Blackford, Edinburgh
Encyclopedia
Blackford is an area in the south of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is a reasonably affluent area, and contains Blackford Hill
Blackford Hill
Blackford Hill is a hill in the south of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh, in the area of Blackford, near Morningside, The Grange, and the Braid Hills....
, one of the supposed "Seven Hills of Edinburgh", which has the city's Astronomical
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
observatory on it. The Braid Hills and Pentland Hills
Pentland Hills
The Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around 20 miles in length, and runs south west from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale.Some of the peaks include:* Scald Law...
dominate views to the south.
The suburb was made a Royal Burgh
Royal burgh
A royal burgh was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished in 1975, the term is still used in many of the former burghs....
by Edward VII in 1907 in recognition of the many happy days he spent residing at the (now demolished) Blackford Manor on his state visits to Edinburgh during the period of major restoration works on Holyrood Palace
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...
circa 1905. The current reigning baronet is the Rt. Hon. Baron Downhead, 4th Lord of Blackford; and he is purported to have a residence in the area. Other notable residents include the former TV Presenter John Leslie
John Leslie (television presenter)
John Leslie is a Scottish former television presenter. He has presented BBC One's Blue Peter and ITV's This Morning and the ITV gameshow Wheel of Fortune. He was also the roving reporter for the first series of the UK version of Survivor...
and his brother Grant Stott
Grant Stott
Grant Stott is a Scottish broadcaster from Edinburgh, and currently works as DJ on Edinburgh radio station 97.3 Forth One. Grant is the brother of former television presenter John Leslie.-Television career:...
.