We had a very interesting adult civilised chat with an Edinburgh dog walker on Reddit the other week – we could do with more people like this in the conversation.   

They were very honest and forthcoming with their answers, and we appreciate that.

Here is the full, unedited text – it certainly raises a good number of talking points.

“I live near Newington Cemetery and it is used almost exclusively by people going for some sort of walk, dog or otherwise. It is basically a park though the way it is set up and most of the graves in that cemetery are at least 50 years old, I wouldn’t dream of letting my dog run around in a cemetery that was actually just graves and where there are people regularly mourning, I think I’ve only seen fresh flowers on about two graves in Newington Cemetery. I really think this should be case by case rather than every cemetery in Edinburgh, Newington Cemetery literally has a bin dedicated only to dog waste, so clearly the expectation is that people walk their dogs there.”

Thanks for your input. It’s an interesting point, although I read on the Newington Cemetery website “interments still take place where lairage holders have a right of burial” and mention of “Commonwealth War Graves mainly dating from WW1”. Compromises may need to be made. Out of interest, do you let your dog “off lead”, or see others doing this? A genuine question.

“Most people who walk their dogs in Newington Cemetery do let them off lead. Yes there are a lot of WW1 graves, makes me feel really sad sometimes seeing the ages and names, I do let mine off lead but I do stress that the cemetery is far more park like than a lot of other cemeteries and we are respectful of the graves, like I wouldn’t let him pee on a grave. Some people even drive there to walk their dogs.”

Thanks for your honesty. Another question, if you don’t mind - with Inch Park and Arthur’s Seat/Holyrood Park so close by, is it because Newington Cemetery is closer, that you use it to exercise your dog? Again, genuine question, I am interested. You say others drive there – maybe it’s easier to park?

“No worries, I think it’s an interesting conversation and I definitely agree with the measures taken in Morningside. I live just across the street from the cemetery, I take him to Arthur’s Seat on the weekends or when there’s more light but by the time I’m anywhere I can let him off lead it will take 20 mins walk, so if I only have about 20 mins of daylight to work with it’s a bit too far, Inch Park is a bit too playing fields-y there’s not really as much of a woodsy feel and less room for him to sniff trees and squirrels etc. I have no idea why someone would drive to the cemetery instead of a different park like the Hermitage which has way better parking, the cemetery is on a busy street you can barely park on but people park within the cemetery grounds but there’s very limited space. It’s not my first choice, when I have the time I’ll take him to Arthur’s Seat or the Hermitage, I don’t know, I guess maybe people take their dogs there because it’s walled in? Mine has good recall so I don’t worry so much about that but that may be a reason for someone to drive there?”

This exchange backs up four of our own findings.

1. Many dog owners use local cemeteries as dog exercise yards.
   
   
2. They use the cemetery because they feel is the closest “green space” for them to exercise their dog. Is it though? Our post on green spaces in Edinburgh: https://t.ly/vrkVP
   
   
3. They are even prepared to drive to a cemetery to exercise their dog.
   
   
4. They use cemeteries because they are often walled in spaces. This means they can let their dogs off lead.

Food for thought. This will certainly form part of our case to the Culture & Communities Committee at Edinburgh Council for revisiting their current Cemetery Management Rules.