The Wild West-style ghost town hidden in an alley

Hidden down an alley successful 1 of Edinburgh's astir upmarket suburbs lies a Wild West-style shade town.

The secretive thoroughfare is truthful hard to find that astir Morningside residents are unaware of its existence.

It was created much than 30 years agone by a cowboy enthusiast to advertise his furnishings company, but was abandoned a decennary aboriginal aft the steadfast went bust.

The facades for a jail, a wide store, summons bureau and a cantina inactive survive, though the aged railway presumption did not.

Now the tiny units are location to a tiny assemblage of tradespeople.

Those moving successful the lane, which is known arsenic the Wild West, see Nicola Ramzan.

"It feels similar you're successful a movie set, it is simply a precise antithetic spot to work, that's for sure," she said.

The 45-year-old bureau manager for PR Motor Engineers said she loved the "quirky" lane.

"Not a batch of radical cognize astir it. When radical bash travel down present they inquire what it is and I explicate the story.

"It is simply a quirky small spot and thing a spot special.

"It's not conscionable a backmost alley, it's got a communicative to it.

"And present that it's a spot tally down it looks similar a shade town, which conscionable adds adjacent much quality to the place."

The street, besides known arsenic El Paso, it is successful a lane disconnected Springvalley Gardens, and is accessed done an opening successful a artifact of tenement flats.

The facade was designed by Michael Faulkner, who is the lad of Lord Faulkner, the unionist person who was the past premier curate of Northern Ireland.

Michael had been surviving successful North America arsenic a cowboy erstwhile helium fell from his equine and injured his back.

Unable to proceed riding, helium moved to Scotland and opened a store called Pine Country successful the lane. The concern made and restored conifer furniture.

Mr Faulkner opened a 2nd concern adjacent doorway called The Great American Indoors, which produced precocious prime handmade furniture.

He past came up with the thought of transforming the lane with a Wild West taxable arsenic a promotional device.

He brought successful respective engineers from Disney World to rebuild the store fronts to punctual him of his cowboy days.

Tom Frankish, 75, has owned Lawnmower Services successful the lane since 1974.

He told BBC Scotland helium inactive had custom-made furnishings from Michael's businesses, which helium predicted would "last forever".

"I utilized to spot him connected a regular ground and helium was a precise bully and casual going person," helium said.

Mr Frankish said the concern had been thriving until an Ikea store opened connected the outskirts of Edinburgh astatine the extremity of 1999.

"Shoppers stopped coming overnight and helium went bankrupt," helium said.

"El Paso was rather charismatic successful its time and was a blessed spot erstwhile helium was here.

"Now it's shambolic and it's a spot dilapidated."

But helium added: "Michael's bequest is inactive present aft each this time."

Josh Forrester, 43, who owns a carpentry business, has been based connected the thoroughfare for 4 years.

"This municipality Wild West municipality is simply a hidden gem," helium said.

"Even if you locomotion down Springvalley Gardens you wouldn't spot it. You person to cognize it's here.

"It's precise antithetic and beats moving successful the concern mounting wherever astir often workshops are based.

"And though it has its difficulties for parking I'm precise fond of it. It's a bully quirky abstraction to beryllium in."

He added that erstwhile helium told radical helium worked successful Edinburgh's Wild West they did not cognize what helium was talking about.

"It seems to beryllium the locals who don't cognize thing astir it, which is simply a shame arsenic it's decidedly worthy a visit."