Circus Lane, Edinburgh: a quick guide for visiting this pretty spot

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Circus Lane, Edinburgh is my favourite spot in the city for a quiet walk and some lovely photographs. It’s no wonder every Edinburgh photographer seems to be in love with it. I’d seen Circus Lane SO many times online before I hunted it out that I was sort of expecting it to not be that pretty in real life. But it was. Believe the hype, for once. All the terraced mews houses have pots and hanging baskets outside so it’s all colourful and floral. Some great front doors, too. Magical. There’s not much else to say really – it is just a lane. But a very attractive one, so you won’t regret going a little out of your way to find it if you’re already in Edinburgh.

No matter how many times I’ve been to Edinburgh, there’s always another little hidden gem to discover. This is one thing I really love about the city and one of the many reasons I keep going back over the years.

Anyway, a lot of people (according to my Google Analytics stats, anyway) end up reading my Edinburgh blog posts after searching for ‘Circus Lane’, even though I’d only mentioned it in passing in them. So I thought I’d whack out this short post about Circus Lane itself. Give the people what they want and all that.

Hopefully, it’ll be a wee bit of useful information if you’re planning a visit there while you’re in Edinburgh. Get your cameras at the ready…

How to find Circus Lane, Edinburgh

Circus Lane can be found here on Google Maps.

It’s easy to find Circus Lane from the Stockbridge area of Edinburgh. It lies just behind St Stephen Street, which is one of the main bar-filled areas in Stockbridge. You can incorporate a visit to Circus Lane for a few snaps with a walk through Dean Village and along the Water of Leith.

The nearest major train station is Edinburgh Waverley: an easy mile’s walk away through Queen Street gardens and over George Street.

You’ll only need to spend a maximum of 15 minutes on Circus Lane to be honest (unless you’re really slow at taking photos or waiting for other people to get out of the way). It takes a few minutes to walk down but you don’t need ages for this. It’s just a nice place to do a bit of a detour while you’re in the area.

When to visit Circus Lane, Edinburgh

Early morning is obviously usually the quietest time to visit anywhere if you want to be alone and to avoid having people in photos. But if like me you’re 100% not a morning person, I’ve also found it quite quiet late afternoon (about 4ish).

The last time I was there, it was overcast and drizzling and we were the only people around. This is how I managed to get all the photos in this post with no one in them very easily. Miraculous – usually all the photos on this travel blog involve me standing around in the middle of a road of speeding traffic waiting for people to go past so I can get THE empty shot.

The shots in this post I took in September, when of course it was raining in true Scottish style. But it’s never hard to find a grey drizzly day in Edinburgh, so you’ll be in luck if you want the lane to yourself on one of those classic Scottish days. Perfect for taking some moody photos.

Where to go and what to do around Circus Lane

So you’ve trotted over to Circus Lane, taken 85,561 photographs and vowed to grow roses round your front door when you get home. Now what?

Circus Lane is nice and handy for the Stockbridge area. I have a whole blog post about how to spend a day in Stockbridge and neighbouring Dean Village here.

In brief, here are some things to do nearby

• If it’s a rainy day, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is not too far a walk away and is an exceptionally good way to spend your time. It’s set across two gorgeous old buildings, Modern One and Modern Two, in a sculpture park. As long as you get a wriggle on between the two, you’ll avoid a soaking and only soak up the modern art (soz, couldn’t resist that awful pun).
• The brilliant and interesting Dean Village is also very close to Circus Lane. You could walk through it to head to the art gallery. Dean Village is a green oasis in the city and a huge contrast to the rest of Edinburgh. It’s like stepping back in time. All the old mill buildings and the Water of Leith transport you to another era.
• You might need a drink to calm your serious house envy after eyeing up all the beauties on Circus Lane. There are plenty of places to have a pint in Stockbridge. The Stockbridge Tap has a decent selection of craft ales and is also good for a rest and a bit of a people watch.
• Food-wise, you’ll be spoilt for choice in Stockbridge. Our personal favourite is the Scran and Scallie, famous chef Tom Kitchin’s gastropub. It’s a good way to experience food from a celebrity chef without having to re-mortgage your house. Starters are around £9 and mains £15 on average. It’s all delicious and the place itself is very cosy inside.

If you really like Circus Lane, Edinburgh…

Can you stay there?

If (like me) Circus Lane is the kind of place you’d like to wake up in, you’ll be pleased to hear that you can stay very close by. Literally within spitting distance. I couldn’t find anything actually on Circus Lane itself, unless you want to buy a house there permanently (who wouldn’t). It’s mostly residential and businesses.

I found a few places available very close by Circus Lane that you can book online (all just around the corner <1 minute away) from the lane itself. All prices are correct at the time of writing and I’ve done my usual thorough research to make sure that all are well rated and decent:

• New Town Studio – By my reckoning, this is the closest you can possibly get to staying on Circus Lane. It looks like a relative bargain for £120 a night 
• ALTIDO apartment, New Town – This is £140 a night so not cheap but looks very swanky if you wanted a treat
• City Centre Apartment with Garden – £130 a night but you get a little garden! Lovely stuff.
• ALTIDO Apartment, Stockbridge – If you’re going for a weekend away with friends, this would be ideal. Four bedrooms! It’s £296 a night but between a big group that wouldn’t be too bad.

I’m quite sad and overexcited by the prospect of waking up there, pretending it’s my actual home…

What’s the history of Circus Lane?

This lovely bit of Stockbridge was built in the 1700s when the New Town was being developed. Straight roads were considered really naff back then, so the architects and town planners went mad for some curvy streets. Of course, being so curvy and fashionable, all the wealthy locals wanted to buy a mews house there. So it’s always been very on trend!

Walking along, you’ll easily spot signs that Circus Lane was once used as a service street to keep coaches and horses. It’s clear that many of the garages were once stables. Regular readers will know that I’m horsey, so maybe that’s another reason I’m so drawn to it.

St. Stephen’s Church, the church overlooking Circus Lane and the focal point as you walk up it, is allegedly home of the longest pendulum in Europe in its clocktower. It’s no longer a working church but has become a community arts hub and venue for festivals.

What other similar places can you visit around the UK?

If you like wandering round this kind of quaint, pretty area, I can recommend a few other places in the UK that you’ll probably enjoy as much as I do.

Scotland

• North Berwick, Scotland – this is an excellent town to stay in if you want to mix some city time in Edinburgh with a seaside holiday. It works great as a day trip from Edinburgh (lots of options here). It’s an easy train ride into Edinburgh but you can get back there to escape the hustle and bustle and be on the beach within minutes. We’ve been a few times and it’s now a firm favourite.
• Kirkcudbright, Scotland – this is my favourite town in Scotland. It’s in the south west part of the country in the much-underrated Dumfries and Galloway area. It’s known as the artists’ town due to its rich history of art and being a mecca for Scottish creative types. But it’s also known for being really bloody cute. It’s full of gorgeous flower-lined streets, a picture-perfect harbour and pastel-coloured houses. I’ve been going since I was little and I still love it now I’m in my 30s. And that leads me nicely onto my other childhood favourite…

England

• Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria, England – this is the other town I spent my childhood holidays in and it’s similarly quaint. Kirkby Lonsdale is often overlooked because it’s on the edge of both the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales and those two tend to attract the tourists. But it’s gorgeous. It has a very old and pretty churchyard boasting Ruskin’s View (known as the best view in England), scenic river walks and a traditional market.
• Knutsford, Cheshire – Knutsford is a pretty market town within easy reach of Manchester, Chester or Liverpool on the train. It’s full of independent shops, quaint cobbled streets and loads of nice places to eat and drink.
• All sorts of towns and villages in the Lake District – You’re spoiled for choice around there.
• Skipton, Yorkshire – A little gem of a town on the Leeds-Liverpool canal, complete with a popular market and an entire castle.
• And I’m no good on the south as it’s quite a trek for me, but I definitely have my eye on Castle Combe in the Cotswolds. It’s unbelievably picturesque. 

Save and share: exploring Circus Lane, Edinburgh – the prettiest photo spot

If you enjoyed this blog post about Circus Lane, why not hover over one of the images below and save it to your Pinterest board? (Desktop only).

I also have plenty of posts about other areas in Scotland:

• 35 things to do in Pitlochry: a highland escape
• The best day trips from Edinburgh by train or bus
• 20 things to do in North Berwick, Scotland.

… And I have a specific Dumfries and Galloway collection, which covers the following areas:

• Kirkcudbright
• Castle Douglas
• Gatehouse of Fleet
• Wigtown
• Rockcliffe and Kippford
• Carrick Bay
• Portpatrick.

And if you’ve used one of my travel guides and enjoyed it, you can also buy me a drink. Cheers. 

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