I visited the Edinburgh area named one of the best places to live and was blown away by all it had to offer

Stockbridge in the north of the city is one of the capital’s most popular neighbourhoods. It’s known for its independent shops, delis and stunning Georgian architecture. Taking the winding North West Circus Place into Deanhaugh Street and then on to Raeburn Place gives you a tour of the main thoroughfare of the area, including the eponymous Stockbridge.

There you’ll find top spots such as I.J. Mellis, Sotto and Mootz General Store - the latter of which went viral for its must try schiacciata bread. Food is at the heart of the area, you’ll be able to find some incredible cuisine - be it quick bites, pub grub or great quality dining.

After working up an appetite wandering around the area, I nipped into Hector’s - one of the area’s most loved pubs. They offer up both bar and dining options, so I picked up a steak sandwich that was better than it had any right to be for the price (£13.50 including a drink).

Hectors is one of the areas best loved pubs | National World

From there it was back out to discover more of the area, taking a bit of a detour away from the main street and heading to Lannan Bakery. There is a reason that the bakery goes viral just about once a week. Its pastries are incredible and their cakes are absolutely delicious. I picked up a burnt basque cheesecake, and I’m only slightly embarrassed to mention the noise I made when I took my first bite.

That is one of Stockbridge’s main strengths - it is filled with food places that are serving up some of the best culinary delights that the city has to offer.

What it also has to offer is some beautiful green spaces, the Water of Leith snakes through the area and you can follow it west to the Dean Village or east further on to Leith. I opted to take a nosy west and headed to the St Bernards Well which local legend claim can heal your ailments, which is good to know when you’re as creaky as me.

The area is filled with top independent shops | National World

Stockbridge is also a book lover's paradise, if you’re anything like me you’ll love nothing more than taking a wander through endless book shops or charity shops looking for your next read. I spent a good bit of time exploring the numerous charity shops and managed to pick up a few that I’ve been meaning to read for a decent price - and also the opportunity to give some money to charity (something that Stockbridge residents are known for, the area's charity shops are often some of the highest grossing).

All in all, Stockbridge is a brilliant part of Edinburgh to explore and you can definitely see why it merits its inclusion on the Sunday Times Best Places to Live list. The area feels vibrant and there’s so much to do and, most importantly, eat that it is worth letting yourself get lost in the area for a while.