I’ve never driven the 21, but I already know its rhythm: the sharp inhale before a narrow turn, the lull of wide suburban streets, the murmur of students crossing in Sighthill, and the quiet expectation of reaching the Royal Infirmary.
Today, it exists only in my notebook, in imagined brake lights and familiar smells of the city, as I try to memorise six sections of Edinburgh one careful corner at a time.
Clovenstone to Sighthill – The Estate Escape
Clovenstone’s your starting pistol, low-rise flats, stairwells, and the sound of doors shutting just as you pull up. Wester Hailes Park and Hailesland Place blend into each other with that west Edinburgh rhythm: plenty of crossing points, kids darting across the grass shortcuts, and the odd shopping trolley that’s somehow migrated half a mile from the supermarket. Murrayburn Park brings more of the same before Westside Plaza appears, part shopping centre, part social hub, part clock you can set your watch by.
From there, Calder Drive sweeps you into Napier University territory. Sighthill’s student energy means groups will be crossing everywhere except the designated place, and always with a coffee. Sighthill Green is your brief breath of open space before you’re funnelling back into housing and turns.
Broomhouse to Drum Brae – The Zig-Zag Climb
New Lairdship Yards is all industrial edges, then you’re straight down Broomhouse Drive, a long enough stretch to check your mirrors, your blind spots, and your life choices. Forrester Park Avenue turns you back into residential calm, with Broomhall Gardens, Broomhall Road, and Meadowplace Road offering tight turns framed by well-kept hedges and the occasional bin left artistically in the road.
Templeland Road and Pearce Road zigzag towards Drum Brae Gardens, where gardens are indeed present but mostly serve as front-row seats for bus-spotting pensioners. Drum Brae Avenue and Duart Crescent feel like a warm-up for Drum Brae North’s incline, then it’s the satisfying straight shot down Drum Brae Drive, a rare Edinburgh road where you can actually see the horizon.
Clermiston to Silverknowes – North by Northwest
Hoseason Gardens rolls you into Drum Brae Hub, a stop that’s always busier than you expect, before climbing past Clermiston View and Crescent, where every house looks like it’s been on the market at least once in the last 12 months. Clermiston Road North spits you onto Queensferry Road, where traffic lights and turning traffic keep you honest.
Hillpark Steps flashes by, then you glide down to Quality Street (still not edible) and Main Street, which is the sort of high street where you could buy a coffee, post a letter, and overhear at least one conversation about the weather. Corbiehill Road and Silverknowes Neuk edge you closer to the sea, you’ll smell it if the wind’s right, along with the faint tang of fish suppers.
Muirhouse to Goldenacre – Big Roads and Bigger Landmarks
Muirhouse Green’s a wide, open entry before Groathill Road North’s tree-lined run. Drylaw Police Station looms in civic authority before you hit Crewe Toll, west and east, like a pair of gates you pass through on your way deeper into the city.
Pilton Drive and East Fettes Avenue feel like they’ve been lifted from a period drama: high stone walls, leafy overhangs, and the sense someone important once lived here. Boswall Drive and Wardie Road lead you to Goldenacre, all understated grandeur and sandstone confidence, the sort of place you could imagine sipping tea, if you weren’t sat behind the wheel.
Leith to Portobello – Tight Turns to Seaside Stretches
Bangholm Place guides you quietly past Warriston Crematorium, a quick, respectful nod here, before Craighall Road feeds into Newhaven Road. Dudley Avenue South is the warm-up for Leith’s tighter urban driving: Leith Theatre, Mill Lane, and Cables Wynd’s tall tenements, each with laundry hanging like semaphore flags.
Kirkgate Centre is the human heart of Leith, people darting, chatting, queuing, before Duke Street stretches things out again. Burns Street, Woodville Terrace, Hermitage Park Grove and Lochend Park mark the gradual shift eastwards. Hawkhill, Lochend Avenue, Sleigh Drive, and Restalrig Drive are all sharp corners and give-way signs before Loganlea Road lands you at Craigentinny Crossroads, a junction older than most of the traffic using it.
Craigentinny to Royal Infirmary – East End to Endgame
Craigentinny Avenue slips past Piershill Cemetery, another nod, before Moira Terrace, Parker Road, and Goff Avenue put you onto King’s Road. Bridge Street is your gateway into Portobello proper, where the Town Hall, Brighton Place, and Southfield Place deliver a dose of seaside life. Durham Place Lane pivots you inland again.
Milton Road’s steady flow takes you to Magdalene Drive and The Jewel, retail central. Niddrie Mill Crescent, Niddrie Mill, and the Jack Kane Centre feel like the home stretch, but the grid of Hay Drive, Hay Avenue, Wauchope Road, and St Teresa Church still keep you busy.
Niddrie Marischal Drive, Niddrie House Avenue, and Greendykes Terrace wind you through the last housing cluster before Sandilands Close, the SCRM, and finally the Royal Infirmary stop. Handbrake on. Homework done. And tomorrow, the real fun begins.
Fork in the Road – The Gyle Detour
Sometimes the 21 takes a little adventure off the main track, veering towards the Gyle Centre before looping back at Forrester Park Avenue. Think of it as the route’s way of saying, “Let’s see a different side of Edinburgh today.”
From Gyle Centre (Stop KE), you drift down Lochside Crescent and Lochside Place, quiet residential streets where the biggest hazard is the perfectly trimmed hedge that looks like it might have opinions about your driving. Redheughs Avenue and Redheughs Rigg roll past office blocks and industrial glimpses; a moment to appreciate the contrast with the leafy estates you’ve left behind.
South Gyle Park, South Gyle Mains, and South Gyle Wynd feel like a suburban shuffle — neat, straight, and polite. Forrester High School adds a flash of student energy, though thankfully not quite as chaotic as Napier University. Bankhead Drive and Broomhouse Roundabout require a touch of attention: roundabouts are where the 21 reminds you it has a slightly mischievous side.
Finally, you rejoin the main route at Forrester Park Avenue, passing Broomhall Gardens and Broomhall Road once more, like returning to the familiar stage after a brief cameo elsewhere. It’s a short detour, but one that keeps the route interesting, and keeps the driver awake.
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Meta description: From Clovenstone estates to the Royal Infirmary, my six-section pre-drive homework tour of Edinburgh’s number 21 service.
Keyword set: edinburgh bus routes, clovenstone to royal infirmary, edinburgh route learning, service 21 edinburgh, bus driver route notes, bus driving homework, edinburgh public transport, pre-drive bus route research, edinburgh bus journey
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