The Seven Hills of Edinburgh

Arthur's Seat From the Braid Hills

By common convention, the Seven Hills of Edinburgh are a septet of volcanic plugs dispersed around this fine city all of which give great views in all directions. The highest is less than 1000’ above sea level and the lowest a mere 350’ high. Once a year, on the 3rd Saturday in June, a combined race/challenge is held in which hardened runners and keen walkers can undertake a rapid run or walk of all 7 hills (last year’s winning time was 1 hr 40 mins)! Alternatively, they can be climbed at a more leisurely pace, either singly, or in convenient clutches of two or more. But at least once, they deserve to be tackled in one circuitous walk which combines the city centre, suburban Edinburgh and the hills themselves.

Castle Rock From Calton Hill

Today was a dazzling autumnal day in the city, cold but cloudless and an ideal opportunity to squeeze the complete round into the ever-shortening days. An 0845 start from Festival Square in the heart of the city seemed as convenient a start/finish point as any and a brisk walk through the cold morning air led to Princes St Gardens and a rapid zig-zag up the side of Castle Rock to the Edinburgh Castle esplanade. A quick logic check suggested that the purist approach to actually standing on all 7 summits didn’t quite justify the £12 entrance fee to the castle so the esplanade was deemed to represent the high point of Castle Rock (131m) for the day and it was on rapidly to hill number 2!

Calton Hill

A descent of the Mound followed by a quick passage of Princes St Gardens past Waverley Station and on to the eastern end of Princes St led quickly to the foot of Calton Hill (108m). This diminutive lump nevertheless commands impressive views across Edinburgh and out across the Forth all the way to the southern Highlands where snow was clearly visible. The hill is decorated with various monuments, follies and towers, not all of them finished (and never will be!) that give added interest. However, it is the views you will remember and Calton Hill gives great reward for the minimal effort required to conquer it!

Arthur's Seat

The next hill – the highest of the seven - does, however, require some effort to climb it. Arthur’s Seat is a sizeable lump of grass and rock to find in the middle of a capital city and it certainly repays repeat visits. These first 3 summits are grouped conveniently close together and it didn’t take long to descend from Calton Hill, scamper past the architectural experiment and financial folly that is the Scottish parliament building and the far more impressive – and timeless – Palace of Holyrood before the climbing started again. A number of options present themselves but I recommend traversing the top of the impressive Salisbury Crags (take care) and then follow the excellent path up to the white trig point that crowns the summit of Arthur’s Seat (251m). Obviously, the views excel in every direction and you can see all the other Edinburgh hills from here quite clearly. It was still relatively early and given the time of year there were very few other folk about. In summer you can expect to find quite a crowd up here!

Arthur's Seat From Blackford Hill

I descended quite steeply to the western gate of Holyrood Park and walked past the Royal Commonwealth Pool before heading south down through the leafy streets of Newington and a welcome coffee break. You don’t need to carry your lunch (or much else for that matter) on this city walk! Blackford Hill (164m) marks the northernmost point of a large open area in the south of the city and is criss-crossed by a number of paths that snake their way through the grass and gorse. The hill’s flanks are home to the Royal Observatory, a golf course and Blackford Pond. To the south, the slopes fall steeply to the delightful wooded glade of the Braid Burn and the Hermitage of Braid beyond which lay my next objective, the Braid Hills. There is much to see here and it’s worth returning when you have more time to explore the area.

Blackford Hill

Today though, it was down from Blackford Hill, across the conveniently placed footbridge over the Braid Burn and along the quaintly named Lang Linn Path that leads up to busy Braid Hills Drive. This I crossed picking my way cautiously up through the public golf course to the trig point and view indicator that crown the highest point of the Braid Hills (213m). Suddenly, the Pentland Hills seemed very close (they were) and they served as a timely reminder of just how far I’d walked since leaving the city centre!

The Craiglockhart Hills From Braid Hills

From the summit of Braid Hills, it was westwards down through Morningside and across to the 2 hills of Craiglockhart. Unfortunately, the higher of these twins (Wester Craiglockhart Hill; 175m) is private property (I ask you!) and has no public access. So you have to make do with Easter Craiglockhart Hill (157m) which poses no access difficulties and is attained with minimal effort. You share much of the 2 hills with the Merchants of Edinburgh Golf Club and Napier University so no wonder there are access issues!

Corstorphine Hill

The sun was starting to sink in the south-western sky now and it would be a rush to gain the last hill before darkness. However, I could clearly see Corstorphine Hill a few short kilometres away and I wasn’t going to lose my last hill having come so far! Unfortunately, to get there you need to thread your way around the south-western suburbs of the city across busy streets, under railway lines past a prison and various industrial units before you get to the wooded slopes of the final summit. The summit of Corstorphine Hill (162m) lies at the southern end of a wooded ridge and is marked by the dark shape of Clermiston Tower. Much of the southern flank of the hill is shared with Edinburgh Zoo. I got to the top just after sunset, some 7 hrs after leaving Castle Rock and it got dark almost immediately. Whilst Corstorphine Hill marked the end of my particular conquest of the Seven Hills, personal pride dictated that it was only right to walk back to my start point in Festival Square. At this time of year, this entailed a long walk under the streetlights through leafy Murrayfield and Ravelston to Dean Village and eventually back to Princes St and Festival Square.

Clermiston Tower

The complete round, taken at a steady pace and including a generous coffee/lunch stop, was 19 miles/27 Km long and took 8 hr 30 min to complete. Go do it! I may just enter the race next June...