Edinburgh has some amazing woods, parks, and hills that never cease to amaze, so lace-up your walking boots, pack your binoculars and embrace the great outdoors within an amazing city.
Woods & Parks
The Meadows – It consists largely of open grassland crossed by tree-lined paths, but also has a children’s playground, a croquet club, tennis courts and recreational sports pitches.
Craigmillar Castle Park – is a natural heritage park with areas of mature and young woodland, grassland and old quarries.
The Hermitage of Braid – Trees, some older specimens are over 40 metres tall, have been on this site for over 300 years, and is designated an ancient woodland.Cammo Estate – 85 acres of woodlands, glades and grasslands, and has been named a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation.
Holyrood Park – has an array of hills, lochs, glens, ridges, basalt cliffs, and patches of gorse, providing a wild piece of highland landscape within its 650-acre area.
Lord Ancrum’s Wood – The South Esk River in Midlothian, just outside Edinburgh, has been lined with trees for thousands of years. If you look hard enough you may find “the priest hole” cavern.
Dalkeith Country Park – History, heritage, architecture and innovation work side by side. You’ll find over 300 years of history, a 700-year-old oak wood, farmland, forestry, and nature trails.
Hills
Arthur’s Seat – an ancient volcano and is the highest of the seven hills in Edinburgh, rising above Holyrood Park in spectacular fashion.
Braid Hill – is a small range rather than a single hill. The highest summit – Bucks-tone Snab – has a view indicator at the highest point.
Blackford Hill – With the Royal Observatory just below the summit, some reckon the view from here is the best of all the hills.
Calton Hill – Although the lowest of the seven hills, it offers one of the best views over the heart of the city. There’s also a fascinating array of monuments to view and visit.
Castle Rock – comprising a classic crag-and-tail formation, it is home to Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, and leads down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Corstorphine Hill – much of it is fine woodland and also houses Edinburgh Zoo.
Craiglockhart Hill – lesser known of the seven hills, and really 2 hills, but offer superb views over the city.
Pentland Hills – Just outside Edinburgh and home to the Midlothian Snowsports Centre, the second-longest dry ski slope in Europe.
