Glencorse – A Reservoir in the Fold of the Pentlands
Flotterstone is the front door of the Pentland Hills, a wooded corner off the A702 where a burn, or stream, comes down from Glencorse Reservoir.
The water lies long and grey in a fold of steep green hills, and on the slope above it is Castlelaw, an Iron Age fort. A waymarked round takes in the wood, the burn, the reservoir and the fort in an hour and a half, with hill views that belong to a much bigger walk.
- Time
- About an hour and a half: 2.7 miles, or 4.5 km, on the Regional Park's Glencorse View route, or 3½ miles, 5.75 km, with Castlelaw as Walkhighlands lists it.
- The path
- Woodland path, a reservoir track and grassy hill path, with one steady climb.
- Where to start
- The Flotterstone car park, off the A702, beside the Regional Park's information point. A paid car park: the machine shows the charge.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January set off by 1.30pm.
- Dogs
- On a lead: sheep graze the hills.
- Children
- A short hill walk with the park's Mystery Trail for children. Keep them back from the reservoir's edge.
- Before you set out
- No swimming in the reservoir: cold, deep water and sluice towers. Sheep on the hills, with diversions at lambing.
The walk
Park at the Flotterstone car park, off the A702 north of Penicuik, beside the Regional Park's information point. It's a paid car park, and the machine shows the charge. The 101 and 102 buses, run by Houstons, also stop here on the A702, so check their times if you'd sooner leave the car. The Regional Park's own Glencorse View route is 2.7 miles, or 4.5 km, marked with herons on the posts. Walkhighlands lists the round with Castlelaw at 5.75 km, or three and a half miles, with 152 metres of climb, and about an hour and a half.
It goes through woodland and up beside the burn to Glencorse Reservoir, then along the foot of the hills by the edge of the trees. Castlelaw, an Iron Age hill fort with an underground passage in it, stands on the slope above. Underfoot it's woodland path, a reservoir track and grassy hill path, with one steady climb. The reservoir is a fishery from March to November, and anglers take boats out on it. It isn't for swimming: the water is cold and deep and the sluice towers are dangerous.
Sheep graze these hills, so keep dogs on a lead, and follow any diversion signs at lambing time. The park asks walkers to carry a map and waterproofs. The Flotterstone Inn and a café at the information point are by the car park, but check they're open before counting on either. From November to January, set off by 1.30pm.
If it rains
The wood and the reservoir track are fine in a shower, but the hill path to Castlelaw is exposed and slippery. In heavy rain, walk to the dam and back.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Vishnu Vijayan via Google