? Along the canal expect mute swans, mallard, moorhen and coot, with pipistrelle bats hunting over the water at dusk in summer. The Friends group has installed bird and bat boxes around the park.

Is the park accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs? Yes. The ground is flat, paths are surfaced and lit, and step-free access and additional entrances have been added since 2008.

Are there toilets or a café in the park? There are no facilities inside the park itself, but the surrounding tenement streets have several small cafés within a few minutes’ walk of the entrances.