Newhaven High Street

Newhaven is a fishing village in Edinburgh. In common with many Scottish fishing villages the houses have a forestair which allows access to the first floor front door. Traditionally the ground floor would have been for storing fishing nets.

Most of the village was redeveloped but the character of the houses was preserved in the design of the new houses, with the use of the forestair. Some of these “houses” are ground floor/first floor flats. Some two story houses have an interesting arrangement with the outside forestair leading to a front door and an internal staircase leading down from the main rooms on the first floor to additional accommodation on the ground floor.

These houses with their external forestairs were a pile of rubble in a 1971 photo, but have been rebuilt in the same style to mirror what was there in the 1960s and before.

This house with its blue paintwork looks out across the harbour.

This close between the main street and the harbour has poles for hanging out washing to dry.