Corstorphine Hill is a low ridge-shaped hill rising above the western suburbs of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Although there has been residential and commercial development on its lower slopes, especially in the south and west, most of the hill is occupied by a local nature reserve, consisting of extensive broadleaf woodland, and is accessible to the public. The hill, which is composed largely of

dolerite Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grained ...

, was formed by the west-to-east movement of glaciers during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

period. There is evidence of prehistoric settlement. Today the hill is popular with walkers, dog-walkers and joggers. Among its interesting features are a 19th-Century tower, a walled garden and a

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

bunker.

Location

Corstorphine Hill is located approximately west of Edinburgh's city centre. It is surrounded by residential suburbs, in particular by Barnton and

Davidson's Mains Davidson's Mains is a former village and now a district in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is adjacent to the districts of Barnton, Cramond, Silverknowes, Blackhall and Corbiehill/House O'Hill. It was absorbed into Edinburgh as part ...

to the north, Blackhall and

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often conside ...

to the east, Clerwood and

Clermiston Clermiston is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, to the west of the city and to the immediate north of Corstorphine, on the western slopes of Corstorphine Hill. Clermiston estate, built in 1954, was part of a major 1950s house-building programme ...

to the west, and

Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...

to the south.

Physical features

The hill is a prominent feature of Edinburgh’s skyline. It appears as a long, low, L-shaped ridge, extending about in length from north to south and rising to . The upper slopes, which are heavily wooded, form a local

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

(LNR), managed by the City of Edinburgh Forestry and Natural Heritage Service and the Friends of Corstorphine Hill. It is the largest urban woodland in the city. By contrast, parts of the lower slopes have been built on, particularly in the south and west. The area between Kaimes Road and Clermiston Road is largely residential, consisting mainly of bungalows and small villas. Other buildings on the hill include Fox Covert Primary School, two large hotels (Capital Moat House and Holiday Inn), St Andrew's Clermiston Church, St Anne's Parish Church and the Spire Murrayfield Hospital. Some of the southern slopes are occupied by

Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo, formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The land lies on the south facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, from which it provides extensive v ...

. Corstorphine Hill is one of Edinburgh's traditional "Seven Hills", an allusion to the

Seven Hills of Rome The seven hills of Rome ( la, Septem colles/montes Romae, it, Sette colli di Roma ) east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the city. Hills The seven hills are: * Aventine Hill (Latin: ''Collis Aventi ...

. It is the fourth highest of the seven.

Woodlands

The LNR consists of three broad types of woodland. There are about of oak and birch woods into which sycamore and beech have been introduced. Some of mixed broadleaf woodland are present, composed primarily of native ash, oak and elm into which sycamore, lime, Norway maple, horse chestnut, sweet chestnut, beech and various conifers have been introduced. And there are about of more formal policy woodland originally associated with Hillwood House and Calderwood House, and composed of a variety of native and non-native broadleaf and coniferous species.

Archaeology

There is evidence of prehistoric settlement on Corstorphine Hill. At the end of the 19th century, quarrying operations uncovered shells, bones, stone tools and pottery, while hammer stones, cup-marked stones, part of a quern and other pottery fragments from a kitchen midden have also been discovered. There are eleven cup-marks on the western slopes, nine in the shape of a pentagon with two in the centre. These were probably part of a sacred Neolithic or Bronze Age site, but their precise purpose is unknown.

Geology

Corstorphine Hill is made up primarily of

, a hard, crystalline igneous rock, sitting above softer, more erodible sedimentary rocks. The hill was shaped by west-to-east flowing glaciers during the

period, forming steep cliffs of doleritic bedrock in the west and gentle slopes of boulder clay in the east. The top surface of the dolerite shows grooves cut by stones scraping the surface, these being set in the base of the ice and acting like sandpaper.

Other features

* Corstorphine Hill Tower (also known as Clermiston Tower or the Scott Tower). Situated close to the hill's summit, it was built in 1871 by William Macfie of Clermiston to commemorate the centenary of the birth of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

. It was gifted to the city in 1932 to mark the centenary of Scott's death. It is a five-storey high tower, on a square plan, with

castellation A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

at the top. * A

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate c ...

on the hill's western slopes. Originally belonging to Hillwood House, it has been in council ownership since 1927. It had become disused and overgrown, but has now been restored by volunteers from the Friends of Corstorphine Hill. In 2001 and 2004, it was featured on BBC Scotland's ''

The Beechgrove Garden ''Beechgrove'' (formerly known as ''The Beechgrove Garden'') is a television programme broadcast since 1978 on BBC Scotland. Over the years it has been broadcast on BBC Scotland, BBC One Scotland, BBC Two Scotland and Britbox. History ''Beechgro ...

''. * Corstorphine Hill Cemetery. Situated on Drum Brae, on the western side of the hill, it was established in 1928, and came into council ownership in 1994. The cemetery has 35 graves of Commonwealth servicemen and 165 graves of Polish servicemen from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. *

Barnton Quarry Barnton Quarry is a disused stone quarry in Corstorphine Hill, Clermiston, Edinburgh, Scotland. The site was later used as a military command centre, and is now being converted into a museum. Stone was extracted from the quarry until 1914. Duri ...

. This former stone quarry closed on 1914. It now contains a three-floor deep underground bunker which was developed in the 1950s as a regional command centre in the event of nuclear war. The site was decommissioned in 1983, after which it was badly vandalised and damaged by fire. Since 2011, volunteers have been refurbishing the bunker in preparation for its opening to visitors. In June 2021

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

designated the site as Category-A listed. * Two prominent radio masts near the summit.

Recreational uses

The LNR is a popular location for informal recreation such as walking, dog-walking, jogging, bird-watching and sledging. The extensive tree cover limits the view from most of the hill, but the summit offers extensive views in all directions. Since 2010, the hill has been a recipient of a

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

in recognition of its quality as an open space. The hill hosts a permanent

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

course, established by the Edinburgh Southern Orienteering Club. The

John Muir Way The John Muir Way is a continuous long-distance route in southern Scotland, running from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute in the west to Dunbar, East Lothian in the east. It is named in honour of the Scottish conservationist John Muir, who was ...

long-distance path crosses the hill on the section of its route between

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the nort ...

and Edinburgh. The hill is also on the route of the Seven Hills of Edinburgh race, an annual running race which takes in the summits of the city's traditional "seven hills". The race, which was established in 1980, is usually held on a Sunday in June. There are two golf courses on the eastern side of the hill: Ravelston Golf Course in Ravelston Dykes Road; and Murrayfield Golf Course in Murrayfield Road. File:Roseburn 2005.jpg, Corstorphine Hill, seen in the south from a residential street in the Balgreen area File:Corstorphine_Hill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_176577.jpg, Glacial pavements on Corstorphine Hill, showing striation File:The avenue of trees leading to Corstorphine Hill Cemetery.JPG, The avenue of trees leading to Corstorphine Hill Cemetery File:Junction_of_Paths_on_Corstorphine_Hill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1400561.jpg File:Corstorphine_Hill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1659334.jpg, In winter. File:A90 (Queensferry Road) - geograph.org.uk - 1400534.jpg, Entrance from Queensferry Road File:Woodland on Corstorphine Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1592849.jpg, Woodland and rock formations

References

External links

Friends of Corstorphine Hill homepage
with information on the geology, botany, and archaeology of the area.
Corstorphine Hill (Edinburgh Geological Society)
{{coord, 55, 57, 6, N, 3, 16, 18, W, region:GB_type:forest, display=title Hills of Edinburgh Nature reserves in Scotland Parks and commons in Edinburgh Corstorphine