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Definitive Guide to Edinburgh Street Murals

By Joanna Burns

You don't need to venture far in Edinburgh to find incredible street art. Designed by Scotland's most exciting artists, we've created a definitive guide to murals around the city. The beauty of Edinburgh is that a lot of these are within walking distance of each other so take a day to explore these amazing pieces of art right on your doorstep.

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Colinton Tunnel

A recent addition to the Edinburgh murals scene is this epic piece at the Colinton Tunnel on the Water of Leith. With artwork by Chris Rutterford, the mural depicts Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem ‘From a Railway Carriage.’

A colourful mural covering the whole tunnel with Robert Louise Stevenson in the foreground — 📷 Colinton Tunnel

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Studio 24, Calton Road

This bright mural on Calton Road by Spectrum Arts pays homage to the Edinburgh techno scene as well as other local institutions.

Studio 24 is a grey building with a colourful sweeping design painted on the front — 📷 Spectrum Arts

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North Junction Street

This mural was created in 1986 by Tim Chalk and Paul Grime depicting the history of Leith.

This mural covers the whole side of a building and depicts the history of Leith through colourful artwork — 📷 @laura_annephotography

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Bongo Club Gate Mural

Kirsty Whiten’s artwork turns Bongo’s gate into a work of art.

On the Bongo club gate, Kirsty Whiten's design depicts three surreal animals dancing — 📷 Bongo

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Capita Mural, Morrison Street

Another Chris Rutterford mural appears on the Capita building on Morrison Street. The mural is a stunning depiction of the Edinburgh skyline.

Chris Rutterford's design shows the Edinburgh skyline with swirling clouds above on the side of the building — 📷 Chris Rutterford

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Bier Hoose, Leith Walk

Why not make your pub look just as exciting when it’s all closed up? KMG designed this incredible shutter artwork for the Bier Hoose.

Colourful art on the shutters of the Bier Hoose pub — 📷 KMG

Lovella, Leith Walk

LeithLate have been instrumental in bringing street mural art to Leith and have collaborated with artists on some of the best murals in the city. Lovella by Elph is one of them and is a pop of colour on Leith Walk that you don’t want to miss.

On the corner of a building, this mural shows a bright image of a person with purple hairo — 📷 Chris Scott

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Halmyre Street

The Leith Aquatic on Halmyre Street was created by the Blameless Collective with LeithLate. It’s an incredible piece made in collaboration with an older people’s housing association and takes inspiration from their stories and memories.

This mural shows a boat on the sea with birds flying above — 📷 Eoin Carey

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Wildlife Mural, Bridge 8 Hub

Who said shipping containers couldn’t be works of art? Bobby McNamara, also known as Rogue One, transformed a row of them at Bridge 8 Hub on the Union Canal into the Wildlife Mural, depicting all the different wildlife native to Scotland.

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Abbeyhill

Fraser Gray is a name that will keep coming up if you’re looking into the Edinburgh street mural scene. His work under the train line at Abbeyhill is another collaboration with Viewpoint Housing, working with elderly residents to bring their memories of the area to life.

This bold mural is colourful and shows a yellow car — 📷 Kat Gollock

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Henderson Street

We can thank LeithLate again for this incredible work by Russell Dempster which pays homage to Edinburgh great Eduardo Paolozzi.

A man looks onto the mural showing a boy with his face in his hands — 📷 Eoin Carey

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Gifford Park

You don’t have to head to Leith to find great street murals in Edinburgh. This beautiful piece by Kate George was commissioned by the Southside Association.

The blue and yellow mural shows a woman, a sewing machine and a bird — 📷 Philip McDowell