Portobello Beach

This guide to Portobello Beach in Edinburgh centers on a Victorian-era gamble: in 1936, city treasurer Louis Gumley poured public money into a giant saltwater pool on this stretch of sand, backed by councillor Gerard Crawford's promise of a grand future for the resort. It reaches back further too, to William Jameson, who came here meaning to build a house and found clay instead, turning the shoreline into a brickworks and harbor. Listen for how the pool once drew thousands of swimmers on a busy Sunday.