Walk: Bonnie Bonaly & Torduff Reservoir

📌 Colinton, City of Edinburgh
★★★

Bonaly Country Park is perhaps the closest area of true countryside to Edinburgh, and certainly one of the most accessible. Just a 10-minute walk from the southern housing estates (or an even quicker drive) takes you under the thundering City Bypass and into a peaceful wildlife haven with extensive views from its several summits. A chain of reservoirs cut through the foothills allowing for a scenic link to Currie and the Water of Leith, along which old railway beds take you back into the heart of the capital. Our circuit starts from Colinton – itself a surprisingly pretty suburb – and can be easily extended northwards to take in Colinton Dell.

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish on Spylaw Street, Colinton Village, 4 mi southwest of Edinburgh Waverley station

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NT 214690

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.907561,-3.258277

🚌 Bus to Colinton | 🚆 Kingsknowe (1 mi)

🚗 Street parking

📝 Key info

▶ 11 km / 7 mi | ▲ 210 m | ⌛ 3 hr

Features: 🏠 Colinton Village; △ Torduff Hill (252 m); 💧 Torduff Reservoir; 💧 Clubbiedean Reservoir; 💧 Water of Leith

⬤ Moderate | Varied terrain – residential streets, tarmac / dirt / stony paths and tracks, old railway bed for return. Short sections are steep, with a very easy (and avoidable) scramble on descent from Turduff Hill.

➡️ Clockwise circuit: start & Colinton Village – top of Dreghorn Loan – Bonaly Burn – Bonaly Country Park & Torduff Hill – northwest bank of Torduff Reservoir – south bank of Clubbiedean Reservoir – Poet’s Glen (Kinleith Burn) – start by Water of Leith

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Alpacas, sheep, lambs, horses, cows and squirrels on the rural section. Varied bird life including goosander, grey heron, swallows, pheasants and other small woodland birds.

Weather: Dry and often sunny, about 10°C with fairly light winds.

May 2020