If you know where the Pink Triangle is, and could make your way to the Banana Flats without using Google - you're probably an Edinburgh local.
Each city up and down the country has created their own language of sorts to describe spots throughout their area, even though these spots already have a name. Here in Edinburgh we're no different, and our nicknames would likely bring confusion to tourists.
Test your Edinburgh knowledge below, and see how well you know your city.
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Pink Triangle
Edinburgh’s small, but vibrant, gay scene sits at the top of Leith Walk and just across from the St James Quarter.
Each watering hole is within walking distance, which makes it easy to bar-hop round each corner of the pink triangle. Since the city’s new shopping destination has opened the area has seen a lot more traffic, though the triangle remains pink.
CC Bloom's, Havana and The Street are just a few of the popular spots in the triangle. As for the actual name, the triangle spans across Greenside Place and Leith Walk.
Foot of the Walk
The clue is in the name really, but the Foot of the Walk describes the area at the bottom of Leith Walk - and is also the name of the Wetherspoons pub that sits on Constitution Street.
Ask any Edinburgh local to meet you there and they’ll know what you’re on about. Same goes for the Top of the Walk - which you guessed it, is the area at the top of Leith Walk (which some would call the Pink Triangle, so know your audience).
Banana Flats
Better known as Cables Wynd House, the Banana Flats (or Bannay flats, depending on your preference) earned its name because of its curved shape.
Made famous by Trainspotting, the flats were the home of Sick Boy in the iconic Edinburgh set novel. Known as a hotbed of drug abuse during the ‘80s, the huge 10-storey building dominates the Leith skyline.
In 2017, the Banana Flats were given special architectural status by heritage chiefs and handed a Category-A listing.
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Pubic Triangle
Tell someone who isn’t an Edinburgh local you’ll meet them at the pubic triangle, and you’ll likely be met with some confusion.
Our answer to the red light district, the pubic triangle earned its name due to multiple strip clubs in close proximity of each other. In actuality, it sits at the meeting point of West Port and Bread Street.
That being said, if you’re from these parts it would be a cold day in hell before you described the area by its street name.
Commie
Otherwise known as the Royal Commonwealth Pool, the category A listed building in St Leonard’s has been known as the Commie by locals since it opened in 1969.
The pool was used as a spot for elite diving events, and was used in the 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as the 2018 European Championships. No matter how elite the events held at the pool were, Edinburgh locals continued to call it the Commie - and we don’t plan on stopping.
Cleri, Ravvie, Porty
Here in Edinburgh, we like to shorten words and pop an ‘ie’ on the end - it just makes life easier.
In this case Ravvie refers to Ravelston, sometimes considered to be part of the larger neighbouring area of Murrayfield. It’s not the only area in the city to get such treatment - Clermiston is often known as Cleri, Portobello is shortened to Porty.
It saves time, and it lets you know whether or not the person you’re chatting to is a local. Works a treat.
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