http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Edinburgh place names en Fri, 22 May 2026 08:13:25 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144450 Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:19:21 +0000 Morningsider 144450@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>gembo - I didn't know that. Every day a school day! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144446 Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:15:11 +0000 threefromleith 144446@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>A classmate at Uni who had a cut-glass RP accent wandered into a tutorial one day and puzzled many of us with details of her new flat in "Cawstaw FEEN"</p> <p>Took us a few minutes to realise it was "kirSTORfin" she was on about ;-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144440 Wed, 05 Mar 2014 14:00:26 +0000 kaputnik 144440@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>A lot of my colleagues have real trouble with Corstorphine, calling it either Costrofeen or Costorfine. I've never found Corstorfin to be too difficult to pronounce. Closest place name I found to it was a Roman Fort in Yorkshire called Corstorpitum. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144356 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 21:32:41 +0000 gembo 144356@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@morningsider</p> <p>Of course but when the option was only plain or pan the posh one was the pan. Leading as we know to the expression pan loafy meaning posh or well spoken </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144323 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 17:22:16 +0000 allebong 144323@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@IWRATS: Such toilet humour tends to be difficult to pass around here....</p> <p>Longstone is indeed pronounced as you would expect, though thinking about it now I've ended up mutating it to lonstin when I say it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144314 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 15:55:57 +0000 Arellcat 144314@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"Reduced to clear"? That's a <em>dreadfully</em> common phrase. Such stock should be marked as "Failed to sell with characteristic haste upon initial marketing."</p> <p>Another one is Longstone. I believe it is correctly pronounced 'Long Stone', referring to a long stone that once bridged the Water of Leith somewhere in the vicinity of the Longstone Inn and HMP Edinburgh. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144312 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 15:44:52 +0000 Morningsider 144312@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I suppose - for the "reduced to clear" isle anyway. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144311 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 15:42:33 +0000 cb 144311@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I did once buy half a loaf of bread for almost £4 in Morningside. That's normal right? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144307 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 15:23:13 +0000 Morningsider 144307@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>gembo - A pan loaf! Have you gone mad? It's artisan free range organic focaccia or nothing in Morningside.</p> <p>Honestly! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144306 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 15:15:38 +0000 fimm 144306@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <br /> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144301 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 14:49:44 +0000 I were right about that saddle 144301@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@allebong</p> <p>I had jerusalem artichoke soup for tea last night, so your talk of wind-ing holes...I'll get my Altura Night Vision Evo coat.... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144296 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 14:26:47 +0000 allebong 144296@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>I'm glad it is not just me that gets Kirkliston and Kirknewton mixed up.</em></p> <p>It's good to know I'm not alone! I've been thinking of remembering them by memorising 'kirk<strong>n</strong>ewtons <strong>n</strong>ot <strong>n</strong>orth' as a geographical aid.</p> <p>Vaguely related to this thread is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winding_hole">winding holes</a> you get on canals, which is pronounced 'wind-ing' and not winding as in rhymes with finding. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144248 Tue, 04 Mar 2014 10:36:43 +0000 cb 144248@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Does anyone pronounce Camus as in Albert? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144209 Mon, 03 Mar 2014 19:10:04 +0000 gembo 144209@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ah yes, you could always buy a pan loaf in morneengsahide </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144192 Mon, 03 Mar 2014 15:19:09 +0000 I were right about that saddle 144192@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>And Morningside is pronounced 'Morningsay'd'. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144179 Mon, 03 Mar 2014 14:23:39 +0000 fimm 144179@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm glad it is not just me that gets Kirkliston and Kirknewton mixed up.</p> <p>Not really Edinburgh, but my mother pronounces Athelstaneford "Elshinford"... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144047 Sun, 02 Mar 2014 02:55:55 +0000 Focus 144047@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>How about Redheughs Rigg? Wikipedia says that Redheugh Bridge near Newcastle is pronounced "Redyoof" (more or less). Same here?</p> <p>Another good one is "Croft-an-Righ" (pronounced "rye") and meaning "The King's Field".</p> <p>@ "allebong"</p> <p>"I do get forever confused between Kirkliston and Kirknewton" You're not alone. I occasionally mix up which one I've cycled to - not that I'm aiming for one and end up at the other, thankfully! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-144022 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 19:21:48 +0000 Charterhall 144022@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Its Redford and Dreghorn barracks that get me confused. A clue, the one in Redford Road isn't the one you'd logically expect. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-143994 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 14:21:02 +0000 Arellcat 143994@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Kirkliston's on the big road, and Kirknewton's on the wee road. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-143988 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 13:10:17 +0000 allebong 143988@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>There's definitely at least one Edinburgh place I was mispronouncing (if not out loud) until quite recently but it escapes me for just now.</p> <p>I do get forever confused between Kirkliston and Kirknewton - I'm familiar with both them and where they are though I forget which is which. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-143969 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 10:55:17 +0000 gembo 143969@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>merkiston</p> <p>Then of course there are places like</p> <p>Gullane</p> <p>Which is pronounced gullin but not if you are a local</p> <p>Same county has whiteadder reservoir which locals apparently pronounce whitadder </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-143967 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 10:48:10 +0000 Arellcat 143967@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>a hard ch.</em></p> <p>ch as in church, or ch as in kirk? But certainly not a soft ch as in loch. :-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-143964 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 10:06:41 +0000 chdot 143964@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"<br /> Sciennes Primary School (pronounced Sheens) opened in 1892. Today we are the largest primary school in Edinburgh with 640 pupils in 22 classes. </p> <p>"</p> <p><a href="https://www.twitter.com/SciennesPS" rel="nofollow">https://www.twitter.com/SciennesPS</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-143963 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 10:02:40 +0000 SRD 143963@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Top tip : Merchiston is pronounced with a hard ch. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-143962 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 09:56:20 +0000 LivM 143962@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm not indigenous either (but East Coast not West Coast origin) and I have always heard people say Sheens, Bewt-lin and with the a in Cammo hard like "ammo" or "am" (no ahh or ay) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=12311#post-143961 Sat, 01 Mar 2014 09:51:35 +0000 Stickman 143961@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>As a migrant from the west I suppose I should confess that even after approaching 20 years living here there are still place names I don't know how to pronounce. I don't bat an eyelid at Milngavie, but some Edinburgh names leave me mumbling. It doesn't help that most of my work colleagues are from elsewhere and so can't help either. </p> <p>So, as an aid to other incomers, could anyone help out with the correct pronounciation of these?</p> <p>Sciennes: is it seens, signs, shines or sheens?</p> <p>Bughtlin: butt-lin or bewt-lin?</p> <p>Cammo: cah-mo or cay-mo? </p>