Hiking The Seven Hills of Edinburgh

If you ever have a spare day in Edinburgh and a LOT of spare energy then consider trying the Seven Hills of Edinburgh challenge. Be warned, even at a gentle amble it’s a long walk of around 27km with over 700m of climbing. It’s 3 days after I finished the route with a couple of friends and my legs are only just recovering….

There are dozens of cities around the world that claim to be built on seven hills following in the footsteps of Rome. Just like Edinburgh, the majority of these need a bit of artistic license to fit the bill. Edinburgh was only really built on one very prominent hill – the Castle Rock. Everything outside of that was slowly absorbed into the city and even Calton Hill was isolated until a few hundred years ago. Today there is an official Seven Hills of Edinburgh race and this has firmly set the list of peaks for you to conquer. You can visit the website for the race here if you want to see some mind boggling finish times – http://seven-hills.org.uk/

If you aren’t racing then there is no firm route you have to take to conquer the seven hills. While I will show you the route we took, this is just a rough guide and I’m pretty sure we went the wrong way between two of the hills. Our route was: Arthurs Seat ->Blackford Hill -> Braid Hill -> Easter Craiglockhart Hill ->Corstorphine Hill -> Castle Rock -> Calton Hill.

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Arthur’s Seat

In my mind, the best plan was to get the biggest challenge out of the way first. At 250m high Arthur’s Seat doesn’t sound like a challenge but I didn’t want to do that after 5 or 6 hours of walking. You can’t miss this big lump and there are so many different ways to climb it that you will have no problem getting to the top. We even found some steps that none of us had used before so decided to give them a shot. Spirits were high until the steps ran out and we were left with a short scramble before the summit. Nevertheless, we made it to the top to get our pictures at the Trig Point and we had conquered our first of the Seven Hills of Edinburgh.

From here you can even plan out your route with all the other hills in view. You might notice that Corstorphine Hill looks a long way away. The biggest challenge here is to find the best route off Arthur’s Seat since you will quickly find yourself facing a steep drop if you just try and walk in a straight line toward Blackford Hill. That was exactly what we did though. Anybody watching a group of three grown men struggle to get down from a hill that’s easily climbed by toddlers must have had a good laugh.

Blackford Hill

Eventually we got down to the safety of Queen’s Drive and started our walk through the streets to Blackford Hill. You pass through some very nice neighbourhoods and have about 3km of flat ground to cover playing the game of “I wonder how much that house costs”. If you haven’t already stocked up on supplies then the shops here are your best chance. Eventually you will pass through an archway at the base of Blackford and start the easy climb up to the summit.

On your left is the Royal Observatory and there are the remains of an ancient hillfort on the summit. Arthur’s Seat looks a long way in the distance already but luckily your next stop Braid Hill is much closer. Time for a quick sandwich and a chat with three girls who it turned out were also doing the Seven Hills of Edinburgh. Neither group were entirely sure of which path to take to the next hill but we set off confidently anyway.

Braid Hill

It isn’t far between Blackford Hill and the Braid Hills. To get there you need to descend briefly into the Hermitage of Braid which is a popular little riverside walk for Edinburgh residents. We crossed the river and followed the path back up the other side until we found a break in the fence. The most direct route to Braid Hill is across the golf course but you have to be very careful not to get in the way of any flying golf balls. When we arrived at the trig point past the large radio masts we were all alone. This hill isn’t as popular for regular hillwalkers so it was a nice little moment of peace. Three hills down and 9km walked but we still had a long way to go.

Craiglockhart Hill

There are actually two Craiglockharts, Easter and Wester so if you conquer them both then it’s more like the eight hills of Edinburgh. The Western peak is higher but isn’t included in the official race so we headed towards Easter Craiglockhart Hill. It’s a bit of a weaving couple of kilometres to get here so I was glad I had brought a map. We passed through Braidburn Valley Park, around the edge of Comiston and started to climb once again. It’s a short stroll to the summit and looking across to the higher west peak I would be lying if I didn’t feel a little deflated. The lack of official trig point only adds to the feeling that if you have the time and the energy, you should definitely aim to climb both hills.

Corstorphine Hill

Corstorphine is easily the most inconvenient of the Seven Hills of Edinburgh sitting fairly isolated on the outskirts of the city. We abandoned the map and trusted in our sense of direction only to find that our route was barred by some locked gates. We probably added an extra kilometre on to our walk and so the map came back out. It’s around 5 or 6km between Craiglockhart and Corstorphine and by this point we could really feel it. To make matters worse, the only shop we passed was closed due to a powercut so we didn’t get the ice creams we were craving.

Edinburgh Zoo sits on Corstorphine Hill so as you walk up the side of the fences keep your eyes peeled in case you get a free glimpse of some animals. The hill itself is full of false summits and radio masts but when you reach the Corstorphine Tower then you know you’ve made it. The tower was erected in honour of Sir Walter Scott on the 100 year anniversary of his death and during Doors Open Days you can climb to the top for spectacular views.

Castle Rock

Only the two smallest hills to go now but for me, this was easily the hardest section. We had already walked 18km and after months of winter hibernation I was feeling it in my legs. It’s a long and fairly straight trek into the centre of Edinburgh now so I found it easier to break it into chunks. Just 4km to Dean Village then another 2km through the New Town and we were at the Grassmarket.

Edinburgh Castle has never looked as much of a challenge as it did then and I had a newfound respect for Thomas Randolph who climbed the rock to capture the fortress 700 years ago. A seemingly endless number of stairs later and we were at on the Castle Esplanade for the penultimate photoshoot.

Calton Hill

It wasn’t far to Calton Hill from the castle but I was very aware that as we walked down the Royal Mile we were losing height that we needed to gain back soon. You only need to go down as far as North Bridge then cross over to Princes Street where the final obstacle faces you. As we climbed the final steps up to the busy summit, our legs complaining with every step, a group started blaring music behind us. It wasn’t quite Eye Of The Tiger but it did the trick and spurred us on for the final push.

After 6 hours 15 minutes walking and 3,300 calories burnt, I think we had all deserved our celebratory drink for conquering the Seven Hills of Edinburgh. Just to put it into perspective, the winner of the official race in 2020 had a time of 1 hour and 43 minutes.

Maybe we need a bit more training.

Where To Stay After The Hike

The Balmoral – You can go for the fanciest option to reward yourself for the effort with the Balmoral.

Eden Locke – Incredibly central, located on George Street, I’ve picked up plenty of tour guests from Eden Locke who have all loved their stay!

Kimpton Hotel – Just around the corner on Charlotte Square, the beautiful Kimpton Hotel is a really comfortable place to stay.

Malmaison Leith – If you want to stay a little further out of the hustle and bustle then head for Malmaison down in Leith!

East Claremont Guest House – If you’d rather avoid big hotels as well as busy areas, East Claremont Guest House is very easy to reach from the city centre.

Motel One – For somewhere right in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town try Motel One!

What Equipment Do You Need?

Just because you aren’t climbing any mountains, don’t think that you can take the Seven Hills of Edinburgh lightly. You’ll need to make sure you have the right equipment and here are some of the things that I used.

Footwear – The most important thing on any hike is footwear and I wear the Merrel Moab 3. They won’t break your bank but they are still a good investment and should last years.

Rucksack – You’re going to want to bring plenty of snacks along with you, so you’ll need a sturdy but lightweight rucksack like this Osprey daypack!

Water Bag – This one is totally optional since you’re never far from somewhere to top up water as you hike the seven hills. When I’m on a hike I prefer to use a refillable waterbag I can drink from on the go rather than lugging around bottles.

Waterproof Jacket – This one is definitely not optional. Unless Edinburgh is going through a heatwave, you might get sun, wind, rain and snow in equal measures. Bring along a waterproof jacket, I prefer this Berghaus one with a removable fleece section!

Want even more alternative things to do in Edinburgh then check out these 12 options! How about heading to somewhere bigger and hiking a Munro next?

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