Friends of Corstorphine Hill

The Tower

The Tower celebrated its 130th anniversary in the year 2002. A year later, in 2003, the Tower saw another milestone in its history, the 70th anniversary of its official handing over to the then Edinburgh Corporation. The Tower was repaired and opened to the general public after agreement with the owners of the land around the Tower that they would give ground for access, free, provided the Corporation would erect an iron fence to separate it from their property. Another repair and re-opening in 2003, this time after vandals damaged the Tower in April 2002. It was carefully restored, at an approximate cost of £5,000. The doors were opened to visitors again, with Corstorphine Hill Tower taking its rightful place among the 180 buildings and monuments owned by the City of Edinburgh Council. It may jostle for prominence on the hill these days but it justifies a prominent place in our hearts.

Corstorphine Hill Tower (also known as Clermiston Tower or the Scott Tower) is a memorial to Sir Walter Scott. The tower, built on glaciated dolerite, is square in plan, with buttressed corners; it has a corbelled, battlemented parapet surmounted by a small tower. It is built of coursed whinstone, likely to be from quarries on the hill, with dressed sandstone for the openings, parapets and plaques, probably from one of the large Edinburgh sandstone quarries.

Dramatic views can be obtained from the top of the Tower. There are planned openings of the tower to give people a chance to catch the panoramic view from the top. A new timetable will be proposed for this summer; there were no planned openings of the tower during the winter months.

Directions from the Clerwood bus terminus. Go left, north, along Clermiston Road, for 100 metres, cross and take the gated track, uphill past the old walled garden on the right to the Tower on top of the hill. The Tower can also be reached easily from the Cairnmuir Road / Kaimes Road carpark.