Geography of the ENU Campuses

Wait, so there is more than one campus building?

There is indeed! Edinburgh Napier University has three campuses: Merchiston Campus, Sighthill Campus, and Craiglockhart Campus. Our oldest campus located in Merchiston was built during the 16^th century. Merchiston is home to our School of Arts and Creative Industries as well as our School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment. It is also the birthplace of our very own John Napier! Our Sighthill campus hosts the School of Health and Social Care and the School of Applied Sciences. It is our newest campus building. It was fully refurbished in 2011 and is home to our ENGAGE sport and exercise facility. Our Craiglockhart campus only hosts one school,our Business School.  It is also home to our Innovation and Enterprise Centre, as well as the iconic Lindsay Stewart Lecture Theatre – a giant, futuristic-looking dome. Or as we like to call it, the ‘Big Egg.’

Now let us show you around, as we explore the geography of our three wonderful campuses…

Merchiston Campus

Merchiston campus is situated on Colinton Road in the lively neighbourhood of Bruntsfield. And is the closest of the three campuses to the city centre of Edinburgh. Nearby are a variety of independent restaurants, cafes and shops.  Which is great for some retail therapy, breaks from studying, and even socialising with fellow ENU students. Merchiston campus also hosts our Edinburgh Napier Students’ Association. Just around the corner in Morningside is a converted church which the university utilises for performance and rehearsal spaces for our SACI student community.

Due to Merchiston campus being based in the heart of Edinburgh, it is very easily accessible by all types of public transportation. There are seven different Lothian bus services from the city centre. All these will drop you off practically right outside Merchiston campus: the 5, 11, 15, 16, 23, 36 and 45 to be specific. With regards to our train and tram networks, Merchiston campus is approximately a 25-minute walk from Haymarket train station and tram stop – ideal if you are looking to get your steps in! With regards to getting to Merchiston campus by bike, Edinburgh has a wide range of ever-expanding cycle paths, including routes which go to and from Merchiston campus. There are 100 bicycle spaces available altogether at this ENU campus – 48 of these are covered, secure areas and 52 are uncovered. You can find one of the bike parking facilities opposite the Merchiston library entrance to the left, and the other parking facility at the far end opposite the glass box. Parking for those coming to Merchiston campus by car is available between 7am-5pm Monday to Friday for all permit holders. Outside these times and at weekend, parking is free.  

Sighthill Campus

Sighthill Campus is based to the west of Edinburgh city centre. And hosts a range of facilities catering to both our School of Health and Social Care and School of Applied Sciences student communities. Some of these facilities include a 1,000 square metre clinical skills centre featuring mock hospital wards and a high-dependency unit, Biotech labs. And a lab for Sports and Exercise Science students. And of course, our Learning and Resource Centre with five floors in total, with library, cafe and IT facilities. Sighthill campus is also close to a few local amenities within walking distance such as Sighthill Shopping Centre. Then there is a Londis gas station with a Subway and Burger King, a Greggs bakery. Nearby is Hermiston Gate, which has various retail outlets as well as a Costa, Krispy Kreme and KFC.

Sighthill Campus is very well-served by various public transportation systems. The tram network runs between Edinburgh Airport and Newhaven. It cuts through Edinburgh City Centre as well. Bankhead Station is the closest one to our Sighthill campus – approximately a ten-minute walk up Bankhead Drive. In terms of getting there by train, South Gyle train station is approximately a 25-minute walk from Sighthill campus and roughly the same distance from Edinburgh Park station as well, which is approximately a 20-minute walk from this campus. From Edinburgh city centre, Lothian bus services 3,21,25,32,34, 36 and Citylink 300 all stop outside Sighthill campus at bus stop ‘Sighthill Shops’ on Calder Road. Services 2,12 and 22 from Edinburgh city centre also stop at ‘Bankhead (W)’ on Bankhead Drive, which is right outside campus grounds as well, giving you a huge variety of options regarding bus services from the city centre overall. For those travelling by car, parking is also available at this campus for permit holders, and can be accessed via the M8, M9 and Edinburgh City Bypass. Secure bike storage facilities are also available at this campus.

Craiglockhart Campus

And finally, we have our scenic Craiglockhart campus! This ENU campus is, like our Merchiston campus, also located on Colinton Road, but much further down – closer to Morningside, Kingsnowe and Slateford. It hosts an airy atrium with good natural lighting and an Espresso Lab Cafe, various language and multimedia labs, our large downstairs library with 100 PCs available for use, and our famous War Poets Collection. In terms of cafes and similar local amenities, there are not very many close to Craiglockhart campus aside from a few supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainburys and a large Asda with a Mcdonalds inside. Nevertheless, like all of our ENU campuses, it does host a canteen with a wide variety of food and drink options. Craiglockhart campus is also well-served by public transportation throughout Edinburgh.

In terms of which Lothian buses stop right outside Craiglockhart campus, services 4, 10, 27 and 45 all stop on Colinton Road at a stopped specifically named ‘Craiglockhart Campus’ – as does the 36 bus service on Glenlockhart road. Slateford train station is also a short walk from Craiglockhart campus – approximately 15-20 minutes in total. Parking and bike storage facilities are also available at this campus for those travelling by car or bike.

By Rachel Downie

We may be a modern university but two of our campuses have a lot of history, read about Merchiston and Craiglockhart