Walk: Carnethy Hill – Pentlands ridge & reservoirs

📌 Pentland Hills, Midlothian
★★★

Between the summits of Turnhouse Hill and West Kip, the southern edge of the Pentland Hills takes the form of a shapely ridge. On the sunny side, the Midlothian plains stretch towards the Lammermuir and Moorfoot Hills; on the northern side, grassy slopes fall away to an intimate cleft carved by the Logan Burn. Boasting two reservoirs and just a handful of farms and cottages, this fertile valley is perhaps the most charming part of the hill range – with rolling hills blocking any hint of Edinburgh, 10 miles distant – though the tarmac surface of the route along the burn is a little tiring for walkers’ feet. The route below only traverses the eastern half of the ridge – but an extension using part of our Scald Law and the Kips route could be incorporated into a lengthier round.

📷 Chronological photo guide

🌍 Location

📌 Start / finish at Crawley Cottages, just off A702 2 mi north of Penicuik

🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NT 233631

🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.855205,-3.226596

🚌 Bus stops nearby on A702

🚗 Car park

📝 Key info

▶ 12 km / 7 mi | ▲ 490 m | ⌛ 4.5-5 hr

Features: △ Turnhouse Hill (506 m); △ Carnethy Hill (573 m); Loganlee Reservoir; 💧 Glencorse Reservoir

⬤ Moderate | Hill paths for higher outward route, then level tarmac for most of the return.

➡️ Clockwise circuit: start – Turnhouse Hill – Carnethy Hill – The Howe – Loganlea Reservoir – Glencorse Reservoir – path through The Glen – start

Download file for GPS

🥾 On our last visit

Wildlife: Sheep & lambs, rabbits, grasshoppers; cuckoo, skylarks, many pied & grey wagtails, thrushes, grey herons, swans.

Weather: Mist lifting mid morning to leave hazy sunshine. Very warm – temperature reaching mid twenties Celsius.

June 2020