Walking at Swanston Farm

Flat tracks, woodland paths and hilly hikes can be found at Swanston Farm and offer something for everyone, from an easy meander or a quick dog walk to a challenging climb to the peaks of Caerketton and Allermuir Hills.  The hillside tracks lead you up into the hills above the Farm, presenting a stunning vista of Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Firth of Forth. From here, the heights of the peaks beckon.

Lucky visitors will often see our resident birdlife floating above Caerketton, Allermuir, Hillend and Swanston Farm, such as buzzards and skylarks.

With a variety of different terrains and lengths of walks, you can choose your own path and see if you can spot some of our fantastic array of resident wildlife, including badgers, foxes, stoats, Black Grouse, Red Kites or Barn Owls. Or identify some of the beautiful array of unusual fungi, lichen and mosses, such as the ‘Scurfy Deceiver’ and the ‘Candle-Snuff Fungus’, the ‘Hairy Curtain Crust’ or the ‘Witches’ Butter’, ‘Brunton’s Dog-Tooth’ or the ‘Big-Shaggy Moss’ as well a wide range of wild flowers and trees.

Photograph showing a close-up of pine needles on a pine tree branch. The sun is lighting up the green colours, there is tiny detail of the rough area of the tree bark and there is a hint of a cobweb attached to the pine needles.
Photograph shows holly leaves on branches, with cobwebs all over them, glistening in the sunshine, which is also making the green of the holly leaves glow brightly.
Photograph showing a woodland view in woods at the base of the farm. Some of the trees have a distinctive bend in them, created during growth.
Photograph showing Swanston Brasserie and the Pentland Hills behind it, with a lovely blue sky, taken from the woodlands at the bottom of the farm, so a few trees are standing in the foreground view.

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