Middle Norton

Carlowrie Castle

Hallyards · 1.2 miles

Carlowrie Castle was built in the Scottish Baronial style between 1852 and 1855 on the outskirts of Kirkliston, a town approximately 10 miles from Edinburgh, Scotland. It has only ever belonged to two families: the Hutchison family, who built it, and the Marshall family, who acquired it 130 years later.

Cramond Roman Fort and Civil Settlement

Cramond · 3.7 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.

Craiglockhart Castle

Craiglockhart · 5 miles

Craiglockhart Castle is a ruined tower house in the Craiglockhart district of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Merchiston Tower

Church Hill · 6.2 miles

Birth place of John Napier (Inventor of logarithms)

Bavelaw Castle

Balerno · 6.2 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.

Scottish American War Memorial

New Town · 6.8 miles

A bronze figure of a kilted infantryman stands on a Craigleith sandstone plinth in West Princes Street Gardens, looking toward Castle Rock. The central statue is accompanied by a low-relief frieze that depicts rows of men, including a pipe band, marching from civilian life into military service. The monument’s apex bears the intertwined escutcheons of Scotland and the United States, underscoring the transatlantic link that inspired its creation. Funded by the Scottish-American War Memorial Committee, the work was presented by Scottish-Americans as a tribute to Scots who fought in the First World War. Designed by the Scottish-Canadian sculptor R. Tait McKenzie, with architectural input from Reginald Fairlie, the piece was unveiled on 7 September 1927 by the United States Ambassador, Alanson B H Houghton. The bronze backdrop and the inscription of E. A. Mackintosh’s poem “A Creed” complete the composition, while contemporary accounts recorded a construction cost of ten thousand pounds. Historic Scotland classifies the memorial as a Category B listed building. The memorial occupies a publicly accessible garden in Edinburgh’s New Town, allowing visitors to view the sculpture at any time the gardens are open. No admission fee is mentioned, and the setting provides the usual amenities of the surrounding park. Its listed status ensures that the monument is protected under heritage regulations.