Down On The Farm

There’s a delightful pastoral oasis deep in the heart of the city

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THE last thing you expect to hear as you walk up Edinburgh’s Gorgie Road are lambs bleating or ducks quacking. However, tucked away in a corner only a corner’s kick from Tynecastle Stadium lies Gorgie City Farm, a bastion of countryside amid the urban sprawl.

As soon as you walk through the gates, you are greeted by the sights, sounds and smells of the farmyard. It’s an amazing juxtaposition but only a couple of years ago the future of the farm was extremely doubtful.

“In April 2016, we launched an urgent appeal to save the farm,” says development manager Sarah Campbell. “Rising costs and a serious reduction in funding meant we had to approach the community to help keep it open.

“The response was phenomenal! Within six weeks, local folk and businesses had donated £100,000. Without that we’d have been lost. Such support made us feel really part of the community.

“Since then we have built a fundraising strategy to capitalise on this success and have built up a new portfolio of grants, sponsorship and donations.”