A new strategy has been launched by the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC), in partnership with British Waterways (Scotland), to maximise leisure uses on the historic Union Canal.

The local authority is aiming to provide activities including boating, rowing and cycling for residents and visitors along the 16km (9.9-mile) length of the 200-year-old waterway.

Plans to create a "canal culture" through recreational and community uses will be backed with the development of seven hubs at points along the Union Canal.

Issues including lighting, access and mooring will be looked at as part of the strategy, which has been shaped using responses submitted during a public consultation last June.

British Waterways Scotland director Steve Dunlop said: "The new Edinburgh Canal Strategy is a major milestone in the renaissance of the two hundred year old Union Canal."

CEC's Tim McKay added: "We hope this strategy will bring about the development of the canal so that more people from across the city, and beyond, can appreciate and enjoy its many facilities and benefit from its beauty as well as the economic potential it provides."

Image: The Lochrin Basin at Fountainbridge