Hills in Edinburgh
Encyclopedia
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, the capital of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
is traditionally said to have been "built on Seven Hills", presumably in an attempt to liken the city with other cities supposedly built on seven hills such as Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. There is considerable room for debate as to which hills are included and excluded from the seven.
The Pentland Hills
Pentland Hills
The Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around 20 miles in length, and runs south west from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale.Some of the peaks include:* Scald Law...
are also just to the south of the city, and their lower slopes are within the city boundary, especially around Hillend/Swanston and Balerno
Balerno
Balerno is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated 12 kilometres south west of the city centre, next to Juniper Green and Currie. Administratively, Balerno falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council.- History :...
.
Some of the hills are formed from ancient volcanic processes, and all show the effect of glaciation.
Traditional Seven
There is some argument as to which the seven are. Arthur's SeatArthur's Seat, Edinburgh
Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design". It is situated in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle...
and the Braid Hills
Braid Hills
The Braid Hills form an area towards the south-western edge of Edinburgh, Scotland.The hills themselves are largely open space. Housing in the area is mostly confined to detached villas, and some large terraced houses...
, for example, are really a mini range, containing several hills, rather than just one. In total, there are ten summits with a prominence of at least 30m.
- Arthur's Seat (height 251m, prominence 174m) at 55°56′39.76"N 3°9′41.08"W The highest of the seven, an ancient volcano incorporating Salisbury Crags (174m, 65m), Dunsapie Hill (145m, 34m) and several other smaller hills.
- Castle Rock — a volcanic plug (128m, 60m) at 55°56′57.80"N 3°12′1.62"W
- Calton HillCalton Hill, EdinburghCalton Hill is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, just to the east of the New Town. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the city....
(103m, 46m) at 55°57′20.23"N 3°10′58.10"W - Corstorphine HillCorstorphine HillCorstorphine Hill is one of the hills of Edinburgh, Scotland, named for nearby Corstorphine. There are traditionally said to be seven hills in Edinburgh in reference to the Seven hills of Rome, but this figure is debatable, and as the city has expanded, even more so...
— a ridge (162m, 117m) at 55°57′7.33"N 3°16′21.58"W - Braid HillsBraid HillsThe Braid Hills form an area towards the south-western edge of Edinburgh, Scotland.The hills themselves are largely open space. Housing in the area is mostly confined to detached villas, and some large terraced houses...
(213m, 51m) at 55°54′44.84"N 3°12′14.0"W - Blackford HillBlackford HillBlackford Hill is a hill in the south of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh, in the area of Blackford, near Morningside, The Grange, and the Braid Hills....
(164m, 63m) at 55°55′25.83"N 3°11′39.16"W - CraiglockhartCraiglockhartCraiglockhart is a suburb in the south west of Edinburgh, Scotland, lying between Colinton to the south, Morningside to the east Merchiston to the north east and Kingsknowe to the west...
Hill (Wester Hill (175m, 61m) and Easter Hill (157m, 45m)), known by various names, really a double peak (Easter and Wester Craig, or Craiglockhart etc) at 55°55′6.27"N 3°14′9.59"W
A running race, held yearly since 1980, takes in these seven hills, starting and finishing at Calton Hill (although it actually excludes Wester Craiglockhart because it is private property, and instead includes the lower Easter Craiglockhart).
Debate over 'The Seven'
New Town, Edinburgh
The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
— Edinburgh was built on a single hill, the volcanic Castle Rock and its tail that extended to the east.
The building of the New Town and subsequent development in the 19th and 20th centuries saw first Calton Hill and later all of the others listed above being absorbed into the city, and the "traditional seven" have some claim to being described as the seven principal hills within the modern boundaries of Edinburgh.
There are many other hills in Edinburgh, some part of the above ranges, or simply hidden beneath housing etc. There are for example, ridges extending from Dalry
Dalry, Edinburgh
Dalry is an area close to the centre of the Scottish capital Edinburgh, between Haymarket and Gorgie. The phrase Gorgie-Dalry is commonly used by the council. It also borders Ardmillan. The area has become an increasingly desirable residential location in recent years, and the area is well located...
and Ardmillan
Ardmillan
Ardmillan is a mainly residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It borders on Dalry, Gorgie, and Polwarth.The name means the "high bare place" in Scottish Gaelic ....
, and also Sighthill
Sighthill, Edinburgh
Sighthill is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland.For nearly 50 years, the West Edinburgh skyline was dominated by 4 high rise residential tower blocks the first of which was demolished on 21st September 2008 with the other three blocks following the same fate just over 3 years later...
. Craigmillar
Craigmillar
Craigmillar , from the Gaelic Crag Maol Ard, meaning 'High Bare Rock', is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about south east of the city centre, with Duddingston to the north and Newcraighall to the east.- History :...
Castle is also on top of a small hill, and there is another small one underneath Colinton
Colinton
Colinton is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated 6 kilometres south west of the city centre. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north-east. To the north-west it extends to Lanark Road and to the south-west to the City Bypass...
.
There are also hills beneath the New Town, and the Old Town to the south of the Cowgate.
Some of these hills rise to heights substantially above the traditional seven — for example parts of Fairmilehead at 183m.
The Pentland Hills to the south of Edinburgh are traditionally thought of as being outside the city, although they are very close, and because of their height they dominate views to the south of the city. Allermuir Hill (493m) is only slightly further from the centre of Edinburgh than Corstorphine Hill, and is almost twice the height of Arthur's Seat.
A number of Edinburgh suburbs, also contain "hill" or synonyms in their name — Abbeyhill
Abbeyhill
Abbeyhill is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.As with many other city suburbs, the area has varying definitions. Generally it may be taken to mean the part of town lying between Holyrood Park to the south, Meadowbank to the east; Calton Hill and Leith to the north; and the yards of...
, Alnwickhill
Alnwickhill
Alnwickhill is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the southern edge of the city and neighbours the areas of Liberton and Kaimes. The area is primarily residential....
, Church Hill
Church Hill, Edinburgh
Church Hill is the name of a street and small surrounding area in Edinburgh, Scotland.It lies immediately to the north of Morningside and south of Bruntsfield; technically it is part of Burghmuirhead, together with Holy Corner. All of Burghmuirhead was once part of the lands of Greenhill...
, Curriehill
Curriehill
Curriehill is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is north-west of Currie.Curriehill railway station is the western terminus of the Edinburgh Crossrail. These trains continue to Glasgow Central via West Lothian and North Lanarkshire....
, Drylaw
Drylaw
Drylaw is a suburb in the north west of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland between Blackhall and Granton. Formerly the estate of Drylaw House, the home of the Loch family, the area became the site of a major housing scheme in the 1950s designed to rehouse the occupants in Leith. It is on the A902...
(Lowland Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
for a "hill without a spring"), Ferniehill
Ferniehill
Ferniehill is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is west of Danderhall.-Sources:...
, Firrhill
Firrhill, Edinburgh
Firrhill is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is south of Merchants of Edinburgh Golf Club and lies next to Oxgangs.The area is mostly made up of public housing which was built by the Corporation Housing Department in the mid 1950s, however most of the council properties have now...
, Greenhill
Greenhill, Edinburgh
Greenhill is a small area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.South-west of the city centre, Greenhill is normally taken to be part of Bruntsfield, which continues to the north. Greenhill borders Marchmont and The Grange to the east, Morningside to the south, and Merchiston is west, beyond Holy...
, Piershill
Piershill
Piershill is a suburb of north east Edinburgh, Scotland, in the shadow of Arthur's Seat.It is mainly residential, with local amenities including a large Morrisons supermarket and filling station, bank, public library, optician, pharmacy, several takeaway restaurants and specialist retailers along...
, Sighthill; and others also contain the element "Craig" meaning a large rock — e.g., Craigentinny
Craigentinny
Craigentinny is a suburb in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its name is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic Creag an t-Sionnaich meaning "Foxrock" or Creag an teinne meaning "Fire Crag"....
, Craigmillar
Craigmillar
Craigmillar , from the Gaelic Crag Maol Ard, meaning 'High Bare Rock', is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about south east of the city centre, with Duddingston to the north and Newcraighall to the east.- History :...
.
Hills in the centre of the city
Edinburgh is also traditionally thought of as being a hilly city, because of the number of hills in or close to the city centre that walkers and cyclists have to contend with. Many of the city's streets are long or steep slopes — first time visitors to Edinburgh will often be taken aback by what seems like an almost endless sequence of uphill streets. Chief among these is the Royal MileRoyal Mile
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle...
which rises continuously from Holyrood House to Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
for approximately a mile. Others include -
- Dundas Street and Hanover Street, which rise steeply from the Water of Leith to a summit at George Street, then descend slightly to Princes Street, before climbing the very steep Mound to join the Royal Mile
- Several streets in the New Town which run parallel to Dundas Street and Hanover Street for part of their length, including Frederick Street and Castle Street
- Leith Walk, which rises continuously from just above sea level at Leith, to a summit at Princes Street.
- A number of short and very steep streets in the Old Town, including Victoria Street, Candlemaker Row, and Infirmary Street.
The many height changes have led to several roads crossing other roads on bridges, which was relatively rare in pre-20th century Britain. These include Waterloo Place above Calton Road, George IV Bridge over the Cowgate and Merchant Street, South Bridge over the Cowgate, and Castle Terrace over Kings Stables Road.
There are also several staircases accessible to pedestrians only, linking streets at different heights, including Playfair Steps between the Mound and Princes Street, Jacob's Ladder between Calton Road and Regent Road, and the News Steps, between St Giles Street and Market Street.
Outlying hills include the climb from Toll Cross to Bruntsfield and beyond Morningside to Fairmilehead, and Liberton Brae.