Hermitage of Braid

The Hermitage of Braid is a majestic mansion house set within Hermitage and Blackford Hill Local Nature Reserve.

It’s a category A-listed building, built between 1780 And 1785 by Charles Gordon of Cluny who lived there with his family.  Various people lived there until it was given to the people of Edinburgh by its then owner, John McDougal, in 1937.

It was used as a scout house in the 1970s and became a Council ranger centre in the 1980s and today it is home to the City of Edinburgh Council’s Natural Heritage Service.

While closed at the moment to the public, some of the team at the Council’s Natural Heritage Service have put together this short film to give you a virtual peek inside this beautiful house and share some of their personal insights. So please do look past the modern office furniture and have a wander with them through the building and begin to imagine the lives of the many individuals who have lived within these walls over the centuries…