Local Amenities
Stockbridge is an area of Edinburgh, located towards the north of the city, bordering on the New Town. It was originally a small village, but was later incorporated into the City of Edinburgh. The actual "Stock Bridge" was built in 1801 and spans the Water of Leith.
A main thoroughfare, Raeburn Place, contains many various shops and restaurants. To get there, come out of the flat onto Henderson Row and walk east for a short distance. Go over the Stock Bridge (past Pizza Express), turn right, and you will be on Raeburn Place in a few yards.
There are galleries, clothes boutiques, delis, chic cafés, smart wine merchants, estate agents and multiple charity shops (some of which are among the highest grossing in the UK). There's also a branch of Woolworths! Because of the proximity to Broughton High School, Edinburgh Academy and Fettes College, the area is often busy with schoolchildren during the afternoons.
Raeburn Place is also the location of the Edinburgh Academy sports ground which was the site of the first ever international rugby match on March 27, 1871. The Grange, a private sports club and home turf of the Scottish cricket team, can also be found there. The venue regularly hosts first class cricket fixtures (one day) which are open to the public at modest prices. It's not generally necessary to book except for international matches, which are well supported.
If you turn left at the end of Henderson Row you will find another of Stockbridge's numerous speciality shops: Ian Mellis' fabulous cheese shop - try the Bishop Kennedy, an unpasteurised cheese named after a 15th century bishop of St Andrews. The rind is smothered in whisky during the maturing stage, or for milder palates, try the Isle of Mull cheddar.
In this area, you can also find great pubs (The Bailie), an Oddbins, you can buy paint at Farrow & Ball, eat in several restaurants and window shop in the many interesting shops and galleries in St Stephen Street which runs parallel to Henderson Row. At the end, you'll find The Unicorn, our favourite Chinese restaurant.
The Colonies
Between Glenogle Road and the Water of Leith, are eleven parallel streets collectively known as the "Stockbridge Colonies". Built between 1861 and 1911, with the aim of providing low-cost housing for working people, the colony houses are now considered prime real estate, due in part, to their location near the Royal Botanic Gardens (which you should visit) and Inverleith Park, where you can walk. The colonies are often considered to be almost a village in their own right.
There is a public swimming baths in Glenogle Road.
St Bernard's Well & the Water of Leith Walkway
This interesting mineral water well is situated on the south bank of the Water of Leith, in an estate once known as St. Bernard's. Just below the Water of Leith walkway is St Bernard's Well, the well-house being originally built in 1760. It was at one time held in high repute for its medicinal virtues, and the nobility and gentry took summer quarters in the valley to drink deep draughts of the water and take the country air.
In 1788 Lord Gardenstone, a wealthy Court of Session judge who thought he had benefited from the mineral spring, commissioned Alexander Nasmyth to design a new pump room. The builder John Wilson began work in 1789. It is in the shape of a circular temple supported by ten tall Doric order columns, with a statue made in 1791 from Coade stone of Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health, in the centre.
You can walk through Edinburgh for considerable distances, avoiding the traffic, by using the Water of Leith walkway. Enter this on foot at the Stock Bridge or alternatively at Canonmills, close to the flat. You can walk all the way to Leith, or right to the outskirts of the city to the south (if you have the energy). It's a nice way to get around the city. Use it to get to the Gallery of Modern Art (great café!).
Broughton
If you leave the flat in the other direction, cross over to Eyre Place, walk up Dundas Street then along Great King Street and round Drummond Place (not far and interesting architecture), you’ll come to the bottom of Broughton Street.
Insofar as Edinburgh has a gay quarter, this is where the pink pound is to be found. All are welcome however, in the cosmopolitan collection of bars, restaurants and cafes. The Barony pub is strongly recommended.
Try to look into Lyon & Turnbull's auction rooms on Broughton Place in case they have a sale.
Famous Folk
Notable past Stockbridge residents include:
- Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), portrait artist
- James Hogg (1770-1835), poet and novelist
- Sir James Young Simpson (1811-70), surgeon
- Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859), intellectual
- Horatio McCulloch (1805-67), landscape artist
(Thanks to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for much of this entry.)
