Leith, Scotland

Leith is my hometown. I wasn't born there but I spent some of the most important years of my life there.

It is a port town on the estuary (or firth in Scots language) of The River Forth in Eastern Scotland and is now a part of Edinburgh, the capital city.

Leith used to be a bustling, busy port but went into decline in the second half of the 20th century. By the 1980s it had a reputation for poverty and drug problems. This was portrayed in the novels of Irvine Welsh, one of which,Trainspotting, was made into a successful film.

Nowadays, Leith is a great place to live and work. The port area has been redeveloped and a lot of the warehouses and factories have been converted into flats and offices, many of which have great views of the sea. There are alot of local amenities including a shopping centre, a cinema, a swimming pool and a lot of restaurants and bars.

Leith has it's own football team, Hibernian F.C., who are currently in third position in The Scottish Premier League. The club was formed in 1875 by Irish immigrants. This explains the name which means "Irish" in Latin.

The song Sunshine On Leith by The Proclaimers is the anthem of both the town and the football club and is famous throughout Scotland.