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The Wild West in Springvalley Gardens

A mock Wild West street hidden up a lane off Springvalley Gardens, built in the 1990s to sell furniture and left standing since.

Welcome

Morningside is a genteel suburb of sandstone tenements and quiet, leafy streets.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Which makes it all the stranger to walk through a passage off Springvalley Gardens and come out in a cowboy town.

Weathered timber fronts line the lane, their faded painted signs advertising Ed Newbey's grain, horses and livery, a blacksmith, and a Santa Fe furniture company. A door reads Knock and Wait. Across the way an adobe front with an arched wooden door has Cantina painted over it in blue, and further along the Jail sign is peeling off the planks. Above it all rise the backs of modern flats, which only adds to the oddness. It takes five minutes to see.

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Before you go

The lane is free to walk into, through a passage off Springvalley Gardens.

It sits behind people's homes, so keep voices down.

Where
Up a lane off Springvalley Gardens, off Morningside Road.
Getting there
Buses from Princes Street run down Morningside Road and stop by Springvalley Gardens.

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Did you know

A faded Pine Company sign tops a timber building with a round window door in Morningside, Edinburgh.
Did you know

Built to sell sofas.

The street was put up in 1995 and 1996 to advertise The Great American Indoors, a shop selling furniture in the style of Santa Fe.

A weathered sign for Ed Newbey's Grain, Horses and Livery is painted on a timber building in Morningside, Edinburgh.
Did you know

Painted by future Disney artists.

The aged paintwork is convincing for a reason: two of the artists who worked on it went on to help design Euro Disney.

A weathered Jail sign and an adobe archway front a row of Old West-style buildings in Morningside, Edinburgh.
Did you know

A whole frontier town.

Squeezed into one lane are a saloon, a jail, a cantina, stables and a blacksmith's, with a Native American mural on one wall.

Cantina is painted above the arched adobe doorway of an Old West-style building in Morningside, Edinburgh.
Did you know

The library's back door.

The cantina's arched door is still in use: it is the fire door of Morningside Library.

Weathered timber facades painted with old-fashioned signage stand before modern flats in Morningside, Edinburgh.
Did you know

A ghost town.

The furniture shop is long gone, and the empty street has been left to weather, a cowboy ghost town behind the tenements.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Edinburgh

When the now-defunct South West Furniture Company struck on the idea of creating a mock Wild West scene off a Morningside side street in the mid-90s, they were inadvertently creating one of the city’s stranger sights. Decades later, you’ll still find a faded facade of dusty, one-horse-town buildings including signage for a cantina and a blacksmiths.

Read more
Ed Newbey's and a Blacksmith sign mark a two-storey timber building with a balcony in Morningside, Edinburgh.
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Where it is

In Morningside, up a lane off Springvalley Gardens.

Close byThe places nearest the street, in Morningside.
  1. Shopfront of Rua, Home Gifts Accessories, at number 215 with window displays either sideRuaA gift shop in Edinburgh.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Rows of beer taps line a pub bar with dark green cabinetry and wooden stoolsThe Hermitage BarA traditional pub with a good range of craft beer.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Dominion CinemaDominion CinemaAn independent cinema run by the Cameron family since 1938.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Morningside Gallery lit at night, paintings in the window, traffic light trails passingMorningside GalleryA gallery of contemporary painting and ceramics on Morningside Road since 2003, with solo and mixed shows through the year.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags rise above Edinburgh's rooftops under cloudy skiesBlackford Hill and the Braid HillsTwo green hills on the south side of the city.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. The Canny Man’sThe Canny Man’sA pub once known for a landlord who served only those he liked the look of.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
Wooden shelf of books in a dimly lit café interiorAttractionsThe Edinburgh Bookshop0.5 miles
Metal tables and chairs outside Montpeliers Bruntsfield, with potted olive treesRestaurantsMontpeliers0.6 miles
Edinburgh Castle rises above rooftops and trees, seen from a grassy hillsideAttractionsBlackford Hill0.7 miles
Diners at Leftfield on a spring evening, at tables by big corner windows looking out over the green of Bruntsfield Links.RestaurantsLeftfield0.9 miles
Castello Coffee Bruntsfield window lettering, espresso machine visible through the glassCafeCastello Coffee0.9 miles
Restaurant interior with dried flowers covering the ceiling and pendant lights above wooden tablesRestaurantsHendersons0.9 miles
Boathouse with arched openings reflected in the still river, bridge beyondAttractionsAshley Terrace Boathouse1.0 miles
Wooden tables and benches beneath a blue artwork on a stone wallRestaurantsHarajuku Kitchen1.0 miles
A Nepali thali at Mountain Momo: rice and dal with vegetable curries, a dumpling in sauce, pickles and salad on a steel tray.RestaurantsMountain Momo1.1 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the street, and when each is next free.

West End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from the Wild West
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from the Wild West
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from the Wild West
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from the Wild West
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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