The Hermitage of Braid – A Wooded Dell Below Blackford Hill
About 2.6 miles on foot.
On the south side of Edinburgh the Braid Burn runs through a narrow wooded dell, with an old house at the end of its drive and the city out of sight and almost out of earshot.
Behind it rises Blackford Hill, a small, steep hill of grass and gorse with the whole of Edinburgh laid out below. The two together make a walk of under three miles, and it feels a long way from Princes Street.
- Time
- About an hour and a half: 4.25 km, or 2¾ miles, with 137 metres of climb, as Walkhighlands lists it.
- The path
- A firm, level drive through the dell, then muddy paths and a steep grassy pull to the summit.
- Where to start
- A little parking at the Braid Road entrance and a small car park at Midmar Paddock. Many people come by bus to Comiston Road.
- When to go
- All year in daylight. From November to January set off by 1.30pm.
- Dogs
- Under control, and away from the quarry edges.
- Children
- The burn and the dell suit children. Keep them away from the old quarry on the hill.
- Toilets
- At Hermitage House when the visitor centre is open: don't count on its hours.
- Before you set out
- The old quarry on Blackford Hill has sheer edges. Paths are muddy and worn in places.
The walk
The walk starts at the Braid Road entrance to the Hermitage of Braid, in Morningside. There's only a little parking there, and a small car park at Midmar Paddock, so many people come by bus to Comiston Road, a few minutes' walk away. A level drive follows the Braid Burn through the dell to Hermitage House, built in 1785 for Charles Gordon of Cluny and now the reserve's visitor centre. It has toilets when it's open, but don't count on its hours. Near here is Agassiz Rock, where in 1840 the Swiss geologist Louis Agassiz found some of the first evidence that Scotland had once lain under ice.
From the dell the walk climbs to the top of Blackford Hill, 164 metres up, where the ring of an Iron Age fort lies under the grass. The view takes in the Castle, Arthur's Seat and the Forth. Walkhighlands lists the round as 4.25 km, or two and three-quarter miles, with 137 metres of climb, and allows an hour and a half. The drive is firm, but the paths in the dell and on the hill are muddy and worn in places, and the last pull to the summit is steep grass. The old quarry on the hill has sheer edges, so keep children and dogs away from it.
Dogs are welcome under control. Morningside's cafés and pubs are ten minutes' walk from the Braid Road gate. From November to January, set off by 1.30pm.
If it rains
The dell is sheltered and its drive is firm, so it still makes a walk on a wet day. Leave the hill for dry weather: its paths are steep and slippery.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
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For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by ummul khair Sultana via Google