Haymarket ( sco, Heymercat,
gd, Margadh an Fheòir) is an area of

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

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It is in the west of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

centre and is the junction of several main roads, notably Dalry Road (which leads south-west to

Gorgie Gorgie ( ) is a densely populated area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the west of the city and borders Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry. Name The name is thought to be Brythonic in origin. Early forms suggest it derives from ''gor g ...

Road and the M8 motorway to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...

Road (leading west to the M8 and the M9 for

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

and the north), and Shandwick Place (leading east to

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

and the city centre). Haymarket contains a number of

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, cafés and restaurants.

War Memorial

In the centre of the crossroads at the heart of Haymarket is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

in the form of a clock tower that was unveiled in 1922. It is principally to commemorate former players of

Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Professional Football League. Hearts, the oldest and most successful football club in the S ...

but also for players from other Scottish clubs, those being Hibernian, Raith Rovers, Dunfermline, East Fife and St Bernard's, who were also part of

McCrae's Battalion McCrae's Battalion was the affectionate name given by the people of Edinburgh to the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots in World War I, raised from volunteers in 1914 as part of the New Armies called to the Colours by Lord Kitchener. The ...

, known as "The footballers' Battalion", who died in World Wars I and II. It was designed by the sculptor

Henry Snell Gamley Henry Snell Gamley (commonly called Harry Gamley) (1865–1928) was a Scottish sculptor specialising in war memorials and sculpture on tombs. He was however also responsible for other figurative sculpture on prominent Edinburgh buildings ...

. The memorial was temporarily removed in 2010 to allow construction of the tramway across the road junction. It was replaced in a slightly different position in 2013, in time for the commemoration of the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. The clock was made by

James Ritchie & Son James Ritchie & Son are a firm of Clockmakers in Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland. The company was established in 1809 and is Scotland's oldest turret clock manufacturer. The firm produces and maintains all sorts of clocks, including public cloc ...

, who were clockmakers in Edinburgh.

Transport interchange

The newly redeveloped

Haymarket railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , symbol2 = edinburgh , image = New entrance to Haymarket station, Edinburgh.jpg , caption = New entrance to Haymarket railway station. , borough = Haymarket, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh , country ...

is located here and is called at by the busy commuter services to Glasgow and

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, as well as long-distance services to

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Edinburgh Trams Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is a line between St Andrew Square in the New Town and Edinburgh Airport, with 15 stops. Construction began in June 2008, and after encountering delays ...

' Haymarket stop is located adjacently north of the station for connections to the west of the city as far as

Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Airport is an airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2019, handling over 14.7 million passengers. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by t ...

and the city centre to the east. The westbound tramway continues off-street at this point via Haymarket Yards.

Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian ...

are the main operator for local bus connections to and from the interchange stop on Haymarket Terrace, and nearby Dalry Road. Routes to West Lothian, Falkirk and Stirling areas are operated by

McGill's Scotland East McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

are operated by

Scottish Citylink Scottish Citylink is a long-distance express coach operator in Scotland and Ireland (where it operates as Irish Citylink) and England (where it operates as Stansted Citylink). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group i ...

. The taxi rank is situated in Rosebery Crescent.

Haymarket Business District Redevelopment

Plans to develop the former Morrison Street Goods Yard, a former railway site which has been partially derelict and partially a car park for many years were approved by The City of Edinburgh Council on 25 June 2008. Tiger Developments purchased the site from

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

for approximately £50 million in December 2006. The plans for the site included a 17-storey, 5-star hotel, a 3-star hotel, office buildings, retail space, bars, shops and a small supermarket. However, this approval was overturned by Scottish ministers in October 2009, on the recommendation of a planning inquiry reporter, citing concerns about the impact of the 17-storey hotel on Edinburgh's skyline. A revised planning application, incorporating a similar mixed use, with a lower skyline, was approved by the Council in December 2010. Work to strengthen the railway tunnels under Haymarket began in 2013 in preparation for the construction of the new £200m development above which is to include a 320-space underground car park. This involves grouting between the tunnel lining and the surrounding ground, and drilling and inserting metal bars within the brick lining. Due to line operations, works access was limited in the north tunnel to between midnight and 5am four nights of the week and in the south tunnel from 1am to 9.30am one night a week. Haymarket development

Above-ground construction was scheduled to start in early 2015 and the first phase was expected to be complete by 2016. However, delays in the strengthening of the tunnels and the sale of the project to M&G Real Estate by

Interserve Interserve is a British construction and support services business based in Reading, Berkshire, which went into administration in 2019 and which is expected to be wound up in 2024. At that time, the group generated revenue of £2.2 billion and h ...

delayed the start of construction. The Haymarket, as the development is to be known, will provide new pedestrian links to neighbouring

Fountainbridge Fountainbridge ( gd, Drochaid an Fhuarain) is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, a short distance west of the city centre, adjoining Tollcross with East Fountainbridge and West Port to the east, Polwarth to the west and south, Dalry and Haymar ...

and The Exchange district. In 2019, M&G appointed Edinburgh property developer Qmile Group to begin the now costed £350m mixed-use development, including new offices (to include a new HQ for

Baillie Gifford Baillie Gifford is an investment management firm which is wholly owned by partners, all of whom work within the firm. It was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1908 and still has its headquarters in the city. It has corporate offices in New York ...

, hotel accommodation (including a 190-room

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

hotel a 172-room aparthotel) and 40,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space designed by

Foster and Partners Foster + Partners is a British architectural, engineering, and integrated design practice founded in 1967 as Foster Associates by Norman Foster. It is the largest architectural firm in the UK with over 1,500 employees in 13 studios worldwide. ...

. Completion is expected in 2023. By February 2022 QMile group confirmed pre-let all 390,000 sq ft of the first stage of the development.

References

{{Areas of Edinburgh Areas of Edinburgh