CHARLIE ELLIS CONSIDERS EDINBURGH’S BATTIEST BUS ROUTE
As I sat in Hata (5 Rodney Street), sipping a satisfying cortado, I witnessed a stand-off. Who would come out on top?
At the junction, two single-decker buses came face to face. One was coming up the hill and the other down, both wanting to make the tight turn onto Broughton Road.
A contest seemed to be taking place. Not just for which would turn first, but involving some hidden rivalry about which was Edinburgh’s most eccentric bus route. Lothian Buses’ 36 versus the enigmatic 13, now run by Edinburgh Coach Lines. In truth, there could only ever be one winner. For a few hundred metres of Broughton Road, the pair share the same path, but they are different beasts.
From Morningside to Stockbridge, the 36 provides an interesting, twisting route for behatted ladies of a certain age. In terms of idiosyncrasy, the 36 is an uncle with a hoarding tendency and significant collection of Dutch beer mats.
In contrast, the 13 has multiple skeletons in its closet and has been cautioned by the police on a number of occasions.
The route of the 13 is notoriously peculiar, especially the way that it slaloms through the New Town. This was revealed to me during my lockdown wanders, when the 13 would appear at my shoulder at unexpected moments as I traversed quiet mews and elegant crescents. I then found the 13 following me as I went further afield, to Leith, and even in the leafy backwaters of Blackhall. I found it hard to believe that a single bus route could encompass such disparate, dislocated areas.
I was drawn to explore the route of the 13 and discovered that it connects a number of significant streets where Lothian Buses are rarely found, such as McDonald Road and Ravelston Dykes. The bare facts are that the 13 has 53 stops and the total trip duration for this route is approximately 52 minutes. The first stop of the 13 bus route is Craigleith Retail Park, and the last stop is Findlay Gardens, Restalrig. This doesn’t tell the half of it.
In recent months, the 13 has been forced by the tramworks to reroute in the area around Leith Walk. For a while, it wasn’t able to cut across into Dalmeny Street. A friend of mine took the 13 at that time, delighted that a single bus could take them from the West End to Restalrig. At one point the driver had to reassure his passengers, ‘Don’t worry, I know where I’m going. It’s just a diversion.’ But are passengers on the 13 able to tell the difference between a diversion and its ‘normal’ route?
Fuelled by the rich brew I was sipping, the idea for a short story came to mind. A flight of fancy with post-apocalyptic elements was soon being absorbed by my notebook. A few days later it was, like the 13 itself, heading Leithwards for consideration in the next volume of Leith Writings. This project has so far produced two interesting volumes – The Darting Salamander and The Seagull at the Shore – both stylishly printed by Out of the Blueprint.
They are now inviting submissions for Volume 3 – for poetry, fiction, short stories, non-fiction, or lyrics in which Leith, in some form, ‘should be recognisably present’.
Charlie Ellis is a researcher and EFL teacher who writes on culture, education and politics.
[Images from Edinburgh Coach Lines (1), Yunner, Wikimedia Commons (2), Moovit (3 and 4), Leith Writings (5).
