London’s Circus Lane has become popular with Instagrammers in recent years, transforming it from a quiet residential area into a bustling tourist destination.
Fiona has lived here for 30 years. [not her real name]”Some residents are having to move because of this. They can’t stand it any more so they are looking for property,” he said.
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When searched on Instagram, posts tagging Circus Lane as a location appear 20 times more frequently than posts linked to the other seven streets in the surrounding area.
Fiona said the high volume of foot traffic on the footpath was the “only reason” they were considering relocating. “It went from being a bit remote to being a place that was being promoted as a tourist attraction,” she said.
Locals say they’ve seen a big increase in visitor numbers since around 2018. “It was all because of Instagram. Before, there was no reason to walk the path,” Fiona said.
There were also more than twice as many posts linking to Circus Lane, which has no shops or restaurants, than to the popular weekly event, Stockbridge Market.
Not everyone who lives in Circus Lane complains about the crowds: one resident who has lived there for three years recently told Edinburgh Live: “I love that it’s so fun and lively. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in London for so long that I find Edinburgh to be quiet and sleepy, even at the height of the Fringe festival.”
Fiona understands why tourists are drawn to wandering the picturesque paths. She says: “That’s fine – most people just enjoy it, but some people take advantage and pick flowers to take photos. I picked up about 20 cigarette butts and wrappers the other day.”
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The flowers and plants that grow along Circus Lane have been grown by residents, and Fiona added: “This is a quiet country town and people have said, ‘I’ve never been down this road’. We’ve created something of a monster.”
How Instagrammers and influencers are using Circus Lane
All sorts of visitors use the path as a stunning backdrop to get their photos taken. Fiona says, “We have wedding photographers, people who come in their supercars to get their photos taken, and even racers in their cars.”
“Some Instagrammers have been here for an hour. They don’t understand why I’m upset. I just walked out and a guy nearly fell over at the front door.”
Trying to understand what makes something “Instagrammable” is the focus of Dr Ben Marder, who studies social behaviour linked to the use of digital technology at the University of Edinburgh.
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He hinted at what draws people to Circus Lane: “We’ve done multiple studies on how Instagram influences people’s behaviour. Before Instagram, people would visit places because of the quality of the destination. But now, people choose a destination because of whether it’s Instagrammable.”
Marder said some of these travelers “have little interest in the destination itself” and “are choosing a destination because of the social capital associated with their online persona,” explaining that this is a change he’s observed over the past decade and is more prevalent among millennials and Gen Z than older age groups.
Many travel blogs feature Circus Lane tourist guides using a technique known as search engine optimization (SEO). Instagrammers and bloggers include Circus Lane’s name in the headline or meta description of the search engine results to drive more traffic to their websites, as Circus Lane is a popular search term.
One travel writer acknowledged this in a post: “Lots of people (at least according to my Google Analytics stats) search for ‘Circus Lane’ and read my Edinburgh blog posts, even though I only briefly mentioned Circus Lane in those posts. So I thought I’d write a short post about Circus Lane itself, to give people what they’re looking for.”
Another reason for Circus Lane’s growing popularity is that fewer homeowners are living there. Fiona said: “A lot of the people who are moving here, or who aren’t, are buying property here to make a profit.”
She explained how her neighbours were using their flat: “They live in America. They were trying to put eight people up there on Airbnb. I think it was over £1,000 a night depending on the night.”
A search reveals that Airbnb hosts in Circus Lane are charging between £560 and £640 a night for an entire home.
Anti-social behaviour and frequent guest turnover are common issues cited by campaigners calling for greater regulation of Airbnb properties, and Fiona said this was sometimes an issue in Circus Lane.
“People aren’t trying to be rude, but they come late at night. [and] “They keep drinking a bit and, of course, a suitcase on wheels is a nightmare on cobbles. They may be oversensitive to it, but that’s just because of overtourism.”
Staff and patrons at the St Vincent Bar at the end of the street have noticed a change over the years – they explain that visitors will have their photo taken in front of the bar but often leave without buying a drink – but staff also acknowledge that the uploaded content helps promote the bar.
The contrast between Circus Lane’s bustle and that of Royal Circus just around the corner is striking. Apart from passers-by and residents sitting outside on nice days, Royal Circus’s Georgian terraced houses are usually quiet. One local who lives there, former journalist Bill, has a view down Circus Lane from his house. “We call it ‘Instagram Lane’,” he says.
Bill (above) spoke about the increase in visitors to the wider area in recent years: “Stockbridge has become quite a tourist magnet. Before, tourists would all congregate on the Royal Mile and Princess Street. Now they’re discovering the New Town and Stockbridge.”
But he sees the issue differently: “Oh, it’s harmless. I welcome people and I like talking to people.”
But of their Circus Lane neighbours, Bill added: “They bought a house there and they want peace and now you see they’re basically being inundated with cameras.”
The entire Edinburgh City Council area has been designated a short-term letting regulated area by the council in September 2022. These regulations mean that property owners will need to apply for planning permission if they want to rent out their entire property which is not their main residence.
The city council used these powers to order Airbnb host Robert Murray of Circus Lane to remove his property from the site’s listings.
The decision comes because Murray continued to list the property for sale after being denied permission for its use as a short-term rental, which he said would have a “significant adverse impact on the living environment and amenities of nearby residents.”
Fiona said there was no support for residents to deal with crowds or limit the use of images on their roadways. “People come from all over the world, you could end up in the guidebook and there’s nothing we can do. The police don’t want to know unless someone is blocking the road,” she said.
VisitScotland, the Scottish Government’s tourism agency, lists improving the quality of life for Scottish communities as a key goal of its sustainability policy. It also says that encouraging community participation in local tourism planning is a priority.
Despite residents publicly voicing their concerns, Scottish Tourist Board posted photos of Circus Lane on social media platforms including Instagram, Twitter/X and Facebook.
Two images of the path have also been included in the organisation’s media toolkit, with the terms and conditions stating: “This asset may be used in marketing and advertising campaigns promoting Scotland as a tourist destination without paying any royalties or licence fees.”
The “Things To Do” section of the VisitScotland website advertises a “Dean Village & Circus Lane Walking Tour”.
The tours, run by Local Eyes Walking Tours, will take visitors “away from the crowded Old Town and into places where Edinburgh people go for walks at the weekend” and areas that are “still relatively untouched by mainstream tourism”.
A Scottish Tourist spokesman said: “We recognise that a careful balance needs to be struck to ensure local communities feel safe and welcome visitors.”
“Over the past few years our marketing strategy, like the rest of the country, has focused on promoting Edinburgh and the Lothians as a year-round destination, encouraging visitors to explore the city’s lesser known places and visit in all seasons.”
“We work with local partners, such as tourism marketing organisations and local authorities, to understand the impacts on specific communities, which are reflected in our planned activities.
“Through our consumer website, visitscotland.com, we provide visitors with practical information and advice on how to travel responsibly in Scotland, and our consumer social media activity uses visitor images to highlight iconic sights, lesser known places, local businesses, attractions and events. Tourism supports communities, creates jobs and attracts investment.”
“The social media posts identified were from four to six years ago. We do not post photos of Circus Lane frequently. Our records show the last social media post about this location was in 2022.”
Instagram, the borough councillor and Edinburgh Central constituency councillor Angus Robertson did not respond to requests for comment.
