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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Anya Diggines & Steven Brown

We spoke to Edinburgh residents living in the neighbourhood voted 'best in city'

It probably comes as no surprise to locals, but Portobello has been named as one of the top places to live in the UK.

Judges, from the Top 50 best places to live Sunday Times guide, praised the seaside suburb for having a "free-spirited atmosphere" that's a "refreshing contrast to the stuffier corners of the Scottish capital", adding: "With interesting shops – a bookshop, artisan baker and a branch of Bross Bagels – it's no wonder that it is now the location of choice for artists, authors, foodies and cool young families."

Portobello wasn't the only place in the Lothians named with East Linton in East Lothian also making an appearance in the exclusive list.

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Edinburgh Live visited Portobello and spoke to residents, businesses and visitors of the area to find out their views of the seaside area of the capital city.

43-year-old art teacher, Fiona McWilliam, greatly enjoys how much open space there is at the beach and how much there is to do. She said: "When you have a wee baby a lot of you can go in a row along the prom, which you can’t do anywhere else."

Fiona McWilliam loves all the space Portobello beach offers for families. (Anya Diggines)

She added: "You can have a really nice house with lots of parks - which makes the area excellent for families."

Manager of The Esplanade, Rikky Kuczyask, 39, travels from Fife to work, and said: "I think the beautiful beach is what makes it so special, a great atmosphere, lots of dog walkers and that is pretty much what makes portobello so great."

The Esplanade's manager was keen to speak to us about why he loves to work in Portobello. (Steven Brown)

Ian Kinnear, a 20-year-old university student, said that, in summer, the beach “is a good place to come with your pals”. He added: 'It’s about 10 minutes on the bus which makes getting to the beach really easy."

Ian comes to Portobello beach a lot and is a great place to come to with his pals. (Anya Diggines)

Ian commented on how he enjoys going into the restaurants and cafes located around the area, especially local favourite Civerinos.

Retiree, Barbara Erwin was with her husband and grandchild, she said: "We just love coming to the beach in Portobello, it is absolutely spectacular!"

Barbara loves coming to the beach with her husband and grandchild. (Steven Brown)

The 72 year-old, lives in Edinburgh and went onto say: "It's great for the kids, great in the summer and even when there are lots of people there is enough space and for us it is half-an-hours walk and it is right on our doorstep."

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Neil, 75 is retired and comes to Portobello, three times a week, he said: "I love it, for the public and people watching it is brilliant because you have such a mixture of people from society and I feel very comfortable here because of that."

Ian, 72, comes to the beach three times a week (Steven Brown)

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