Scout Bridge Scout waymark posts waymark blue and and red Look for for Look Trail Wetland Patch Wetland Geology and Nature Nature and Geology Friends at the the at Friends History, Guided Walk Guided www.fohb.org/ found on our website website our on found and lots more can be be can more lots and activities, membership membership activities, Information about about Information Want to be involved? be to Want from SNH. from with financial support support financial with Hermitage of Braid Braid of Hermitage Friends of the the of Friends produced by the the by produced in Morningside) in This leaflet is is leaflet This old Blackford Hill railway station (now a veterinary practice practice veterinary a (now station railway Hill Blackford old and Blackford Farm still exists opposite as flats below the the below flats as opposite exists still Farm Blackford and stood somewhere on the south bank of the Jordan Burn Burn Jordan the of bank south the on somewhere stood part of the city to the north of the hill. Blackford House House Blackford hill. the of north the to city the of part and locally the name is used in street names and for that that for and names street in used is name the locally and There are several other Blackfords around the country country the around Blackfords other several are There Blackford your litter afterwards. litter your 1631. but please take away away take please but somewhere near the site and first appears on record in in record on appears first and site the near somewhere feeding the ducks ducks the feeding The name is said to have come from a hermit’s cell based based cell hermit’s a from come have to said is name The By all means enjoy enjoy means all By Hermitage from the reserve. reserve. the from remove their faeces faeces their remove and the Doocot. the and Hill proper control and and control proper but now all that is left are the remnants of the walled garden garden walled the of remnants the are left is that all now but keep dogs under under dogs keep Over time the tower house developed into a fortified castle castle fortified a into developed house tower the time Over particular please please particular Braid and Blackford Blackford and Braid burn and the hills have a long history. history. long a have hills the and burn Access Code. In In Code. Access Burn has its source, so it would seem that the name of the the of name the that seem would it so source, its has Burn Scottish Outdoor Outdoor Scottish Hermitage of Hermitage which stretched from there to the Pentlands where the Braid Braid the where Pentlands the to there from stretched which please follow the the follow please crags above the present Hermitage House. He owned lands lands owned He House. Hermitage present the above crags Nature Reserve Reserve Nature In the12th century Henri de Brad lived in a tower house on on house tower a in lived Brad de Henri century the12th In people who visit the the visit who people Braid Valley and Braid Hills Braid and Valley Braid wildlife and other other and wildlife In the interest of of interest the In What’s in a name? a in What’s Geology of the Gorge and Hill. Ice and volcanoes have shaped Blackford Hill and the Hermitage of Braid. The hills were formed many millions of years ago from lava flows from the ancient volcanoes of the Pentlands. During the Ice Age, when glaciers covered Scotland to many thousands of feet, the rock was scoured away by ice to give Blackford Hill a distinctive crag and tail shape. As the ice melted, a huge river created the gorge of the Hermitage. 7 More to see on the hill 1 Hermitage House The The large metal ring embedded in the rock was once used house was designed in 1785 View along the burn to tether a balloon belonging to the Edinburgh University by the famous Scots architect, near Hermitage House Balloon Club. Where the ground levels out just below and Robert Burn. The style reflects to the east of the top there are some shallow depressions the old Braid Castle thought to in the ground, circular and no more than 6 metres across. have been in the field at the These are the remains of Bronze Age hut circles. The top end of Hermitage Drive. of the hill was once a hill fort and some of the protecting walls are still visible below the summit. The house is now a Visitor Centre and base for the The viewfinder at the summit disappeared in 2006 but Ranger Service (0131 447 7145). Here you can buy maps hopefully will be replaced soon. for the orienteering course set up in the reserve – you will see the permanent markers as you walk round the trail. 5 The Doocot This is the second largest example in Edinburgh and once had a total of nearly 2000 nest 2 The Weir The circular brick boxes made from sandstone. structure just before the old Its purpose would have been The stable block is a water pump to keep the local laird in meat Observatory used to supply a regular flow all year round but there was a from the top of water to Hermitage House. considerable cost to local of the The weir was built either as farmers on whose fields of Blackford Hill landscaping of the Hermitage grain the pigeons grew plump. by the first owners or possibly It was re-roofed in 2006. for the now disappeared corn mill. 8 The Observatory As Edinburgh grew in size in the 19th Century the telescopes of the old observatory on Calton 3 Toll House You once had 6 Blackford Hill The to pay tolls to travel on the Summit A trig point marks Hill became increasingly hard to use because of light roads into Edinburgh. The toll the top of Blackford Hill at pollution. house used to be at the 164m (539’). Imagine what A new Royal Observatory was built on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh boundary on the Edinburgh must have 1896. The site is home to the UK Astronomy Technology site of the Braid Church in looked like when Sir Walter Centre and the Institute of Astronomy of Edinburgh Morningside. When tolls were Scott or Robert Burns University. abolished in 1888, the house gazed over the city? was rebuilt here. Look for the number 259 on the lintel at No doubt in winter it would have the back of the house. deserved its name “Auld Reekie”. 9 Agassiz Rock You pass this historic rock on the way back to Scout Bridge. In 1840, Louis Agassiz here found the first 4 Wildflower Meadow evidence for the This peaceful area is a erosive action of ice in beautiful place to linger Scotland. on a summer day Bluebells along the top path.