Picking up Walks near Edinburgh feels less like opening a guidebook and more like discovering a secret diary. Margaret Warrender wrote this for friends and fellow walkers in 1890, and that personal, conversational tone never fades. This isn't a dry manual of distances and turn-by-turn directions. It's a series of invitations.

The Story

There isn't a plot in the traditional sense. Instead, Warrender lays out a series of walks radiating from Edinburgh—to places like Corstorphine Hill, the Pentlands, Cramond, and Colinton. But she fills each route with life. She tells you where to find the sweetest wild raspberries, describes the changing colors of the heather, notes the farm where you might get fresh milk, and recounts local legends tied to an old stone or a particular bend in the river. She maps the social and natural history onto the landscape itself. You learn which paths are muddy after rain, where the gentlest slopes are, and which viewpoints are worth the extra climb. The 'story' is the journey itself, seen through the keen eyes of a woman who knew and loved every inch of this ground.

Why You Should Read It

You should read this for the voice. Margaret Warrender is fantastic company. She's practical, funny, and has a clear point of view (she's not afraid to call a dull view 'uninspiring'). Reading her notes transforms a simple walk into a kind of time travel. You stand on Braid Hills and, through her description, see a skyline without the modern university buildings. You walk a lane in Swanston and imagine it as a quiet farm track, not a road. It makes you look closer at the landscape today, searching for the traces of her world. The book is a powerful reminder that every place has layers of stories, and that walking is one of the best ways to connect with them.

Final Verdict

This is a perfect book for a specific kind of person. It's for the Edinburgh local who wants to deepen their connection to the surrounding hills and coasts. It's for the history lover who enjoys social history told through everyday details, not just dates and battles. It's for the walker who sometimes finds modern guides too clinical. Keep a copy in your backpack. Do the walks she describes, with her book in hand. The paths are mostly still there, but thanks to Margaret, you'll see them with completely new, wonderfully old, eyes.