Dean Village

Dean Village is an area of Edinburgh along the Water of Leith and for more than 800 years was a busy grain milling village.  There used to be more than 11 working mills here which were driven by the flow of the water.  The area was a separate village until the 19th Century - the estate was purchased in 1826 by a John Learmonth who was to become Lord Provost of the city.  Thomas Telford was drafted in to create a bridge spanning the valley, which opened in 1833.  The bridge spans over 400ft and rises 106ft above the water, now carrying Queensferry Road over Dean Gorge.  For any readers of crime-writer Ian Rankin books, Dean Village appears in 'Strip Jack'.