- Pentland Hills
The Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south-west of
Edinburgh ,Scotland . The range is around 20mile s in length, and runs south west from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clyde Valley.Some of the peaks include:
*Scald Law (579 m)
* Carnethy Hill (573 m)
* West Cairn Hill (562 m)
* East Cairn Hill (561 m)
* Byrehope Mount (536 m)
* Allermuir Hill (493 m)The hills span a number of council regions: from
City of Edinburgh andMidlothian in the north, south-west throughWest Lothian toScottish Borders andSouth Lanarkshire . In fact, the Pentlands are more or less the historic natural boundary between West and Midlothian.Usage
Pentland Hills Regional Park was designated in 1984, it covers an area of 90 km² at the northern end of the hills. The park, together with the rest of the hills, are used for a variety of recreations including
hillwalking ,mountain biking ,horse riding ,golf and skiing at the artificial ski slope at theHillend Ski Centre .Today most of the land is upland pasture, along with a few forestry plantations. The Ministry of Defence have a rifle range at Castlelaw. Much of Edinburgh's water supply is from reservoirs in the hills, including Threipmuir, Harlaw, Clubbiedean, Torduff, Glencorse and Loganlea. A number of rivers begin in the hills, including the
Water of Leith and the North Esk.The recording studio of the band
Boards of Canada , known asHexagon Sun is said to be located somewhere in the Pentland Hills, although its existence has not been proven.In the southern part of the hills is
Little Sparta , the garden of the late artist and poetIan Hamilton Finlay .Settlements in or near the Pentlands include:
*Edinburgh suburbs -Balerno (with Malleny Mills),Juniper Green ,Colinton , Currie,Oxgangs ,Fairmilehead , Swanston
* Midlothian - Glencorse,Hillend , Nine Mile Burn,Penicuik , Silverburn,
* West Lothian -Kirknewton , Livingston is also near.
* Scottish Borders (traditionalPeebleshire ) -Carlops ,West Linton
*South Lanarkshire -Auchengray ,Carnwath ,Dolphinton ,Dunsyre ,Garvald ,Tarbrax History
There is ample evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area, e.g. the hillfort at
Castlelaw , and another at Caerketton.The hills were the scene of an incident in 1666 following the Restoration of King Charles II when an outbreak of armed rebellion amongst
Covenanter s led to a small force of badly armed conventiclers being defeated at the battle of Rullion Green, after which the whole tragic episode was (incorrectly) named the Pentland Rising. The incident is commemorated by the "Covenanter's Grave", a cairn after which one of the drove roads across the hills is known (OS Grid reference NT078521).External links
* [http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/phrp/ Pentland Hills Regional Park]
* [http://www.pentlandfriends.plus.com/ Friends of the Pentlands]
* [http://www.henniker.org.uk/html/pent_index.htm Hundreds of Pentland photos by Dave Henniker]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.