The

Penicuik Penicuik ( ; ; ) is a town and former Police burgh, burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River Esk, Lothian, River North Esk. It lies on the A701 road, A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hil ...

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

Walkway, situated in the county of

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

in the east of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, stretches for 9.5 miles along the former Edinburgh to Peebles railway. The route passes through many of Midlothian's historic towns and villages. The gentle gradient and nature of the route allow easy access for walkers, cyclists and horse riders to explore and enjoy the spectacular landscapes and visitor attractions of the county. Rosslyn Castle station - geograph

Route

From the car park in Penicuik follow the signage crossing the Bowstring Bridge through Beeslack Wood then cross the Firth

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

. This bridge has 10 arches, is 66 feet high and each arch spans 35 feet.

Roslin Glen Country Park Roslin Glen Country Park is a wooded glen in the North Esk Valley, near the village of Roslin, Scotland, Roslin in Scotland. It contains walks with several places of interest along the way, including Rosslyn Chapel, Roslin Castle, Wallace's Cave a ...

will soon be reached followed by the disused

Rosslyn Castle Roslin Castle (sometimes spelt Rosslyn) is a partially ruined castle near the village of Roslin in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located around south of Edinburgh, on the north bank of the North Esk, only a few hundred metres from the famous Ro ...

station. Shortly after this the route passes the small town of Rosewell then after a mile or so

Bonnyrigg Bonnyrigg is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, which is southeast of Edinburgh city centre, between the Rivers North and South Esk. The town had a population of 14,663 in the 2001 census which rose to 15,677 in the 2011 census, both figures b ...

is reached. A few miles further on, after crossing over the

A7 road A7, A.7, A 7, A07 or A-7 may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * A7, the A dominant seventh chord used in many rock songs, see dominant seventh chord * A (musical note) * ''A7'' (mixtape), by SCH, 2015 * Avenged Sevenfold, a hard rock/meta ...

, the outskirts of Eskbank are reached and the route continues past Eskbank Railway Station towards Dalkeith. It is, of course, possible to do the walk in the opposite direction. The route used to go through Eskbank, and over the Glenesk viaduct and finish close to the A720 City of Edinburgh bypass. This section followed the trackbed of the old

Waverley Line The Waverley Route was a railway line that ran south from Edinburgh, through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders, to Carlisle railway station, Carlisle. The line was built by the North British Railway; the stretch from Edinburgh to Hawick open ...

, which forms part of the

Borders Railway The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland a ...

which opened in September 2015.

Nearby attractions

Many of Midlothian's places of interest can easily be reached from this walkway. These include:

Rosslyn Chapel Rosslyn Chapel, also known as the Collegiate Chapel of Saint Matthew, is a 15th-century Scottish Episcopal Church, Episcopal chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Roslin in Midlothian, Scotland. The chapel was founded by William Si ...

, The National Mining Museum,

Dalhousie Castle Dalhousie Castle is a castle in Cockpen, Midlothian, Scotland. Dalhousie Castle is situated near the town of Bonnyrigg, 8 miles (13 km) south of Edinburgh. The castle was the seat of the Earl of Dalhousie, Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains ...

Newbattle Abbey Newbattle Abbey was a Cistercians, Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which subsequently became a stately home and then an educational institution. Monastery It was founded in 1140 by monks from Melrose ...

, Ironmills Park and Dalkeith Country Park.

Flora and fauna

Following the closure of the railway in 1967, nature has created an intricate wildlife corridor with a diverse range of habitats. A carpet of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s, rushes and

mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ho ...

dominates the embankments, while open verges are ideal for

grasses Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...

and

wildflowers A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...

Buddleia ''Buddleja'' (; ''Buddleia''; also historically given as ''Buddlea'') is a genus comprising over 140 species of flowering plants endemicity, endemic to Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The generic name bestowed by Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus posthu ...

, a butterfly favourite, readily colonises vacant spaces on walls and old platforms. The

River North Esk The North Esk () is a river in Angus, Scotland, Angus and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is formed by the meeting of the Water of Mark (from Glen Mark) and the Water of Lee (from Loch Lee), and enters the North Sea four miles north of Montrose, Ang ...

meanders through the Esk Valley, flowing into the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

. At one time polluted by Midlothian's industrial past, the river now is home to a rich variety of wildlife, including the shy

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

and the exotic-looking

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

. Pioneer species,

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

are the first to colonise open areas such as railway embankments. Both can live up to 100 years. At Beeslack Woods, 200-year-old

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s dominate the tree canopy. Oak and ash have been the most successful species within the river valley at Roslin Glen for over 400 years. At one time, this ancient seminatural woodland covered most of Midlothian. All these woodland habitats create a haven for wildlife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penicuik-Dalkeith Walkway Rail trails in Scotland Cycleways in Scotland Transport in Midlothian Tourist attractions in Midlothian Dalkeith Penicuik Bonnyrigg and Lasswade