Colinton Triangle

Before the Colinton Community Conservation Trust upgraded the Triangle, it was a much-neglected area of ground with no real public access. Also the short route from Woodhall Road to Bridge Road, by the pedestrian crossing was a well worn stairway around the side of 2 Woodhall Road.

A competition was held within the School of Landscape Architecture of the Edinburgh College of Art to come up with designs for the Triangle. About twenty entries were displayed at a public exhibition in Colinton. The final design was based on a combination of features found across a number of the entries.

A new pathway, named the New Drovers Path, was created across the Triangle to give a gently sloping footpath and stairs, making the route from Woodhall Road to Bridge Road much safer and easier. After long discussions with the Council, the old stairway was closed as a public right of way, giving the householders of 2 Woodhall Road more privacy.
 

The old steps around 2 Woodhall Road in 2001.

The new footpath across the Triangle Garden in 2005.

Either side of the path, the Triangle garden was landscaped and replanted to enhance the area. Much of the planting work was done for the Trust by local volunteers organised by Colinton Garden Club. The Trust shares the maintenance of the Triangle garden with the City Council. Volunteers organised by the Colinton Garden Club undertake the Trust's part of this work.

The overgrown Triangle Garden in 2001.

The Triangle Garden in 2005.

This was followed by the installation of floodlighting around the tall sycamore tree in the Triangle. The floodlighting is on during the evenings from late autumn to early spring.

As part of the landscaping work in the Triangle, the Belvedere was extended. This was done to give a meeting place for guided walks and the like, with views down the Long Steps into the old part of the Village, and to make space for future public artwork.

A celebration was had when the new footpath was opened on 28 February 2004 by Councillor Brian Meek. A stone marking the occasion was engraved and is fitted into the wall at the top of the footpath. Sadly Councillor Meek died a few months later. His 35 years as a councillor for Colinton are commemorated on an inscribed stone placed in the Triangle garden.

The final phase of the Triangle project, which is the interpretation of aspects of Colinton's history will commence shortly in the extended belvedere. Ideas for the interpretation phase are being discussed with the Colinton Local History Society.


Christmas Tree in the Triangle Garden in December 2004.

The floodlit sycamore tree in January 2005.