Super Wok

Bavelaw Castle

Balerno · 3.7 miles

Perched above Threipmuir Reservoir in the Pentland Hills, the former hunting lodge lies two miles south of Balerno and four miles west of Penicuik, within the City of Edinburgh council area. The site, recorded as a Category A listed building since 1971, presents a harled rubble tower of three storeys, an adjoining circular turret on the north-eastern corner and a later single-storey wing projecting to the south-east. Vaulted ground-floor chambers and a distinctive lower northern room hint at the original 16th-century L-plan tower erected by Walter Dundas; the first-floor chamber above is known locally as Queen Mary’s Room. Ownership passed from the Braids to the Fairlies, then through marriage to the Forresters of Niddry, and later to the Mowbrays of Barnbougle in the 1500s. King James VI granted Easter and Wester Bavelaw to Laurence Scott of Harperrig in 1628, after which Scott enlarged the house, possibly adding the south-east wing. Following a period of decline, Sir Robert Lorimer restored and extended the structure in 1900, linking outbuildings, enlarging windows, adding a turret to the attic and converting the basement. A further alteration occurred in 1938 under the architectural practice Dick Peddie & McKay. The castle’s historic fabric and its association with Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI provide a tangible link to Scotland’s royal past, while its remote hill-top setting offers a clear view of the surrounding landscape.

The Royal Scots Regimental Museum

Lauriston · 4.3 miles

Housed within the historic Royal Scots drill hall at Edinburgh Castle, the museum presents the heritage of the Royal Scots and its successor, the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The drill hall, erected in 1900 for the regiment, was refurbished and reopened as the Royal Scots Museum by the Princess Royal on 27 June 1991. Since the formation of the Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006, its own collection has been added to the existing displays, creating a combined narrative of the units’ long service. Exhibits are arranged along a series of wall panels that trace the regiment’s origins under Sir John Hepburn through to recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dioramas, display cases and a modest selection of artefacts illustrate key moments, while seven Victoria Crosses awarded to Royal Scots soldiers form a focal point of the collection. An extensive medal archive is stored in drawers that can be opened on request, although only a fraction is on public view. Admission is free, and the site is nearest to the town of Lauriston. No additional visitor facilities are recorded in the source material.

Scottish National War Memorial

Lauriston · 4.3 miles

Within the walls of Edinburgh Castle, a dedicated space honours the Scots who fell in the twentieth-century wars and later conflicts. The memorial occupies a converted north barrack block on Crown Square, the central courtyard of the fortress, and was realised under the direction of architect Robert Lorimer after his commission in 1919. Officially opened on 14 July 1927 by the then Prince of Wales, the building displays external stonework embellished with gargoyles and sculptures by artists such as Pilkington Jackson, John Marshall and Phyllis Bone, while the interior features stained-glass windows by Douglas Strachan and a series of wall monuments for individual regiments. The core of the tribute is the Rolls of Honour, a collection of name panels that records roughly 135 000 casualties of the First World War and more than 50 000 of the Second World War, together with later losses from the Malayan Emergency, the Korean War, the Troubles, the Falklands, the Gulf and the recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Names are added as new conflicts conclude, although the surrounding structure has remained unchanged since its inauguration. The monument is overseen by the charitable Scottish National War Memorial Trust. The nearest town identified on mapping data is Lauriston, and visitors to the castle can view the memorial as part of the broader historic attraction.

National Museum of Scotland

Old Town · 5 miles

The National Museum of Scotland occupies two adjoining buildings on Chambers Street, beside the George IV Bridge in Edinburgh’s central area, close to the Old Town. Admission is free and the site is step-free, with on-site toilets and publicly listed opening hours. Visitors can reach the museum on foot from the city centre or by local bus routes that stop nearby. Formed in 2006, the museum combines the modern Museum of Scotland, opened in 1998, with the historic Royal Scottish Museum, whose construction began in 1861 and partially opened in 1866. The older block features a Victorian Venetian Renaissance façade and a cast-iron central hall that rises the full height of the structure; a major refurbishment completed in 2011 restored and extended the space. The institution brings together the national collections of Scottish antiquities, medieval artefacts and a broad international programme covering geology, natural history, science, technology and world cultures. Among the displays are the cloned sheep Dolly, an Egyptian gallery, a collection of Sir Elton John’s stage costumes, the Jean Muir fashion archive and a kinetic piece called the Millennium Clock. A Scottish invention, the early beheading device known as the Scottish Maiden, also appears. The museum’s galleries, refreshed in 2011, showcase roughly 8 000 objects, most of which had not been exhibited before. In 2025 the attraction recorded over two million visitors, confirming its status as a heavily frequented cultural venue.

St Stephen's Church

Silvermills · 5 miles

A striking Baroque-Grecian structure dominates the vista from the lower end of St Vincent Street, its 162-ft tower housing Europe’s longest clock pendulum at 60 ft, installed in 1828 by James Ritchie & Son. The building sits on the corner of Saint Stephen Street and Saint Vincent Street in Edinburgh’s Northern New Town, nearest the Silvermills area, and was erected between 1827 and 1828 to a design by William Henry Playfair. Its square plan, with cut-off north and south corners, follows the oblique line of Saint Stephen Street, while the interior originally featured vaulted cellars that the first minister, William Muir, used for an evening school for the illiterate. The interior was reconfigured in 1956 after a decline in the congregation, creating a gallery level accessed from St Vincent Street and a series of halls below, including a main hall with a fully fitted stage that has hosted Festival Fringe productions. After a brief ownership by the Benzies Foundation, the property was purchased in 2017 by ballet dancer Peter Schaufuss, who renamed the principal space Ashton Hall. The venue now serves as a theatre and event space, home to the Edinburgh Festival Ballet, its school, and the MGA Academy, and continues to host performances during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Operated by the Benzies Foundation, the site offers a mixture of cultural and community activities, with its historic organ by Willis retained on the gallery level. Access is via the surrounding streets, and the building’s prominent tower remains a visible landmark in the neighbourhood.

Cramond Roman Fort and Civil Settlement

Cramond · 5 miles

Evidence of Roman activity survives at the mouth of the River Almond where it joins the Forth, close to the village of Cramond in Edinburgh. The archaeological site, dating from around AD 140, comprises the remains of a fort and an adjoining civilian settlement that together illustrate the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. Visible outlines of the headquarters, granaries and a workshop are marked on the open parkland, with information panels explaining the layout and the discoveries made over the past five decades. Among the artefacts displayed nearby are a stone altar dedicated to the Matres Alatervae, a centurial stone of Legio II Augusta, an altar to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, and a silver sword pendant indicating the presence of a senior officer. The most celebrated find, the Cramond Lioness—a white-sandstone sculpture of a lioness devouring a male figure—was recovered from the river in 1997. The fort was initially occupied from about AD 140 until roughly AD 170, when Roman forces withdrew to Hadrian’s Wall, and it was later enlarged during the Severan campaign of AD 208-214. Subsequent evidence suggests continued native use into the fifth century and earlier Mesolithic activity on the same ground. Although parts of the complex lie beneath later village buildings and are revealed only during development work, the outlined sections remain accessible to the public. No permanent visitor centre or museum has yet opened, but plans announced since 2000 envision a facility to exhibit the collected artefacts, including the Lioness. Access is via the Cramond village area; no admission fee or specific opening times are recorded for the open-air remains.