The rowing scene in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital of Scottish rowing. Four clubs share the narrow, winding 1500m stretch of the Union Canal at Meggetland and Craiglockhart, while coastal crews row St Ayles skiffs on the Firth of Forth from Portobello, Newhaven, Queensferry and Aberdour. The flat-water racing scene is anchored by Edinburgh University Boat Club and St Andrew Boat Club, with George Heriot's and George Watson's College driving a strong junior pipeline.
Key numbers
The Union Canal at Meggetland and Craiglockhart provides a narrow 1500m training stretch shared by the city's flat-water clubs - novice-friendly but too short and twisty for full racing. Edinburgh crews travel to Strathclyde Park in Lanarkshire, the only 2000m championship course in Scotland, for the Scottish Rowing Championships and the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta. Coastal St Ayles skiff crews row the Firth of Forth from Portobello beach, Newhaven Harbour, Port Edgar (Queensferry) and Aberdour.
All 9 rowing clubs in Edinburgh
Sorted by founding year. Every entry links to the club's own website; we verified all URLs in May 2026. If you spot an error or your club is missing, let us know.
| Club | Founded | Location | Reach | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St Andrew Boat Club
Founded 24 April 1846 at 17 Atholl Crescent - the oldest open amateur rowing club in Scotland and the sixth oldest in the UK. New PS1m boathouse completed 2021; Scottish Rowing Club of the Year 2024. |
1846 | Meggetland Wynd, Edinburgh, EH14 | Union Canal (Meggetland to Polwarth) | Senior community |
|
Edinburgh University Boat Club
Founded 1867; one of just five university clubs designated a British Rowing High Performance Programme. Alumni include Olympic medallists Dame Katherine Grainger and Polly Swann. |
1867 | Meggetland, Edinburgh, EH14 | Union Canal (Meggetland) | University / high-performance |
|
George Heriot's School Rowing Club
Rowing club of George Heriot's School, based at the school's boathouse on the Union Canal at Craiglockhart. National Schools' championship event winners in 2022 and 2023. |
1957 | Craiglockhart, Edinburgh, EH14 | Union Canal (Craiglockhart) | School |
|
Heriot-Watt University Boat Club
Competitive student club with Senior Men, Senior Women and Beginner squads racing at the Inverness Small Boats Head, BUCS Head, the Head of the River Race and the Scottish Rowing Championships. |
1966 | Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh, EH14 | Union Canal (Meggetland) | University |
|
George Watson's College Boat Club
Has competed at the British Rowing Championships since its founding in 1972. Alumni include Olympic silver medallist Harry Leask and world champion Callum McBrierty. |
1972 | Colinton Road, Edinburgh, EH10 | Union Canal (Meggetland) | School |
|
Newhaven Coastal Rowing Club
Built and launched their first St Ayles skiff "The Wee Michael" at Newhaven Harbour in November 2010 - one of the earliest St Ayles skiffs ever built. Hosts the Forth Midsummer Challenge. |
2010 | Newhaven Harbour, Edinburgh, EH6 | Firth of Forth (Newhaven) | Sea / coastal |
|
Aberdour Coastal Rowing Club
Community St Ayles skiff club on the north shore of the Firth of Forth opposite Edinburgh - part of the Scottish Coastal Rowing Association network linking the Forth shoreline clubs. |
2011 | Aberdour Harbour, Fife, KY3 | Firth of Forth (Aberdour, north shore) | Sea / coastal |
|
Queensferry Rowing Club
Coastal club based at Port Edgar in the shadow of the Forth bridges, rowing two St Ayles skiffs (Ferry Maid and Ferry Lass) year-round on the Firth of Forth. |
2012 | Port Edgar, South Queensferry, EH30 | Firth of Forth (Forth Bridges) | Sea / coastal |
|
Eastern Amateur Coastal Rowing Club
Founded 2015 as a revival of the original Eastern Amateur Rowing Club (which operated at Portobello from the 1890s to the 1980s). Two St Ayles skiffs - SKELF (2015) and SPRITE (2018) - row from Portobello beach. |
2015 | Portobello Beach, Edinburgh, EH15 | Firth of Forth (Portobello) | Sea / coastal |
Major regattas in or near Edinburgh
Early June (Strathclyde Park)
Mid-April (Strathclyde Park)
November (Fettes College, Edinburgh)
Early May (Castle Semple Loch, Lochwinnoch)
Software for Edinburgh rowing clubs
Most of the 9 clubs above still run their boat booking, member admin, session attendance and crew lineups on a combination of spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups and printed sheets on the boathouse wall. Row HQ is rowing-club management software built specifically for clubs like these.
If your committee is hitting the predictable problems - lineups in the wrong file, fees uncollected, attendance unrecorded, captain on holiday with the password - book a 30-minute demo. We've ported clubs from spreadsheets in a weekend.
See Row HQ for your club
Free forever for clubs of up to 20 active members. No card needed.
Other rowing-club cities
Looking at the wider regional scene? Here are the other cities we have full directories for.
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From the blog
If you're researching the rowing scene in Edinburgh as a club admin or captain, these are the most useful pieces we've written.
Sources & references
- Scottish Rowing: Our Clubs
- Scottish Rowing: Student Rowing
- Scottish Coastal Rowing Association: Club Finder
- Wikipedia: St Andrew Boat Club
- Wikipedia: Edinburgh University Boat Club
- Wikipedia: George Heriot's School Rowing Club
- Wikipedia: George Watson's College Rowing Club
- Wikipedia: Scottish Boat Race