Forest bathing at Bonaly Country Park

Bonaly Country Park is a 14-hectare council woodland on the southern edge of Edinburgh, and one of the main gateways into the Pentland Hills Regional Park. The woods sit at the foot of the hills above Colinton, so within a few minutes you can move from tree cover to open hillside, with views back over the city skyline.

There are two car parks, lower and upper, at the end of Bonaly Road. The woodland paths near the car parks are the sheltered option on a windy day; above them, tracks climb towards Bonaly Reservoir and across to Clubbiedean and Torduff reservoirs, which are quieter once you are past the first rise. It is a busy starting point for hill walkers at weekends, but most of them walk straight through, and the woods themselves stay peaceful. Paths are a mix of tracks and unsurfaced paths, wet in places after rain.