Edinburgh/South

The south of Edinburgh includes the Meadows and genteel residential areas such as Bruntsfield, Morningside, Marchmont and Newington. These were built up with villas and baronial tenements in the late 19th century and are the main accommodation belt for the city, for students and for visitors. To the west the area is bordered by the Union Canal and Lanark Road. To the south, the city boundary roughly follows the A720 city bypass and crest of the Pentlands.

Get in
South Edinburgh borders Old Town so places along its north edge near The Meadows are within walking distance, but it stretches beyond for some miles. Buses follow the main thoroughfares:
 * - Dalkeith Rd (A7) towards Prestonfield and Little France;
 * - South Clerk St (A701) towards Newington, Liberton, Burdiehouse and Penicuik;
 * - A702 from Tolcross towards Bruntsfield, Morningside, Comiston and Fairmilehead;
 * - Gilmore Place from Tolcross onto Colinton Rd.

Bus 400 from the airport circles the south edge of the city to the Royal Infirmary and Fort Kinnaird shopping centre.

See Edinburgh for using the buses.

Within about two miles of the Meadows, most parking M-Sa is residents only. The remainder is short-term, not suitable for a day's sightseeing in Old or New Town. The streets just beyond the restrictions are clogged on working days by commuter parking. Park & Rides by the ring road are at Straiton (A701 for Liberton and Newington) and Sheriffhall (A7 for Prestonfield and Newington).

See

 * are the broad open park at the boundary with Old Town, open 24 hours, dogs welcome. Until the 17th century this was the South Loch, a grubby lake polluted by tanneries, slaughterhouses and breweries, yet also a public water supply. It was drained by stages to become common grazing land, then protected as a public park in the 19th century. It's now a pleasant area for strolling, sunbathing, frisbee-flipping or kicking a ball about. Tennis courts can be hired at the east end. During the Festival it hosts pop-up venues but most of the park still remains accessible. Walkways and cycleways cross to the districts of Sciennes, Marchmont and Bruntsfield. The Meadows are generally safe, though there have been assaults.
 * are the southwest extension of the Meadows. This was historically a wooded heathland, then quarried for building stone, then a leisure area for golf hence "links". You can still pitch and putt here but there's no course - the venerable Bruntsfield Links Golf Club now play at Silverknowes near the coast.
 * off Springvalley Gardens is a last remnant of Morningside's rootin-tootin frontier days. These were in 1995, when a store specialising in Santa Fe-style furniture thought it a good gimmick to deck out the approach alley with the facade of a cowboy town. The store has long gone so the neglect adds to the "ghost town" authenticity. Bring your own Stetson and tumbleweed.
 * off Springvalley Gardens is a last remnant of Morningside's rootin-tootin frontier days. These were in 1995, when a store specialising in Santa Fe-style furniture thought it a good gimmick to deck out the approach alley with the facade of a cowboy town. The store has long gone so the neglect adds to the "ghost town" authenticity. Bring your own Stetson and tumbleweed.
 * is the tumbledown stump of a 15th century towerhouse, at the entrance to Napier University on Glenlockhart Rd.
 * Blackford Hill is a steep lane to the observatory then a gentle slope on the ridge west to a radio mast and viewpoint.
 * is the most attractive part of the valley of the Braid Burn, with a firm path. Several other sections of the stream are parks: it arises on the Pentlands above Dreghorn and flows east to Duddingston, where it becomes the Figgate Burn and reaches the sea at Portobello.
 * is a gorgeous little hamlet at the edge of the Pentland Hills, created in the 18th century and little altered since. Robert Louis Stevenson spent a lot of time here in his teens and twenties, as his parents used Swanston Cottage as a holiday home. Access by Swanston Rd (not the Avenue) and use the free car park by the golf club at the foot of the village. Paths lead into the hills. Imaginative property agents also apply the name Swanston to the housing estate just north of the ring road.
 * Caiy Stane is on Caiystane View off Oxgangs Rd near the turnoff for Swanston. It's a sandstone megalith of similar dimensions and hue to Obelix, companion of Asterix the Gaul. In the Neolithic Age it was part of a ritual complex on the open hillside, but the other stones have gone.
 * is an attractive village centred on its old bridge, the medieval crossing point of the steep glen of the Water of Leith, and parish church. In the early 1900s many villas were built in Arts and Crafts style. Colinton Tunnel on the Water of Leith cycleway is well-lit, with an elaborate mural based on Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "From a railway carriage". It burrows beneath the glen slopes and is best accessed from the modern bridge, where a track leads down to a free car park.
 * Redford Barracks are the imposing buildings along Colinton Rd east of the village. The army still have a presence here but the main occupants the infantry have already moved out, and the building's future is not clear. Dreghorn Barracks a mile south remains active.
 * is a village off A70 eight miles from city centre (Bus 44). It's at the head of the Water of Leith Walkway.
 * Malleny Garden is open daily from 10AM, April-Sept to 5PM and Oct-March to 4PM, adult £3, NTS / NT free.
 * Malleny Garden is open daily from 10AM, April-Sept to 5PM and Oct-March to 4PM, adult £3, NTS / NT free.


 * Threipmuir and Harlaw Reservoirs are two miles uphill from Balerno, with scenic walks at the edge of the Pentlands.

Do

 * Union Canal starts at Lochrin Basin 200 yards west of Tolcross. See Edinburgh/West for its course out through Slateford and Wester Hailes, eventually to Falkirk, where it joins the Forth-Clyde Canal to Glasgow. It's navigable throughout and has a firm cycle path.
 * Church Hill Theatre is on Morningside Rd 100 yards north of the Dominion. It stages amateur productions.
 * Water of Leith flows into the city from the Pentland Hills and reservoirs to the west. It descends through Colinton (plunging through a tunnel) to Longstone, crossing beneath the Lanark Road and the Union Canal, which vaults over the valley on an impressive aqueduct. It continues north into Saughton and Murrayfield, see Edinburgh West. There's a choice of footpaths along the valley. Firmest and driest, and suitable for cycling, is the trail along the Balerno railway, which operated 1874-1968.
 * Arthur's Seat is easily accessed from south Edinburgh, but see Old Town.
 * Golf courses are Prestonfield (see Sleep), Liberton, Craigmillar Park, Braid Hills, Wee Braids, Merchants of Edinburgh, Mortonhall, Kingsknowe and Swanston.
 * Church Hill Theatre is on Morningside Rd 100 yards north of the Dominion. It stages amateur productions.
 * Water of Leith flows into the city from the Pentland Hills and reservoirs to the west. It descends through Colinton (plunging through a tunnel) to Longstone, crossing beneath the Lanark Road and the Union Canal, which vaults over the valley on an impressive aqueduct. It continues north into Saughton and Murrayfield, see Edinburgh West. There's a choice of footpaths along the valley. Firmest and driest, and suitable for cycling, is the trail along the Balerno railway, which operated 1874-1968.
 * Arthur's Seat is easily accessed from south Edinburgh, but see Old Town.
 * Golf courses are Prestonfield (see Sleep), Liberton, Craigmillar Park, Braid Hills, Wee Braids, Merchants of Edinburgh, Mortonhall, Kingsknowe and Swanston.
 * Rugby: Currie Chieftains play rugby union in the Premiership, the amateur top tier in Scotland. Their home ground is Malleny Park in Balerno.
 * Watsonian FC play in National League One, the second tier. Their home ground is Myreside, off Colinton Rd in Polwarth.


 * rise abruptly just south of the city and roll southwest for 20 miles towards Carstairs and Biggar. Of Devonian Old Red Sandstone, they're upland grazing and heath with several reservoirs and commercial pine forest. Highest is Scald Law at 1900 ft / 579 m, of no great prominence as the other hills along the ridge are of similar height. The northern half is a regional park, popular for hiking, mountain-biking and horse-riding. Multiple access points include:
 * - from Bonaly or Swanston by the track over Castlelaw to Glencorse;
 * - from A702 either from Flotterstone Inn up Glencorse, or from Silverburn to Scald Law;
 * - from Bonaly along the lane past Torduff and Clubbiedean reservoirs;
 * - from Threipmuir and Harlaw reservoirs above Balerno.
 * - from Threipmuir and Harlaw reservoirs above Balerno.

Buy




Eat

 * Söderberg cafe-bakeries are at 310 Morningside Rd a block down from Waitrose, at 1 Lister Square behind Quartermile, and at 27 Simpson Lane on Middle Meadow Walk, all open daily.
 * Splurge at Prestonfield, see Sleep.
 * Söderberg cafe-bakeries are at 310 Morningside Rd a block down from Waitrose, at 1 Lister Square behind Quartermile, and at 27 Simpson Lane on Middle Meadow Walk, all open daily.
 * Splurge at Prestonfield, see Sleep.
 * Söderberg cafe-bakeries are at 310 Morningside Rd a block down from Waitrose, at 1 Lister Square behind Quartermile, and at 27 Simpson Lane on Middle Meadow Walk, all open daily.
 * Splurge at Prestonfield, see Sleep.
 * Söderberg cafe-bakeries are at 310 Morningside Rd a block down from Waitrose, at 1 Lister Square behind Quartermile, and at 27 Simpson Lane on Middle Meadow Walk, all open daily.
 * Splurge at Prestonfield, see Sleep.
 * Splurge at Prestonfield, see Sleep.
 * Splurge at Prestonfield, see Sleep.
 * Splurge at Prestonfield, see Sleep.

Drink

 * Summerhall makes gin and whisky in the kennels of the former Royal Dick vet school east end of the Meadows, tours available.
 * Barney's Beer is a brewery within the same Summerhall building.
 * Royal Dick is a pub with food in the courtyard of Summerhall, open Su-W noon-midnight, Th-Sa noon-1AM.
 * See Penicuik for Stewart Brewery and a couple of small distilleries a mile or so south of the ring road.
 * Summerhall makes gin and whisky in the kennels of the former Royal Dick vet school east end of the Meadows, tours available.
 * Barney's Beer is a brewery within the same Summerhall building.
 * Royal Dick is a pub with food in the courtyard of Summerhall, open Su-W noon-midnight, Th-Sa noon-1AM.
 * See Penicuik for Stewart Brewery and a couple of small distilleries a mile or so south of the ring road.
 * See Penicuik for Stewart Brewery and a couple of small distilleries a mile or so south of the ring road.

Connect
There are internet stations and printers at all public libraries, see Edinburgh for how to access these. Branches in the south of the city are Balerno, Colinton, Craigmillar, Currie, Gilmerton, Moredun, Morningside, Oxgangs and Newington.

Go next

 * Most buses heading north will bring you into Old Town; many continue into New Town.
 * Roslynn chapel is in the glen north of Penicuik. Take bus 37 down Newington Rd and get off at Roslin Hotel.
 * Scenic Glencorse is up the lane from Flotterstone Inn. Take Stagecoach Bus 101 heading for Biggar.