Blackford Hill

Blackford Hill rises 164 metres above Edinburgh’s southern edge, between the districts of Morningside and Braid Hills. The 60.3-hectare reserve it shares with the Hermitage of Braid shelters a Scheduled Ancient Monument on its summit. Edinburgh Corporation bought the hill in 1884, and the Hermitage estate was donated in 1938 by John McDougal for public recreation. The City Council keeps the land through its ranger service and other teams. Around half the ground remains unimproved grassland, while twelve hectares hold mature woodland. The hill commands clear views north over the city and south to the Pentland Hills. Walkers and runners follow well-established paths through a wide range of flora and fauna within the green belt. Near the top stands the Royal Observatory, alongside a police radio transmitter and a meteorological station. To the east lies Craigmillar Park golf course, and on the north side Blackford Pond and the Midmar allotments border the reserve. A glacial feature called Agassiz Rock nearby was the first proof of glacier action in Scotland, identified by Louis Agassiz. Paths lead past Danger Hill, a grassy slope famous for ball games and the ‘danger game’ played on its steep 30-metre face. The Braid Burn flows for about three kilometres through the reserve, fed from the Pentland Hills and heading toward Portobello. A tunnel under Hermitage House carries the burn, and families gather at Blackford Pond to the north. The reserve also includes a reclaimed landfill mound planted in the late 19th century as part of the Millennium Forest Community Woodland.