Overview of Liberton

A residential suburban district of Edinburgh lying 3 miles (5 km) south of the city centre, which is perhaps best known for Liberton Brae, a steep ascent on the main A 701 out of the city. Liberton began as a scattered village comprising Kirk Liberton (to the south around the Parish Church), Liberton Dams (where the Braid Burn crosses between Liberton Brae and Mayfield Road), Nether Liberton (around the bottom of Gilmerton Road) and Over Liberton (to the west on the south slope of Blackford Glen), and to some extent it still mirrors this structure.

To the west, towards the Braid Hills, is the early 16th Century Liberton Tower. Liberton Parish Church sits proudly on Kirkgate and was built in 1818 by J. Gillespie Graham (1776 - 1855), replacing an earlier one lost in a fire. Next to Alnwickhill is a public water supply treatment works, which takes water through pipes from the Midlothian reservoirs and delivers it to the residents of SE Edinburgh. Liberton High School lies to the east on Gilmerton Road and dates from 1959.