Penicuik to Eskbank Railway Walk is an easy 7 mile walk along the track of the the former Hawthornden to Penicuik Branch Line. My walk begins in Penicuik and follows the River North Esk for part of the way. Along the route you will pass the sites of the old paper mills and visit the former railway stations.
Penicuik to Eskbank Railway Walk – How to get there
I took the Lothian 37 Bus from Princes Street which took around 1.5 hours. Borders Buses offer an express service X62 from St Andrew Square Bus Station to Penicuik which takes 49 minutes.
Penicuik to Eskbank Railway Walk – Start of the Walk:
Get off the bus at the end of the High Street (last stop before the bridge over the River North Esk). Head down Bridge Street towards the river. Half way down you will see a sign directing you to the start of the walk/cycleway. Below is a map outlining the route to Eskbank and onward to Dalkeith.
Continue down Valleyfield Road as indicated by the sign or as I did, just follow the bikes. You will pass some really attractive newly built houses. This was the site of the Valleyfield Paper Mill.
Valleyfield Mill
The Valleyfield Mill was established in 1779 by Charles Cowan. Paper made at Valleyfield was used to make bank notes, writing and art paper. Sir Walter Scott’s novels were printed on Cowan Paper. However cheaper imported paper forced the family to sell the mill in 1966. The new owner closed the mill in 1974 due to falling sales.
Esk Mill
The Esk Mill was owned by James Brown who bought it in 1821. With modern machinery the mill worked 12 hours a day producing paper 54 inches wide and 30 feet per minute. The mill owners provided homes for their workers and recreational facilities such as a bowling green. The mill closed in 1968.
The Penicuik Railway Company
The branch line from Hawthornden to Penicuik opened in 1872 to passengers and goods trains serving the paper mills of the Esk Valley. Thomas Bouch of the ill-fated Tay Rail Bridge disaster was the engineer contracted to construct the line.
In 1876 the North British Railway Company oversaw the management of the line until nationalisation and the formation of the British Railways Board in 1948. A decrease in passenger numbers and the decline in the paper making industry lead to the closure of the line as part of the Beeching Cuts in 1967.
Penicuik to Eskbank Railway Walk
The footpath follows part of the Esk Way. I did this in the height of summer and there were a few nettles on both sides of the path so shorts are probably not advisable. A few yards down the track the path joins the main cycle way so keep a lookout for bikes. Although this is a walkway and cycleway some cyclists don’t have bells and can get up to speed even on some narrow stretches.
Penicuik to Eskbank Railway Walk – Auchendinny
The path enters a wooded area with the river now on your left. At the Scottish Water Treatment works vere left and continue through the wooded area. Along the path you will pick up the river again. Follow the path toward Auchendinny Station with its attractive original railway bridge and a tunnel. The remains of the station platform are still visible. The station had only one platform and a single track. Proceed through the tunnel and out into a newly built housing estate. This was the site of the Dalmore Paper Mill the last paper mill to close on the Esk Valley.
Dalmore Paper Mill
William Somerville & Son was the last paper making company to set up in the Esk Valley. Formerly a grain mill, work started on the construction at Auchendinny in 1835. In its first year of operation it produced 300 tons of paper. Dalmore like many of the mills on the Esk relied on water power from the River Esk and process water from the Glencorse Burn to make paper. At the time of its closure in 2004 the mill produced 10,000 tons of high quality paper and employed 120 people.
Continue down the track and through a second tunnel.
Firth Viaduct
This is probably the most impressive piece of railway engineering on the line taking the railway line over the Esk Gorge. It is worth taking a detour as I did just to get a picture of the viaduct before continuing on the path.
Roslin Glen
After leaving the viaduct you enter Roslin Glen. Look out for the billboard detailing some of the other walks in the area. Roslin Chapel featured in the Dan Brown novel the Da Vinci Code. You can find out more about Roslin Chapel and how to get there by reading our blog and clicking this link
Continue under the bridge and into the site of Roslin Castle Railway Station. The platform is clearly visible and there is a picnic table and good spot for stopping for lunch.
Next stop Rosewell and Hawthornden
After Roslin Castle the path leaves the wooded area and opens out into open countryside. The route is lined with Redcurrant, Rose Hips, Rowan Berries and Blackthorn Berries or Sloes. Just before the old railway station the path comes to a main road. Just follow the signs and cross the road at the marked crossing. A little way down the track you will come to what is left of Rosewell and Hawthornden station. The platforms are just visable covered in ivy and brambles. I found a tree hanging with ripe cooking aples and large blackberries which i ate.
Bonnyrigg
On reaching Bonnyrigg I walked through a large housing estate. Bonnyrigg has become, like a lot of small towns a suburb of Edinburgh. Despite all the houses being built after the station had closed, the platforms remain and a couple of the old station signs. Although I doubt they are the originals.
After the station cross the road at the crossing and proceed down Waverley Court. At the bottom of the street take up the railway path again. At this point you have 1.5 miles to go to complete the walk to Eskbank station. Cross the footbridge and take a right at the garage. At the next sign take another right and follow the signs for Eskbank Railway station.
At Eskbank Railway Station cross the footbridge and on to the platform to catch a train back to Waverley and Princes Street. This is a fitting end to my Railway Walk from Penicuik To Eskbank.
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and you will take some time out to the walk and enjoy the route as much as I did.
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