Hillend is a small hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 in Midlothian

Midlothian

Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....

, just outside the Scottish

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...

 capital Edinburgh

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...

, best known for the Hillend Ski Centre, an artificial ski slope. It is near the boundary between the area administered by Midlothian and the City of Edinburgh, and gains its name for being situated on the nub end of the Pentland Hills

Pentland Hills

The Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The range is around 20 miles in length, and runs south west from Edinburgh towards Biggar and the upper Clydesdale.Some of the peaks include:* Scald Law...

.

There is also Swanston

Swanston, Edinburgh

Swanston is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a small village lying to the south of the larger suburban area of Fairmilehead, on the south side of the Edinburgh City Bypass off Oxgangs Road, and five miles from the city centre. The name is also used to encompass some of the more modern housing...

 Golf Course, Lothianburn Golf Course, and a pub, The Fairmile Inn. The area is dominated by the Edinburgh city bypass

Edinburgh City Bypass

The Edinburgh City Bypass, designated as A720, is one of the most important trunk roads in Scotland. Circling around the south of Edinburgh, as the equivalent of a ring road for the coastal city, it links together the A1 towards north-east England, the A702 towards north-west England, the M8...

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Hillend is well suited to paragliding and is flyable in NE and SE winds, although care needs to be taken when landing in the relatively small landing field.

It is also a very well known camping spot among teenagers in Edinburgh.