Newcraighall


Newcraighall is a southeastern suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. A former mining village, its prosperity was based on the Midlothian coalfields. The Newcraighall pit was known as 'Klondyke' and closed in the 1960s, work transferring to nearby Bilston Glen and in particular the last-to-close Monktonhall pit. The village had a church, a Co-op and a miners' club and bowling green. Newcraighall now plays host to an out-of-town shopping complex, Fort Kinnaird, previously known as The Fort and Kinnaird Park. Today, the retail park is still more commonly referred to as "The Fort" by residents.
Newcraighall railway station is on the newly reopened Borders Railway which runs from Edinburgh to Tweedbank and was formerly part of the Waverley Route to Carlisle its closure following the Beeching Report in 1963.
Newcraighall was the setting for the film My Childhood by Bill Douglas. There is a plaque to Douglas in the village. The village also contained a bridge that features in a scene from the film, however it was demolished in 2015. The village also contains a sculpture by Jake Harvey which celebrates the mining tradition of the area. On Newcraighall Road is the , with a Woman of Achievement plaque for Helen Crummy, who lived in Newcraighall for many years.