Forest bathing at Craigmillar Castle Park

Craigmillar Castle Park spreads around the hill below the 15th-century castle where Mary, Queen of Scots, liked to stay. The council bought the land in 1947, and it is now a mix of mature woodland, grassland and old quarries. Over 40,000 trees were planted here in 1997 for the Millennium Forest for Scotland, so the northern part is young native woodland of alder, birch, oak and hawthorn, while Hawkhill Wood has older trees, rock faces and bluebells in spring.

The entrance on Old Dalkeith Road leads onto Lady Susan's Walk, a woodland path once used by the Gilmour family between Inch House and the castle. Hawkhill Wood is the most enclosed and atmospheric part; the younger woods and fields are more open. Bats and owls are often about near the castle in the evening. Paths range from gravel to narrow tracks. In the wood, watch your footing near the steep rock faces and storm-damaged trees.