Sometimes called Swanston, often Burdiehouse or Niddrie Burn, or Brunstane Burn … Whichever name you use, the river threads its way through Edinburgh communities from the hills at Swanston and Broomhills, to Brunstane and the sea at Joppa.

The Burn has shifted and transformed over many years, as the communities it flows through have moved and grown. Some areas meander through woodland and feel wild, others have become concrete channels of fast flowing water home to very little, and some sections are completely out of sight under roads and car parks.

Issues such as pollution, flooding, and erosion have an impact on the surrounding communities, as well as the wildlife that live along the burn. With rapidly changing climate it is vital that the river can cope with more frequent and increased rainfalls and provide cool oases for nature and people as temperatures continue to rise.

The Vision

The vision is for the Burdiehouse & Niddrie Burn to become a successful and notable blue-green regeneration project having restored approximately 5km of the burn and surrounding habitats. It will realise the potential of the burn to:

• Be a blue corridor – Restored, enhanced, and realigned, with improved morphology, in-stream habitats, sediments, and vegetation. Works may include 2 stage channels, backwaters, wetlands, river woods creation, and reconnecting the burn to its natural floodplain.
• Be a green corridor – Restored, enhanced, and newly created habitat and vegetation line the banks of the burn and expand out into the connecting landscapes. Wildlife thrives here boosting biodiversity and giving people the everyday chance of natural encounters. It brings nature into the city, building health and resilience into urban wildlife and urban communities.
• Provide valued public places – There are attractive spaces for work, relaxation, recreation, education, and play, that are valued and used by local communities and organisations. Seating & shelters encourage passers-by to pause and reflect at the water’s edge. Shallow scrapes and stepping stone crossings lead people across the burn, providing space for play and recreation. Placemaking takes place next to the river, but also expands out further into the landscapes that it connects to. People take pride at having these areas on their doorstep, keeping them clean and well maintained.
• Provide public access & active travel – Well maintained routes increase and support active travel throughout the neighbouring communities of the burn, connecting them and the burn with each other and to the wider city of Edinburgh. These routes are for families to connect, commuters to get to work, and to link people to where they need to be, all the while connecting them to water, nature, and wildlife in their everyday life.
• Educate and engage – Local people, groups and schools use the burn to connect, educate, and engage with water, nature, and wildlife in their everyday life. Signage, interpretation panels, and outdoor classrooms support these activities, creating a local sense of pride in the burn and its connected landscapes.
• Provide climate adaptation and resilience – Space for the burn to flood is designed into its surrounding areas through two-stage channels, wetlands, and managed floodplains that keep water away from property. Rainwater and run off are diverted out of the local drainage system and into the burn and surrounding spaces where new capacity has been built. The heat-island effects of the city are counteracted by the burn and its surrounding landscapes, providing oases for nature and people in an increasing hotter urban environment.

The Reaches and Activity Areas

The project describes the Burn as a collection of eight ‘reaches’. These will aid in conversations around the burn, helping people to get familiarised with its route and the many areas, landscapes, and communities that it flows through in Edinburgh. These reaches will also help define communities & stakeholders to be engaged. Each reach will be made up of a smaller number of activity areas based upon landownership, the topography of the area and the communities they are within.

Map 1. Burdiehouse & Niddrie Burn Restoration Project Reaches

You can view proposed concept plans for each reach by clicking on the individual activity areas titles below:

Broomhills
1 – Broomhills Farmland
2 & 3 – Broomhills Estate and SuDS

Burdiehouse
4 & 5 – Upper Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park & The Limes Estate Reserve
6 & 7 – Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park (Burdiehouse Crescent) & St Crispinʼs School
8 & 9 – Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park ʻThe Dipʼ & Lasswade Road Culvert
10 – Lower Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park (The Bothy)

Ellen’s Glen 
11 – Ellen’s Glen

Liberton Golf Course
12 – Liberton Golf Course

Edinburgh Bioquarter & Little France Park
13 – Edinburgh Royal Infirmary Wetland Zone

Hunter’s Hall Park
14 – Hunterʼs Hall Park South
15 – Hunterʼs Hall Park North (Jack Kane Centre)
16 – Hunterʼs Hall Park Nature Corner

The Jewel
17 – Niddrie Mains Greenspace
18 – The Jewel Park West

Magdalene Glen & Brunstane Mill
19 – Magdalene Glen
20 – Brunstane Mill

Keep up to date with project progress by:

• Following us on Facebook
• Following us on Instagram @burdiehouseandniddrieburn
• Following us on Bluesky @burdiehouseburn.bsky.social
• Attending an information event (dates below)
• Subscribing to the Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust Newsletter 

Events

• 18th May (1pm to 3pm), River Festival, Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park