The Cammo estate is situated in the North west of Edinburgh, nestled between the City Bypass and the Queensferry Road alongside the River Almond.
It's hard to believe to look at it's present ruined state, but Cammo Estate was once one of the grandest houses in Edinburgh. The house was built for John Menzies in 1693, and the surrounding parkland was laid out between 1710-26 by Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. Cammo is thought to have been the inspiration for the "House of Shaws" in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Kidnapped".
Local stories say the house fell into disrepair in more recent years with the owner living in a caravan within the grounds and the house given over to his dogs. The house was bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland in 1975 but, in 1977, the house was torched twice by vandals. The house was considered unsafe and was reduced to its external ground floor walls.
In 1980 the City of Edinburgh Council was gifted the estate and declared it a Wilderness Park. The Council now maintain the grounds and operates a ranger service.
The grounds are lovely to walk through, particularly this time of year with all the fallen leaves. Make sure you bring your boots or wellies though as it gets a bit muddy in places. We walked out of the grounds and along by the Almond river down to the Cramond Brig Inn for something to eat. A nice afternoon's walking in Edinburgh.
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| Ruins of the main house |
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| Having a break |
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| Mum and the girls in matching poses |
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| Erin |
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| Smallest first |
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| Hanging on for dear life |
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| This was as far as Norah would go along the branch |
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| Norah losing her wellingtons as usual |
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| Guess who's football went in the ornamental pond and had to be rescued |
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| The football was held onto tightly after that |
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| Inside Cammo Tower, lots of pigeon poop everywhere |
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| Norah posing in front of Cammo Tower with the ruined house in the background |
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| Lizzie at the kissing gate |
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| At the kissing gate |
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| Ordering a well deserved bite to eat after our walk |
