Situated where it is at the foot of the Pentland Hills, which hills have through the centuries, been a source of inspiration to famous authors and poets and adjacent to the Pentland Country Park and the Hillend Ski Centre, Swanston Farm is an ideal base for enjoying the surrounding countryside and the City of Edinburgh. Beyond the steading and the holiday cottages, a gentle walk up the hill takes you across a small stream to the historic Swanston Village with its’ old fashioned cottages set amongst blackthorns and wild roses and where there is a bench in memory of the poet Edwin Muir, who often meditated here.
Leisure Facilities (Hiking, Golf and Skiing)
Swanston Farm is flanked by two golf courses, namely Lothianburn to the East and the Swanston to the West. The Hillend Ski Centre, constructed in 1965 on the hillside to the east of Caerketton Hill, is the largest artificial ski slope in Britain. Facilities include chairlift, T-Bar tow, tuition and ski-hire. For those whose tastes are slightly more adventurous Para gliders have joined the walkers, skiers and golfers!
The land once called Hillend Park south of Lothianburn Golf Course was gifted to the City by John White, an Edinburgh builder and was opened by Lord Provost, Sir William Sleigh in July 1924; now known as the Pentland Country Park, it is popular with people exploring the walks through the Pentland Hills, following the same paths taken by armies of centuries ago, it is said that Oliver Cromwells’ army marched through these hills in 1650!
Pentland Hills Geology and Wildlife
The hills comprise mainly of Devonian Old Red Sandstone (390 million years old). Outcrops of Silurian rock rich in fossils can be found. The area was heavily glaciated about 10,000 years ago, a most interesting area for geologists. The melt water from the glaciers gauged out valleys in the hills. Coniferous and deciduous woods are home to cuckoos, peewits, larks, ring ouzel and chaffinch. The 13 Pentland reservoirs that augment Edinburgh’s water supply are home to waterfowl, blackheaded gulls, greyland and pink-footed geese aswell as the great crested grebe. Rabbits, grey squirrel, hare, fox and roe deer are among some of the animals which can be spotted. The hills are mainly covered in grassland although one also finds juniper, harebell and gorse with many varieties of moss in the valleys.
Walks in the hills have been well mapped by the Ranger Service who patrol and monitor the whole area, maintaining paths and dykes, planting trees and facilitating groups for educational purposes. The walks vary in distance and some of the walks are pushchair friendly. Sheep graze all over the hills, it is advised that dogs are kept on leads.