Balerno
Balerno is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated 8 miles (13 kilometres) south-west of the city centre, beside Currie and then Juniper Green. Administratively, Balerno falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. Its name derives from the Scottish Gaelic Baile Àirneach, meaning "townland/town of the hawthorns". The earliest written records of Balhernoch or Balernach are located in the late 13th century. The 18th Century brought significant growth to the location, with several new flax, snuff as well as paper mills emerging around the Water of Leith and also its tributary, the Bavelaw Burn (evidence of flax production can be seen in Harlaw Woods). The biggest of these mills, Balerno Bank Paper Mill located near the centre of the old village closed in the early 1980s. After the First World War residence structure started in earnest in the area as well as ever since domestic pressures have practically overwhelmed business and also commercial ones. There was a short loop railway running over what is now the Water of Leith Walkway.
