Solving that relocation problem.
There are many places in Edinburgh that you could visit and decide THAT is where you want to live. Well I do anyway. I’m constantly informing my husband that when we finally settle, we are going to be living in Stockbridge one week, and Morningside the next. Is it my fault the choice is endless and appealing? It is also my prerogative that whilst he constantly moves us around the country, I can keep changing my mind about the final destination.
Then last week I decided to give the poor city dog a proper romp up Arthurs Seat. I parked at the Duddingston Gate entrance to Holyrood Park, before making my way up ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ – a whimsical name for the concrete steps up towards the summit! I’ll leave the description of the view overlooking Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace to another blog.
What’s so special then?
Duddingston has got to be Edinburgh’s best kept secret. A remarkable little village, Grade-A Listed Buildings, Scotland’s oldest pub and railway, a nature reserve and Conservation Area, all in the lee of an extinct volcano.
It’s most famous resident, Rev John Thomson, minister of Duddingston Kirk from 1805 to 1840, was friends with Walter Scott and Henry Raeburn. It was Raeburn who painted The Skating Minister , Rev Robert Walker on Duddingston Loch, in 1790s. Having spent 35 years of ministry at Duddingston, Thomson was given an elaborate stone sarcophagus in the kirkyard.
Dr Neils Garden
Drs Nancy and Andrew Neil, both GP’s, combined a love of travelling with their passion of gardening. The combined holidays abroad with collecting plant and young trees. In 1963 they took on an area of glebe land between the Kirk and Duddingston Loch. The area had previously been used to graze geese and claves, but never cultivated. Although mostly working on building the garden themselves, the Neils’ encouraged family, friends and patients to help. Ahead of the times, they understood the enormous health benefits of fruitful work and fresh air. The garden has since regularly featured on TV programmes, in magazines and has won awards. Now in Trust, Dr Neils Garden is open from dawn till dusk, year-round.
Scotland’s Oldest Pub?
Well it claims to be. When the village was a bustling centre of weaving and trades, the village supported numerous pubs and drinking houses. The Sheep Heid is now the sole survivor. Established in 1360, although licensed premises had not arrived in the 14th century, there has undeniably been some sort of pub here for a long time. Documents suggest Mary Queen of Scots stopped off often enough on the way to Holyrood.
The Sheep Heid manages to retain both an intimate atmosphere where one can have a pint and a bag of crisps, but also enjoy a decent meal. They seem to actively welcome dogs to join you, essential considering the walks on the doorstep. Through the back is an old-fashioned skittles alley. Built in 1882, it is beautiful to behold, perhaps if one is of an age that appreciates DIY skittles. Not a screen, not a machine – the youth didn’t know what hit them!
Community Spirit
Given all the above, I had always rather liked this place, but it was a chance encounter with a resident that has convinced me. I was poking about, taking a sneaky look up a lane at some activity going on, when Sandy, the local, offered to show me the Community Land.
Having leased the land for 13 years from the NTS, in 2014 the local Conservation Society bought the old paddock, the old tennis court, vegetable garden and the byre. The grass tennis court is now the village green. Residents and friends gather there for a range of events each year e.g. midsummer breakfast, apple Day, bonfire night. The Community Garden provides a space to grow healthy produce, composting and recycling organic material. The paddock is now an orchard where the community chickens live. During my impromptu visit, the byre and greenhouses were being used by the local community group, helping young adults.
Who doesn’t want all this, in an urban village, 2.5 miles from the Edinburgh city centre? One of the best bits of being a military wife, is the community spirit of patch life. Thinking of relocating? Perhaps, this is the answer. But don’t all rush. We haven’t bought our forever house yet.