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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Alexander Smail

The abandoned Wild West ghost town hidden away in an Edinburgh side street

Edinburgh is known around the world for its historic cobbled streets and classic architecture, but many may be surprised to learn that tucked away in a side street is a Wild West-style ghost town.

One of the capital's best kept secrets, the faux country western street is found up an alleyway off of Springvalley Gardens in the Morningside area of the city. Wandering into it by accident, you may feel like you've been transported to a movie set from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

However, the street's origins are a lot more humble. It was constructed as an advertisement for a furniture shop in the 90s called The Great American Indoors, which sold American southwest-style products.

If you visit the street, the first thing you will notice is its impressive attention to detail. In fact, it is said to have been designed by a former Disneyland Paris scenic artist.

Among the facades, which now cover artist studios, galleries, and apartments, are a jail, a blacksmiths, a general store and horse livery. There is also a cantina that conceals the fire exit for the nearby Morningside Library.

There are a number of Wild West-style facades on the street (Kim Traynor)

Over the years, following the closure of The Great American Indoors, the signs have fallen into a state of disrepair and the street is rarely visited. This creates a somewhat creepy ghost town-like atmosphere, which makes it well worth a visit.

Although not an official tourist attraction, many adventure seekers have journeyed to the Wild West street and shared their thoughts on TripAdvisor. The destination has an average rating of 3.5 out of 5 based on 28 reviews on the travel site.

One TripAdvisor user wrote: "One of the strangest places in Edinburgh. Wild West is tucked away up an alleyway off Springvalley Gardens in Morningside.

Visitors have journeyed to the street to see it for themselves (Kim Traynor (cc-by-sa/2.0))

"You can find here a saloon, a jail, a cantina and stables. This Wild West facade was built in 1995-96 by a furniture store owner.

"It’s a bit run down now, but it's definitely worth taking a few minutes to visit if you're in the area. A pretty cool little hidden corner of Edinburgh."

A second shared: "Not an attraction per se, but definitely one of Edinburgh's offbeat surprises. Take your camera, guitar, a stetson and some denim and pretend you're shooting an album cover."

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