Cammo () is a northwestern suburb of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, the capital of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. It is south of A90, at the edge of the city, approximately from the city centre.

Etymology

The name is Celtic in origin, but could have originated either in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

. In the former case it would be an adjectival form of Gaelic ''cambas'' 'bay. creek'; in the latter it would be from Brittonic *''cambāco-'', an adjectival form of *''camas'' 'bend in river, bay'. This element would probably refer to a bend of the river in this context, as Cammo is inland.

Cammo House

To the west of the housing area there is the former estate of Cammo House. The house was built for John Menzies in 1693, and the surrounding parkland was laid out between 1710-26 by Sir

John Clerk of Penicuik John Clerk of Penicuik (1611–1674) was a Scottish merchant noted for maintaining a comprehensive archive of family papers, now held by the National Archives of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. Background Born in Montrose, he wa ...

(1676–1755). In 1741, the estate passed to the Watsons of

Saughton Saughton () ( sco, Sauchtoun) ( gd, Baile nan Seileach) is a suburb of the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, bordering Broomhouse, Stenhouse, Longstone and Carrick Knowe. In Lowland Scots, a "sauch" is a willow. The Water of Leith flows by here. ...

at which time it was called New Saughton. The house was bequeathed to the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

in 1975 but, in 1977, the house was torched twice by vandals. The house was considered unsafe and was reduced to its external ground floor walls. In 1980 the City of Edinburgh Council was gifted the estate and declared it a Wilderness Park. The Council now maintain the grounds and operates a

ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

service. Cammo is thought to have been the inspiration for the "House of Shaws" in

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

's novel '' Kidnapped''.

Cammo Tower () is a 19th-century

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

for Cammo House. Other remains include the ruined stable block, a formal canal, a bridge, and the lodge which now houses a small visitor centre. The grounds are now widely used by people for walking in, although other sections remain as farmland, used for cattle grazing.

Famous Residents

* Alexander Charles Stephen zoologist lived at 17 Cammo Crescent

References

* Baillie, Simon J. ''The private world of Cammo'' (1995) * Bell, Raymond MacKean ''Literary Corstorphine: A reader's guide to West Edinburgh'', Leamington Books, Edinburgh 2017 * Cant, Michael, ''Villages of Edinburgh'' volumes 1 & 2, John Donald Publishers Ltd., Edinburgh, 1986-1987. & * Cowper, Alexandra Stewart ''Corstorphine Village, 1891'' (1973), Edinburgh University Extra-Mural Association * Dey, W.G. ''Corstorphine: A Pictorial History of a Midlothian Village'' (1990), Mainstream Publishing * Harris, Stuart (1996). The Place Names of Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Gordon Wright Publishing. p. 144. . * Sherman, Robin ''Old Murrayfield and Corstorphine'' (2003)

External links

Cammo Estate ParkFriends of Cammo
{{coord, 55, 57, 37.28, N, 3, 19, 0.11, W, display=title Areas of Edinburgh Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes Parks and commons in Edinburgh