Cameron Toll is a suburb located to the south of Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally it was the site of a

toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th an ...

built in the early 19th century, which was located on a stretch of road between Edinburgh and Dalkeith. The meaning of the name Cameron is suggested to be 'crooked hill', derived from the Scots Gaelic 'cam', crooked, and Old Irish 'brun' meaning hill, believed to refer to Arthur's Seat clearly visible nearby; the original name may have been Pictish. The area is home to the Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, and contains the connecting roads and roundabouts. There are a few small housing estates to the east of the area. Cameron Toll is 2 miles from Edinburgh city centre, 2 miles from the

Edinburgh City Bypass The Edinburgh City Bypass, designated as A720, is one of the most important trunk roads in Scotland. Circling around the south of Edinburgh, as the equivalent of a ring road for the coastal city, it links together the A1 towards north-east Eng ...

and is served by many bus services to and from Edinburgh and Midlothian. It is close to The Grange and Newington and the area called The Inch.

Cameron Toll Shopping Centre

The area is the location of Cameron Toll Shopping Centre (known as just 'Cameron Toll' to locals), Edinburgh’s first ‘out of town’ shopping centre, which opened in 1984 at a cost of £33 million. Built in the former grounds of Inch House between the A7 and A701 roads, the centre occupies a 26-acre site. Cameron Toll had the first ever bank that opened on Sundays in the UK. It also led the way by having lighting which was controlled by a computer system. The Centre originally housed parking for 1158 cars, but after McDonald's and

Costa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of ...

opened their new outlets, parking was reduced to 1028 spaces. The main shops in Cameron Toll are

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

and

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

. The centre also includes a Gym Group gym. From 2015-2018, the shopping centre underwent a major overhaul of the shops and facilities. In September 2016, McDonald's and

both completed new drive-thru locations in the northeast car park. In 2017, a new

store was opened, replacing the BHS location that closed in August 2016. With construction starting in 2016 and finishing in 2018,

The Gym Group The Gym Group is a chain of 24/7 no contract fitness clubs in the United Kingdom. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2015. Operations The company was founded in 2007 and its first site was in West London. It now has ov ...

opened a brand new gym on the second floor of the centre, fully replacing the food court upstairs. Following the opening of the new gym, the centre changed its opening hours to be 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Poundland Poundland is a British variety store chain founded in 1990. It once sold most items at the single price of £1, including clearance items and proprietary brands. The first pilot store opened in December 1990 following numerous rejections b ...

was opened in October 2018, replacing the old

Poundworld Poundworld was a chain of British value variety stores that sold most of its items for £1. It was founded in 1974 by Yorkshire-based father-and-son team Chris Edwards Sr. and Chris Edwards Jr. In contrast to many high street retailers, it ...

store that shut down earlier that year. The shopping centre includes several amenities, including a post box, a variety of seating and tables in the main hall, free public toilets, a petrol station, bicycle and motorcycle parking, photobooths and a water bottle refill station. The Shopping Centre has a community fund that regularly awards large sums of money to local projects and charitable causes.

History of the Braid burn and flooding

The

Braid Burn The Braid Burn is a burn or stream in length that flows through south and east Edinburgh. Course The burn forms near Bonaly in the Pentland Hills south-west of the city, when the Bonaly and Howden burns that flow from the Pentlands meet. Fro ...

runs through the area. There was flooding at the bridge and causeway called the "Lady Brigend" in the 16th century. This was probably near the present bridge at "Cameron Mill lade". Local inhabitants petitioned the Privy Council of Scotland to repair the bridge and mitigate the flooding in 1595. James VI allowed them to charge a two pence toll to carriers using the bridge to pay for necessary repairs. The rebel

Archibald Wauchope of Niddrie Archibald Wauchope of Niddrie ( – 1597) Scottish landowner and rebel. He was the son of Robert Wauchope of Niddrie, who died in 1598, and Margaret Dundas, daughter of James Dundas of Dundas. He was known as the "Laird of Niddrie, younger". Th ...

was captured nearby at Bridgend on 12 May 1589 by Andrew Edmonstone, after a standoff was ended by James VI of Scotland. The shopping centre was built on the low-lying flood plain of the Braid Burn, which is culverted for much of its course through this neighbourhood. Flooding of the area took place soon after the centre's opening and has recurred several times: in August 2008 local residents had to deal with metre-high floods. Between 2004 and 2010 the City of Edinburgh Council implemented flood prevention measures along much of the course of the Braid Burn. However the shopping centre and its immediate environs remain a target area for which the

Scottish Environment Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA; gd, Buidheann Dìon Àrainneachd na h-Alba) is Scotland's environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority.category C listed building, lies on the south-west corner of the site. Built around 1780, it was occupied by the educational and social reformer Mary Burton from 1844. She was friendly with the Conan Doyle family and the young

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

, stayed there with her so that he could be close to his school Newington Academy at 6 Arniston Place, which he attended from 1866-68. It also allowed him some refuge from the influence of his alcoholic father. Since a major restoration by Groves-Raines Architects in 2007 this has housed Dunedin School, which provides secondary education for pupils for whom mainstream education is not appropriate. The Conan Doyle Medical Centre next to it was designed by Richard Murphy Architects and opened in 2007.

References

External links

Cameron Toll Shopping Centre
{{coord, 55, 55, 44, N, 3, 9, 42, W, display=title Shopping centres in Edinburgh Buildings and structures in Edinburgh 1984 establishments in Scotland

Cameron Toll Shopping Centre

History of the Braid burn and flooding

See also

References

External links