The area of the Braid Hills in Edinburgh is a great place to spend a couple of hours walking. We enjoyed a 5 mile walk which took us through woodland parks, home to a wonderful variety of flora and fauna and strands of beech, elder, hawthorn and sycamore. We ambled along the edge of wee burns, wandered through a nature reserve, climbed up a steep wooded gorge and avoided low-flying golf balls on the challenging Braid Hills Golf Course. Eventually we reached the top of Braid Hills which is most definitely worth the climb because the panoramic views across the city and beyond are magnificent. We finished off our walk at the delightful Blackford Pond, a bird sanctuary for coots, geese, mallards and swans all living in apparent harmony.