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Pentland Hills, Edinburgh and the Lothians | Lanarkshire | Borders

Pentland Hills
The Pentland Hills can be found in Scotland, they range for about 20 miles in a south-westerly direction from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clyde Valley. A section of the hills was designated as the Pentland Hills Regional Park in 1984.

The park lies seven miles from Edinburgh and includes upland pasture, grouse moor and forestry. Several areas have been set aside for recreation, including an artificial ski slope at Hillend. Horse riding, mountain biking and hill walking are also well catered for in the park. Pentland Hills Regional Park has a ranger service to manage the park. The rangers also give guided walks and host educational visits.

The area is also home to several sites of geological interest nestled among the rocks that date from the Old Red Sandstone and Silurian age. The Ministry of Defence has a rifle range there at Castlelaw, the site of an ancient hill fort.

Several reservoirs are present in the park and these provide Edinburgh with its water supply. They are the Harperrig, Threipmuir, Glencorse, Bonaly and Clubbiedan reservoirs. The hills are also home to Little Sparta, a garden founded in 1966 by the late Scottish artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay. The five acre garden includes several structures and sculptures that are meant to represent poetry in concrete.

More British Natural features?

Other Edinburgh and the Lothians Naturals

Firth of Forth
Arthurs Seat
River Almond

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