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Southside

A popular residential part of the city is its south side, comprising a number of areas including St Leonards, Marchmont, Newington, Sciennes, The Grange and Blackford. The Edinburgh “Southside” is broadly analogous to the area covered by the Burgh Muir, and grew in popularity as a residential area following the opening of the South Bridge.

These areas are particularly popular now with families (many state and private schools are here), students (the central University of Edinburgh campus is based around George Square just north of Marchmont and the Meadows), and Napier University (with major campuses around Merchiston & Morningside), as well as with visiting festival-goers. These areas are also the subject of several works of fiction: Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus lives in Marchmont and worked in St Leonards and Church Hill in Morningside, was the home of Muriel Spark’s Miss Jean Brodie.

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