Pentland Hills

The Pentland Hills are a beautiful range of hills located southwest of Edinburgh, Scotland. Stretching for about 20 miles (30 kilometres), these hills cover an area of 35 square miles (91 km²). They run from Edinburgh towards the town of Biggar and the upper part of Clydesdale.

These hills have special importance and have been designated as a Scottish regional park. This helps protect the natural beauty of the area and gives people places to enjoy outdoor activities like walking and exploring nature. The Pentland Hills are a popular spot for both locals and visitors to relax and connect with the landscape.

Toponymy

The Pentland Hills get their name from a small village called Pentland. This village's name was first written down in the 1100s and likely means "head or top end of the church or enclosure" in an old language called Cumbric. People started using the name for the nearby hills from the 1500s onward. The name of the Pentland Firth, a narrow sea channel near Scotland, is not related to the hills.

Geology

The Pentland Hills are made from different kinds of rocks. In the southern and western parts, you can find sandstones and conglomerates from a very old time called the Devonian period. These rocks are part of something called the Old Red Sandstone.

There are also some igneous rocks, like basalt and andesite, mixed in with the sedimentary rocks. These rocks were formed by ancient volcanic activity. The oldest rocks in the area are mudstones, siltstones, and sandstones from the Silurian period. These are overlain by younger rocks from the late Silurian to early Devonian periods.

The southeastern edge of the hills is marked by a fault called the Pentland Fault. Another fault, the Cairnmuir Fault, runs through the middle of the range. Some of the hills, like West Cairn Hill and East Cairn Hill, are made from sandstones called the Kinnesswood Formation.

Many lower areas are covered with glacial till from the last ice age. You can also find old meltwater channels in places like Deer Hope and Green Cleugh.

List of peaks

The Pentland Hills have many peaks, including:

• Scald Law – 579 m (1,900 ft)
• Carnethy Hill – 573 m (1,880 ft)
• East Cairn Hill – 567 m (1,860 ft)
• South Black Hill – 563 m (1,847 ft)
• West Cairn Hill – 562 m (1,844 ft)
• West Kip – 551 m (1,808 ft)
• Byrehope Mount – 536 m (1,759 ft)
• Mount Maw – 536 m (1,759 ft)
• East Kip – 534 m (1,752 ft)
• Turnhouse Hill (1660 ft)
• Black Hill – 501 m (1,644 ft)
• Allermuir Hill – 493 m (1,617 ft)
• Castlelaw Hill – 488 m (1,601 ft)
• Caerketton Hill – 478 m (1,568 ft)

These hills stretch across several areas, from the City of Edinburgh council area and Midlothian in the north, through West Lothian, to the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire.

Use

The Pentland Hills cover an area of 35 square miles (91 km²) and became a regional park in 1986. People enjoy many activities there, such as hillwalking, mountain biking, horse riding, golf, and there is even an artificial ski slope at the Midlothian Snowsports Centre.

Most of the land is open grassland, with some areas of trees. The Ministry of Defence operates a rifle range at Castlelaw. Several rivers, like the Water of Leith and the North Esk, begin in these hills. There are also many reservoirs, such as Threipmuir, Harlaw, Glencorse, and Loganlea.

In the southern part of the hills is Little Sparta, a special garden created by the artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay.

Nearby places include:

• Edinburgh suburbs – Balerno, Juniper Green, Colinton, Currie, Oxgangs, Fairmilehead, Swanston
• Midlothian – Glencorse, Hillend, Nine Mile Burn, Eight Mile Burn, Penicuik, Silverburn
• West Lothian – Kirknewton (Livingston is also nearby)
• Scottish Borders (traditional Peeblesshire) – Carlops, West Linton
• South Lanarkshire – Biggar, Auchengray, Carnwath, Dolphinton, Dunsyre, Garvald, Tarbrax

History

There is evidence of old settlements in the area, such as a hillfort and a hidden underground room at Castle Law and another at Caerketton. The hills were likely settled, farmed, and protected long ago by local Celtic people.

The hills were also the site of an event in 1666 after the return of King Charles II to the throne. During this time, a group of people called Covenanters, who were unhappy with the king's rules, were defeated in a small battle. This event was later called the Pentland Rising. It is remembered today by a grave known as the "Covenanter's Grave."