The ‘secret cowboy street’ that looks like the Wild West hidden in the middle of a UK city
A SECRET wild west town isn’t exactly the most obvious thing to stumble across down an alleyway in the middle of a UK city.
However, there’s one hidden away in a back street on the outskirts of one of the country’s most popular city break destinations.
When people think of Edinburgh, cowboys aren’t exactly high up on the list of things associated with the Scottish capital.
Yet there’s a very unique little street there that looks like it was plucked straight from an old Clint Eastwood film.
Morningside’s “wild west town” can be found tucked away behind a library, a bookies and an MOT centre.
It was originally built in 1995/96 as an elaborate advert for a furniture business called The Great American Indoors.
It specialised in selling American-style furnishings, but went out of business, leaving the strange movie-set-street behind.
The facades of a jail, a horse stables, a cantina and a saloon remain down the street, along with several other western-themed businesses.
Some of the doors are still in use to this day, with the door to the cantina actually the fire door for the Morningside library.
According to Scots Magazine, two of the artists who worked on the site went on to help design Disneyland Paris.
It was a deserved promotion for the pair too, with their handywork in Edinburgh of very high quality.
Visitors and anyone curious enough are free to walk around the town and pretend they’re the sheriff of Morningside if they so please.
Travel blogger Third Eye Traveller is one of many to have paid a visit to the “secret cowboy street”.
She wrote: “This themed alleyway in Morningside will make you feel like you’ve stepped onto a movie set.
“The attention to detail is truly immaculate.
“It’s still here today and it’s now one of the city’s best-kept secrets.”
The street isn’t the only secret wild west found in the UK, with another one around 20 miles from London.
The Laredo Western Town was founded in 1971 by western fanatic John Truder.
It originally started life as the Laredo Western Club, with John and some of his like-minded friends meeting up to discuss their love of the American Old West.
The group constructed authentic buildings reminiscent of their favourite cowboy films.
They include The Silver Palace – a full-size two-story hotel, which took nine years to build, a Saloon, a Marshal’s Office, a working Blacksmiths, a Livery Stables, a bank, and a saddlery.
Access to the town is hard to come by however and, instead of being open to holidaymakers, the town is exclusively for members and invited guests only.
Visits from Western groups and other Western enthusiasts are allowed following a request.
The town has also been used as a filming location for movies like Finding Neverland, starring Johnny Depp.
Meanwhile, this UK city looks just like New York and doubles as American cities in Hollywood blockbusters.
And this British housing estate was used to film Star Wars TV shows.