Wild Edinburgh: Gannets, Wild Lochs and the Hills

Edinburgh’s wild side, from the gannets of the Bass Rock and the Scottish Seabird Centre at North Berwick to Holyrood Park and Duddingston Loch, the Hermitage of Braid, the Pentland Hills and, further north, the Cairngorms, with a directory of the places in our guide. Facts from the Scottish Seabird Centre, Historic Environment Scotland and the national parks.

Edinburgh wears its wild side openly. An extinct volcano, Arthur’s Seat, rises from the middle of the city, with a loch at its foot; wooded glens and nature reserves run through the southern suburbs; and the Pentland Hills begin where the streets end. A short train ride east, the Bass Rock holds one of the largest gannet colonies on the planet.

This is a short guide to where to find it, from an hour on the hill to a day at sea. The seabirds are at their best in spring and summer; the hills and lochs reward a walk in any season.

Seabirds of the Firth of Forth

The Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick, a marine conservation and education charity, looks out to the Bass Rock. Its Discovery Experience has live wildlife cameras, including panoramic views of the rock, and in season it runs guided wildlife boat trips around the island. ScotRail trains run from Waverley to North Berwick.

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The gannet is the UK’s largest seabird, white with a golden head, and on the Bass Rock they cover the island in summer. Check the Seabird Centre’s website for the season’s boat trips and dates.

A wild loch and hill in the city

Holyrood Park, looked after by Historic Environment Scotland, takes in Arthur’s Seat, Salisbury Crags and Duddingston Loch: the place, in its words, for a scenic walk, a glimpse of history and fresh air. Walk round to the loch on the park’s southern side for waterbirds and a quieter view.

To the south, the Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill form a local nature reserve, a wooded glen along the Braid Burn below a hill that looks north over the city. The Pentland Hills Regional Park begins on the south-western edge of Edinburgh, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, one of the world’s leading botanic gardens, is a calm green start to any day.

Gannets have nested on the Bass Rock since at least the 15th century, a short train ride from Waverley.

Further north: the national parks

For true Highland wildlife, go north. The Cairngorms National Park is the UK’s largest national park, home, in its own words, to a quarter of the UK’s rare and endangered species; Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park lies beyond Stirling. Both are within a day’s reach of the city by road or rail.

Feature: the gannets of the Bass Rock

The Bass Rock is a steep island rising out of the North Sea, crowned by a lighthouse. Gannets have nested there for centuries, and today it is one of the largest northern gannet colonies on the planet, recently made one of the RSPB’s nature reserves.

But Scotland’s seabirds are in trouble: the Seabird Centre says over 70% of the seabird species that breed in Scotland are in decline, and on the Bass Rock gannet numbers fell by more than 30% after avian flu reached the colony in 2022.

Did you know? The first record of gannets on the Bass Rock goes back to the 15th century.

Our advice

Our advice: book a Seabird Centre boat trip for a calm day in spring or summer, and take the train to North Berwick rather than driving. On Arthur’s Seat, wear proper shoes and stay back from the edges of the crags. Keep dogs on a lead near nesting birds, never feed wildlife, and check the national parks’ own pages before a Highland trip.