Braid Burn

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River in Edinburgh, Scotland

title: "Braid Burn" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["rivers-of-edinburgh"] description: "River in Edinburgh, Scotland" topic_path: "general/rivers-of-edinburgh" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_Burn" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary River in Edinburgh, Scotland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox river"]

FieldValue
nameBraid Burn
imageBraid Burn - geograph.org.uk - 1462478.jpg
image_captionThe Braid Burn in the Hermitage of Braid
source1_locationPentland Hills
mouth_locationPortobello
length_km14
basin_size_km230.5
::

| name = Braid Burn | image = Braid Burn - geograph.org.uk - 1462478.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = The Braid Burn in the Hermitage of Braid | map = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | name_other = | source1_location = Pentland Hills | mouth_location = Portobello | progression = | location = | etymology = | length_km = 14 | source1_elevation = | mouth_elevation = | discharge1_avg = | basin_size_km2 = 30.5 | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data =

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/The_Mouth_of_the_Figgate_Burn_-geograph.org.uk-_533293.jpg" caption="The Braid Burn (called the Figgate Burn towards its end) enters the sea"] ::

The Braid Burn is a burn or stream 14 km in length that flows through south and east Edinburgh.

Course

The burn forms near Bonaly in the Pentland Hills south west of the city, at the confluence of the Bonaly and Howden burns. From there, it flows in a generally north easterly direction, skirting the Braid Hills to the east and south, and then via Braidburn Valley Park, the Hermitage of Braid, Blackford Glen, Cameron Toll and Inch Park. At Peffermill it is joined by the Jordan Burn. At Duddingston its name changes to the Figgate Burn. It enters the Firth of Forth at Portobello.

The area drained by the burn and its tributaries amounts to 30.5 km2. The burn rises quickly after rain, and can become very large when in spate. Eighty per cent of its catchment area is in the lower urban section, the other portion being south of the Edinburgh City Bypass.

Part of its course is in a gorge cut by glacial meltwater that exposed a weakness in the rock.

Wildlife

The burn contains small trout and bullhead, and otters are occasionally seen in the burn.

Flood prevention

The burn has a history of flooding, and major events occurred on 3 January 1982, 28 May 1983, 3 November 1984, 6 October 1990, 7 October 1993, 26–27 April 2000, 7–8 November 2000, and in October 2002.

After the flooding in 2000, the City of Edinburgh Council elected to install a flood prevention scheme along much of the stream's length. Walls and embankments were constructed at points along the length of the burn, and new culverts and bridges were installed, and alterations to upstream reservoirs in the Pentland Hills were carried out. Parks and golf courses were modified to store water in the event of a flood.

The scheme was completed in 2010 at a construction cost of , an increase from the estimated cost of . The total cost of the scheme was .

The scheme is designed to withstand 1 in 200 year event, and provides protection to around 900 properties.

In Literature

The burn is mentioned in Muriel Spark's novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, when Sandy and Miss Brodie meet after the war at the Braid Hills Hotel: 'They looked out of the wide windows at the little Braid Burn trickling through the fields and at the hills beyond, so austere from everlasting that they had never been capable of losing anything by the war.'

References

References

  1. "Braid Burn". Gazetteer for Scotland.
  2. "Braid Burn at Inch Park, Edinburgh, Scotland". The River Restoration Centre Case Study Series.
  3. "Hermitage of Braid and Blackford Hill Local Nature Reserve Management Plan 2011 – 2021". City of Edinburgh Council.
  4. "Application by City of Edinburgh Council at Flood Prevention Braid Burn Edinburgh". City of Edinburgh Council.
  5. "The Park – History". Friends of Braidburn Valley Park.
  6. "Braidburn Valley Park, Edinburgh". Friends of Braidburn Valley Park.
  7. "An Annotated Bibliography of Research on Coarse and Salmonid Fish (excluding Salmon And Trout) Found in Fresh Water in Scotland".
  8. "Parks and gardens - Hermitage of Braid Local Nature Reserve". City of Edinburgh Council.
  9. (29 November 2002). "Cold water poured on flood defences". The Scotsman.
  10. "Governance of Major Projects: Water of Leith and Braid Burn Flood Prevention Schemes – referral from the Transport and Environment Committee". City of Edinburgh Council.
  11. "Braid Burn Flood Prevention Scheme". AECOM.
  12. Spark, Muriel. (1961). "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie". Macmillan.

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rivers-of-edinburgh