Thursday September 18th 2025
Erosion at the top of Calton Hill
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
The Edinburgh UNESCO World Heritage Site, Calton Hill, is facing an ‘erosion emergency’ as the top soil has ‘been the worst for many years’ with the issue being partially blamed on the council for repeatedly cutitng the grass short.
Calton Hill Conservation Trust has stated that the ‘deterioration in the general condition of the hill has been severe’, explaining that erosion is the biggest problem they face.
Blaming this issue on the grass being too frequently cut, they explained that ‘there is no erosion where the grass has been left uncut by local authority’ and that ‘all the erosion is on the top of the hill, not the surrounding slopes’, partly blaming the City of Edinburgh Council for repeatedly cutting the grass short.
Commenting on the erosion issue, Culture and Communities Convener for the Edinburgh Council, Margaret Graham, explained:
“We’re aware of the erosion on Calton Hill and are making plans to re-turf, re-seed and improve the formal path network to control footfall.
“We’re also looking to rest areas perisodically to reduce any further erosion.”
The conservation trust suggested that the overcutting was on the assumption that it will rain regularly.
With erosion taking place in the summer months when the ground is dry, water is not available on the hill unless brought up by trucks. This causes issues when there is no rain fall and alongside the large number of visitors, it adds to the wear and tear of the ground’s quality.
Explaining that ‘sometimes you can actually see the earth blowing away in the wind’, the trust explained that other issues on the hill such as, litter picking, moving portaloos and volunteers unblocking draining channels are an easy fix that only take a few days or weeks, but the repair of erosion takes both time and money.
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