I finally saw inside my area's best-kept secret after 12 years

For more than a decade, Sheila Noble has longed to find out what went on behind the doors of an ordinary-looking flat in her part of Edinburgh.

A brass plaque at the door was the only clue that the tenement was home to The Morningside Club.

The ground floor property at 3 Morningside Park, with frosted windows and a white ivy-covered extension, has been described by locals as the area's best-kept secret.

"I have been wondering what is behind that blue door for 12 years now and dreaming of what is inside," said 62-year-old Sheila.

"I've marvelled at the door every time I walked past it and I have wanted to become a member."

But try as she might she had been unable to find anyone who knew anything about the secret club.

The NHS service manager had asked people in the area and researched the club online, but always came to a dead end.

After she spoke to BBC Scotland, we also asked local traders and business leaders - but they had never heard of the club, despite it being on their doorstep.

Then finally, after a chance encounter with the president, Sheila was invited in for a sneak peek.

"I was so excited I couldn't sleep," she said.

Inside is a long corridor leading to a large hall with two full-sized snooker tables, a lounge, bar, darts room and board games room. The white extension holds a beer cellar.

President Graeme Ritchie has been a member of the club for 55 years.

"Not many people know about the club, it's a bit of a hidden gem within Morningside," said the 78-year-old.

He said at one time there was a seven year waiting list to become one of its 150 members. Until a few years ago, it was a men-only club.

"There is not the demand for it that there used to be, so we now have 90 members," he said.

"In its heyday it was great as everybody knew everyone, you could turn up on your own and you always had all your friends there.

"It was smoky and very busy and there was a real buzz about the place.

"We even had a steward who lived in the back rooms with his wife to look after the place.

"But that has all dwindled now."

He said the only way to become a member was to know someone at the club who would put your name forward.

That application then had to be seconded, before the potential new member would be interviewed by a panel on the committee.

But Mr Ritchie said: "I'm waiving that rule now and going to start letting new members apply even if they don't know anyone at the club."

Robbie Mitchell, a reference assistant at the National Library of Scotland, researched old directories for the address and discovered it was first home to the Morningside Liberal Club in 1899.

It then became the Morningside Club in 1950. Mr Ritchie said there had only been four presidents in its history.

Sheila said that as soon as she had finished the tour, she had filled in her membership form and paid a deposit.

"It suits my mentality, somewhere I can go to sit and nobody will bother me or threaten me.

"I can go in and read the paper or a book, I like the thought of that. I want to be able to drop in on my way home from work.

"I like to be comfortable with people, it's a nice wee place for me."

She was accompanied by her friend Heather Robinson, 58, an accountant who lives locally.

"Sheila sowed the seed in my head every time we walk past. She's always been asking 'What is that place'?" she said.

"To finally get to see inside after so long makes it even more exciting. The place is like the Tardis.

"I've filled in a membership form too and just hope we get through the interview."

Former president David Riddell, 80, has been a member for 62 years.

He said the club had been so popular in the past that they had a lot of money to refurbish it.

"It was extremely busy and we were making money hand over fist. We did the place up and even managed to pay the mortgage off in a year.

"We spent £3,000 on the carpet, which was the equivalent to the price of a whole flat in Edinburgh at the time.

"It's still the same carpet today because it was such good quality that it hasn't worn at all."

He said one of the reasons for its popularity had been its opening hours.

"We could stay open longer than pubs that had to close at 10pm.

"Often we were still partying until 2am and 3am," he said.

Anne Ness, the secretary of the Morningside Traders Association, told BBC Scotland that she had never heard of the club.

"It's Morningside's best kept secret," she said.

"It's a shame it's such a secret because it could be a wonderful utilised space for events."

Donald Nairn, who has owned nearby Toys Galore for 17 years, had also never heard of the club.

"Morningside is a funny place," he said.

"It is quite possible not to know what some Morningsiders are up to. It's an odd community but it is all the more fun for it."