Blackford Hill: the observatory, the view, and the burn below
The southern hill with the old observatory, the city laid out, and a wooded glen down to the burn. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Charterhall Road gate
Start at the quiet southern edge of the hill, off Charterhall Road. The path climbs gently through gorse from here; the steep way up the front is for another day. Take the western fork toward the observatory domes.

2. Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
The green copper domes on the hill's flank, the city's observatory since 1896 when it moved up here for darker skies. You can't usually wander in, but the building is worth the look and the Visitor Centre runs public evenings — check before you count on it.

3. Blackford Hill summit
A short pull to the trig point at the top, around 164 metres. The reason to come: the castle and the whole Old Town spine to the north, the Pentlands behind you, and on a clear day the Forth and Fife beyond. Wide, breezy, and rarely crowded.

4. Blackford Pond
Drop down the northern slope to the pond at the foot of the hill, full of ducks and toddlers with bread. A gentle pause before the glen. The path to the Hermitage runs west from here along the burn.

5. Hermitage of Braid
Into the wooded glen where the Braid Burn runs under tall beeches — cool, green, and a different world from the open hill. The 18th-century Hermitage House sits among the trees as a ranger base. Follow the burn downstream; the path hugs the water the whole way.

6. Braid Burn and the doocot
Further down the glen, an old beehive doocot (dovecote) stands by the water — once it held hundreds of pigeons for the estate's table. Carry on along the burn to the Comiston Road end and the bus home.

Blackford Hill: the observatory, the view, and the burn below