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Craiglockhart is a suburb in the South West of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying between Colinton to the south, Morningside to the east Merchiston to the north east and Kingsknowe to the west.
[edit] History
The area was developed in the 1930s around the Easter and Wester Craiglockhart Hills, which remain as partly wooded areas. The name appears to be an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic, Creag Loch Àrd or Art, meaning the "Rock of the High Loch", or "Arthur's Loch", which may refer to a former loch in the golf course.
The area was home to the Craiglockhart Hydropathic, a hospital which is now part of the campus of Napier University. During World War I, the hospital was used to house officers suffering from the symptoms of shell-shock. Inmates included the poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. After this the building served as a convent and then a theological school before passing to the then Napier College.
Approximately at the boundary point between Craiglockhart and Merchiston runs the Edinburgh Suburban railway line. There was once a station just off Colinton Road, and this may return, since the line is mooted for re-opening as part of Edinburgh's future transport strategy.
Craiglockhart today is chiefly residential, with a small proportion of commercial properties, and is in general considered to be a comfortable middle-class area, with a mixture of terraced and detached villas, of a variety of ages.
[edit] Attractions and amenities
Craiglockhart Tennis Centre plays host to large international tennis competitions, with a series of well kept indoor and outdoor courts. One famous product of the centre is Andy Murray, who often trained there. On the same ground is Craiglockhart Sport And Leisure Centre which has a small boating pond.
A small cluster of commercial premises remain close to the station site, with a further group located opposite the Craiglockhart Tennis Centre. A small Tesco "Express" supermarket has been built on the site of a former petrol station adjacent to the Meggetland playing fields. The opening of this branch of Tesco was vociferously opposed by the Scottish food writer Joanna Blythman [1], who claimed that opening the store would damage the local grocery store at Happy Valley. Subsequently the proprietor of this store was gaoled for deliberately driving into a bicycle courier [2].
There is a Craiglockhart Primary School, although this is a little to the north of Craiglockhart itself, and would be considered by most residents to be within Polwarth or "Shandon".
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[edit] External links
(Source: Wikipedia) |