6k Run Braid Hills: Scenic Loop through Iconic Golf Courses

Route Overview & Local Insights

This 6.4km circular loop offers a quintessential Scottish running experience, blending steady climbs with sweeping vistas. With 90m of ascent and a mostly paved surface, the route is classified as a Short-Low (SL) effort, making it ideal for runners looking for a moderate hilly workout without technical trails. You’ll navigate the perimeter of the iconic Braid Hills and Mortonhall Golf Courses, enjoying wide paths that provide plenty of space for your stride. The rolling terrain challenges your aerobic capacity, but the reward is the incredible sense of space and fresh air just a few miles from the city center.

The Braid Hills are steeped in Edinburgh's sporting and literary history, long serving as a natural escape for the city's inhabitants. Known for their distinctive volcanic gorse-covered slopes, the Braids offer what many consider the finest panoramic views of the Edinburgh skyline, the Firth of Forth, and the distant Highland peaks. As you pass through the borders of the historic Mortonhall estate, you are running through land that has remained largely unchanged for centuries, providing a rugged, natural contrast to the architectural grandeur of the capital visible from every peak.