Saughton () is a suburb of the west of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland, bordering
Broomhouse,
Stenhouse,
Longstone and
Carrick Knowe. In
Lowland Scots, a "sauch" is a
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
.
The
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth.
Name
The ...
flows by here.
It is the location of
HM Prison Edinburgh, known colloquially as "Saughton Prison", in the south of the district.
The
A71 road, one of the main city arteries, runs through the area – it is known here as Calder Road, becoming Stenhouse Road and Gorgie Road further east.
Saughton Park
Saughton Park is a public park in Edinburgh, Scotland. It includes formal gardens, specimen trees, exotic plant greenhouses, a cafe, a bandstand, playing fields, an athletics track, a skateboard park and a creative play area. The skatepark was ...
, a large public park, has facilities including Scotland's largest
skatepark
A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...
; it is located on the opposite side of Stenhouse from the core of the Saughton neighbourhood.
Actually situated in the Broomhouse area and fronting onto Broomhouse Drive, Saughton House is a large Government office, built in the 1950s, which houses the
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
,
Scottish Courts Service, and a number of other Government offices.
Transport
Tram

Saughton
tram stop
A tram stop, tram station, streetcar stop, or light rail station is a place designated for a tram, streetcar, or light rail vehicle to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Generally, tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, bu ...
is located close to the junction of Broomhouse Drive and Saughton Road North, adjacent to the main railway lines though the area (the
Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line is joined by the
Fife Circle Line here).
Buses
*
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 Lothia ...
** 3, 25, 34, 35 (Calder Road)
** 1, 2, 22 (Broomhouse Drive/ Stenhouse Drive)
*
McGill's Scotland East
** X22 (Calder Road)
Notable residents
*
William Stevenson (1772–1829), Scottish nonconformist preacher and writer.
[
* ]Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit.
A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 19 ...
(1953), retired Scottish footballer and manager
* Baird baronets of Saughton Hall
Saughton cemetery
Notable interments:
* Louis Deuchars, sculptor
References
External links
HM Prison Edinburgh
Saughton Skatepark
Areas of Edinburgh
Edinburgh Trams stops
{{Edinburgh-geo-stub