28 THE EDINBURGH COUNTY DIRECTORY.
proceed to Roslin by the bridge already noticed ; or be may return from tbe
Lodge by tbe road which he came, and after a drive of about two miles to the
east, reach the village of
Lasswade, the centre of an interesting and beautiful district, 6 miles from
Edinburgh, where Sir Walter Scott and De Quincey resided for some
time. There is both an Established and United Presbyterian Church in the
village, and towards Bonnyrigg, half-a-mile to the south (much extended of
late to meet the demand for summer quarters), there is a Eree Church. The
chief manufacture is paper, for both writing and printing purposes. A little
to the north is Melville Castle, an elegant building in the Gothic style, the
seat of Viscount Melville. A mile west from Lasswade is Newbattle Abbey ;
and the same distance north of Newbattle is Dalkeith, the seat of the Duke of
Buccleuch. The Visitor may return to Edinburgh either by coach or rail. If
by coach, he will be driven, a mile to the west, through the village of
Loanhead, on approaching which, on his left, he will pass Mavisbank House
(the residence of Geo. C. Arbuthnot, Esq.), near which is a mound of earth,
begirt with ramparts, where many relics of antiquarian interest have been
found. About a mile from Loanhead is the hamlet of Straiton, from which the
Visitor proceeds to town by the route he traversed on leaving Edinburgh.
4. EDINBURGH TO CUREIE, MID-CALDER, AND WEST CALDER.
By this route the traveller will be conducted through the entire western
part of the county, a distance from Edinburgh of 16 miles. Leaving by
the Caledonian Railway Station, at the west end of Princes Street, and passing
Dairy and Gorgie on the right, the train stops at the village of
Slateford, a distance of little more than two miles from the capital, on
the Water of Leith, in the neighbourhood of which are several large stone-
quarries. The stations on the Caledonian line are of the most wretched descrip-
tion. The ticket-office at Slateford is the dirty little box on the left, about six
feet square ; and the wooden shed on the right, called the " waiting-room,"
might easily be mistaken for a convenience of another kind. On the left of
the village is Craiglockhart House, the residence of the Sheriff (Davidson) of
the county. Slateford is the post-town for Colinton, in which parish it is
situated. About a mile south-west of Slateford is the village of
Colinton, picturesquely situated in tbe valley of the Water of Leith, which
may be reached either from Slateford, or from the station of Kingsknowe, only
half-a-mile farther west. The direct route from Slateford is by the road south
of the village, to Craiglockhart, afterwards turning to the south-west, on the
right of which, and at the entrance to the village, is Colinton House, the resi-
dence of the Dowager Lady Dunfermline. A more romantic walk is by the
side of the river, which is well wooded, entering by a footpath at Kate's Mill,
and emerging at a narrow pathway near the parish church. The history of
Colinton has been written by Thomas Murray, Esq., LL.D., Lasswade, who, a
few years ago, resided in Colinton Bank, at the main entrance to the village.
Half-a-mile east of the village is Dreghorn Castle ; and a mile to the west the
Visitor by foot or conveyance passes through
Juniper Green, a pleasant little village lying midway on the road to Currie,