Newhaven Boats

Newhaven Harbour is a quaint working village harbour that sits on the Edinburgh waterfront between Leith and Granton. The harbour dates from the 16th century and retains a heritage character with creels, buoys and a clutter of fishing and sailing boats, as well as the bright red Newhaven Fishmarket building sitting alongside on the harbour wall. The area is well connected via roads, trams, bus routes and bike paths nearby. Once here it’s very easy to forget you are minutes away from a busy capital city.

Warm golden-hour light is ideal to illuminate the boats, harbour walls and the fishmarket building, but overcast days also present interesting compositions and textures. The web of ropes here are intriguing and break the foreground element. At low tide the boats sit on the exposed mud below and are not as idyllic to photograph so plan accordingly. Although the harbour is protected, only a low-wind day will present glass-like reflections. Remember, everything in a harbour generally moves all the time, so long exposure shots rarely yield clean crisp shots of boats and ropes.

Golden Hour in Edinburgh's quaint historic harbour