Finding hope among Edinburgh's vanishing bowling greens

Bittersweet times for sport as city food growing project brings new use to declining lawns

The croft at Leith: Pic Earth in Common

This summer, work will start on transforming two disused Edinburgh bowling greens in Trinity and Corstorphine into community food growing spaces, writes Joe Coroneo-Seaman.

The public bowling greens in Victoria Park and St Margaret's Park were returned to council stewardship in 2023, along with two others, due to underuse. As the sport's popularity has gradually declined over the years, many cash-strapped bowling clubs in Edinburgh have closed - leaving once-loved lawns to fall into quiet disrepair.

Consultations held in June last year found a clear local appetite for community growing areas, as well as sensory gardens, tree planting, wildflower meadows and meeting places.

Now, Edinburgh council has granted permission to Earth in Common (EIC), the charity behind the pioneering Leith Community Croft on the edge of Leith Links, to sate this hunger by creating and running two new 'urban crofts' on the vacant lots.

The council has awarded the charity £50,000 for each site to get started dividing once-immaculate lawns into small, shared plots of land where people can grow their own vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers.

Bowling in decline

For the capital's bowlers, it's a bittersweet state of affairs.

"It's seen as an old man’s game," says John Rodgers, a committee member of Edinburgh West End Bowling Club, which has 55 members, down from over a hundred at its peak. Bowling is less formal than it used to be, he explains - an intentional effort to attract younger players. The days of blazers and badges are mostly a thing of the past.

Still, the numbers show a clear trend. Since 2014, the number of private bowling clubs in Edinburgh area has fallen from around 58 to 43. With fewer and fewer paying members, clubs that can no longer afford the cost of maintaining the grounds have made the difficult decision to close.

"It’s the annual question: how long can we go on for?"

Bowling clubs are much-loved social spaces, so these closures can be a big loss for the community. Most clubhouses are fitted with a full bar and can be hired out for functions, like birthday parties, at an affordable price.

They are especially valued by elderly residents -- there are few sports you can play well into your eighties and nineties -- and many people remain paying members for years after they have stopped playing, just for the social aspect. Rodgers says: "For some people, it’s the only day in a week they get out."