Edinburgh’s Wild West- Yeehaaa!

One of the strangest places in Edinburgh, this little piece of the Wild West is tucked away in an alleyway off Springvalley Gardens in urbane Morningside. The attention to detail is really quite remarkable - there's a saloon, a jail, stables, and even a Native American mural on one of the walls. You can almost hear the sound of spurs, the neigh of horses, and the gun shots ringing out in the street. But what's it all doing there?

Hidden in a street in Morningside, lies Edinburgh’s Wild West.  It was built in 1995/6 by Michael Faulkner as part of the ambience of the sales area for a furniture business, which specialised in Southwestern style.  There were a number of let units in ‘El Paso’ too, occupied by ceramists and other artists. The project took six months and by great stroke of good luck, one of the employees, and his very talented girlfriend, had worked on the construction of Euro Disney – hence the authentic paint effects and signage.  

The site now lies as part of Edinburgh’s quirky character.  The old Springvalley cinema used to lie at the heart of this bizarre street – but only workshops and garages use the space today. You can visit at any time to take pictures and experience this amazing street for yourself and you will see that the door of the Cantina is still used as the fire door for Morningside library.