Corstorphine Hill
Encyclopedia
Corstorphine Hill is one of the hills of Edinburgh
, Scotland
, named for nearby Corstorphine
. There are traditionally said to be seven hills in Edinburgh
in reference to the Seven hills of Rome
, but this figure is debatable, and as the city has expanded, even more so. It is a long ridge shaped hill, mostly forested ("Corstorphine Woods") with broad leaves, and has extensive development on its south side, including Edinburgh Zoo
. Much housing has been built on the lower slopes, and houses in other parts of the city have been built using stone quarried from Corstorphine Hill.
Barnton Quarry
, at the north end of the hill, was the site of a war-time radar station
and cold-war nuclear bunker
.
There is a walled garden
at Clerwood to the south-west (55°57′0.47"N 3°16′36.89"W); it was featured on the BBC TV programme The Beechgrove Garden
and it was awarded the first Green Pennant Award in Scotland in July 2009. On the east slope is Murrayfield Golf Course and the suburb of Craigcrook
.
Locally, the hill and woods are sometimes known as "Clermiston Hill" and "Clermiston Woods".
On the top are two radio masts, and also a tower dedicated to Sir Walter Scott. There is also some evidence of ancient settlement here, possibly a hillfort of some kind. Cup marks
have been found on the hill.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, named for nearby Corstorphine
Corstorphine
Corstorphine was originally a village to the west of—and separate from—Edinburgh, Scotland, and is now a suburb of that city.Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks...
. There are traditionally said to be seven hills in Edinburgh
Hills in Edinburgh
Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland is traditionally said to have been "built on Seven Hills", presumably in an attempt to liken the city with other cities supposedly built on seven hills such as Rome and Lisbon...
in reference to the Seven hills of Rome
Seven hills of Rome
The Seven Hills of Rome east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the ancient city.The seven hills are:* Aventine Hill * Caelian Hill...
, but this figure is debatable, and as the city has expanded, even more so. It is a long ridge shaped hill, mostly forested ("Corstorphine Woods") with broad leaves, and has extensive development on its south side, including Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo, formally the Scottish National Zoological Park, is a non-profit zoological park located in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland...
. Much housing has been built on the lower slopes, and houses in other parts of the city have been built using stone quarried from Corstorphine Hill.
Barnton Quarry
Barnton Quarry
Barnton Quarry is a ROTOR bunker of the R4 type in Clermiston, Edinburgh. It was built in 1952 as the SOC for correlating information from ROTOR radar stations throughout Scotland...
, at the north end of the hill, was the site of a war-time radar station
ROTOR
ROTOR was a huge and elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers...
and cold-war nuclear bunker
Regional Seat of Government
Regional Seats of Government or RSGs were the best known aspect of Britain's Civil Defence preparations against Nuclear War. In fact, however, naming conventions changed over the years as strategies in Whitehall changed....
.
There is a walled garden
Walled garden
A walled garden is specifically a garden enclosed by high walls for horticultural rather than security purposes, though traditionally all gardens have been hedged about or walled for protection from animal or human intruders...
at Clerwood to the south-west (55°57′0.47"N 3°16′36.89"W); it was featured on the BBC TV programme The Beechgrove Garden
The Beechgrove Garden
The Beechgrove Garden is a television programme broadcast on BBC Two Scotland since 1978, but since 10 April 2007 now broadcast on BBC One Scotland. It is a gardening programme. The original plot of land used was the small area of garden attached to the BBC studios in Aberdeen, located in the...
and it was awarded the first Green Pennant Award in Scotland in July 2009. On the east slope is Murrayfield Golf Course and the suburb of Craigcrook
Craigcrook
Craigcrook is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for Craigcrook Castle. It is fairly affluent, and lies on the north east slopes of Corstorphine Hill. It is near Clerwood, and Blackhall. It is near the newly built Hillpark area of Blackhall....
.
Locally, the hill and woods are sometimes known as "Clermiston Hill" and "Clermiston Woods".
On the top are two radio masts, and also a tower dedicated to Sir Walter Scott. There is also some evidence of ancient settlement here, possibly a hillfort of some kind. Cup marks
Cup and ring mark
Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found mainly in Atlantic Europe and Mediterranean Europe although similar forms are also found throughout the world including Mexico, Brazil, Greece, and India, where...
have been found on the hill.
External links
- Friends of Corstorphine Hill homepage with information on the geology, botany, and archaeology of the area.