Corstorphine Hill is your classic hidden gem material; a prized urban site that offers something for everyone, and then some. Home to Edinburgh Zoo, Corstorphine Hill boasts spectacular views, an abundance of wildlife, a walled garden, historic tower, a cold-war nuclear bunker and, to top it all off, is also officially recognised as an area of geological significance.
The site is predominantly woodland – you will find mostly oak and birch. A good variety of woodland flowers such as bluebells and red campion grow here, and also nationally and regionally important flora like small balsam, lords and ladies and common
spotted orchid. Birds are also abundant, including sparrowhawks, woodpeckers and woodcock. The hill is home to several clans of badgers, and as such is designated as a Local Nature Reserve.
You can enjoy many great views. On a clear day you can see the summit of Ben Lomond in the west; exceptional views of the Forth Estuary and Fife to the north; to the east central Edinburgh, the Lammermuir Hills and flatter terrain of East Lothian, and to the south the rolling backdrop of the Pentland Hills.
Corstorphine Hill is readily identified by its distinctive tower, now somewhat dominated by two aircraft communication pylons. Corstorphine Hill Tower (also known as Clermiston Tower or the Scott Tower) is a memorial to Sir Walter Scott.
You may also find cup-markings on the west slopes of the hill – probably part of a sacred landscape of Neolithic or Bronze Age (c3600-1500 BC), but their precise purpose remains unknown. Artefacts were also found nearby.
A visit to the top of the hill makes a pleasant Sunday stroll. Take the 26 or 86 bus to Clermiston Road and there are access points all along this side.
For a more demanding walk (about 6km, with some climbing), head for one of the two prominent access points from the south, one at the corner of Kaimes Road and Corstorphine Road, the other by a gate directly opposite Balgreen Road.
Starting at Kaimes Road, 100m west of Edinburgh Zoo, take the steep climb to join the zoo's perimeter fence at the end of Old Kirk Road. (This might be a sort of safety net later; if you are unsure of your direction at any time, find the fence and follow it anti-clockwise to the entrance buildings or clockwise towards Murrayfield Golf Course and the way out to Balgreen Road). Continuing uphill, Kaimes Road turns 90 degrees left to become Cairnmuir Road. At this point you are no more than 200m from Clermiston Tower. To continue the circular walk, stay on Cairnmuir Road, then follow Clermiston Road right to the traffic lights at Queensferry Road. Here, go right (towards the city) past the disused Barnton Quarry for about 300m. A green Rights of Way Society sign points into the woods to a path heading back eventually towards the start. The direction is roughly south; the path stays just inside the woods and is level until you hit the steep ground rising from Murrayfield Golf Course. At this point you can leave the hill by way of a straight lane crossing the golf course to Ravelston Dykes but, if you keep to the zoo's perimeter path, you will come to the grassy slope down to Corstorphine Road.
By bus: Many services run along Corstorphine Road and Queensferry Road; some services run along Drum Brae Road and down Clermiston Road North, while others (LRT No. 26 and First Bus No. 86) run along Clermiston Road to the Clerwood Terminus.
By car: Limited parking from Cairnmuir Road/Kaimes Road, or park thoughtfully on side streets around the hill.
On foot: There are many access points for the walker all round the hill.
There is an orienteering course on Corstorphine Hill. For maps and sample courses, contact Janet Clark on 0131-225 7771.
Distance: 6 km
Time: 2 hours
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