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Penicuik, pronounced "penny cook," is a planned village built on the site of an ancient hamlet beside the North Esk in 1770 to house mill workers. Its main industry was paper manufacture, but the last mill closed in 2005. It was also known for the production of glassware. The ruins of the old kirk, which date from the seventeenth century, sit in the centre of the graveyard. French prisoners of war were housed at Penicuik during the Napoleonic Wars. A monument beside the river carries a legend commemorating 309 prisoners who died in that camp.
Activities and attractions
Humans have lived in the Penicuik area for much longer than these monuments would indicate. The best evidence of the village's age may be linguistic: the name Penicuik comes the Old Brythonic language of the Iron Age Britons. On Castlelaw Hill two miles to the north of Penicuik is Castlelaw Hill Fort and Earth House. A practiced eye can still trace the earthworks that protected local residents from marauders before the Romans came. The fort still existed in Roman times, but its purpose changed somewhat. The earth house set into the ditch between the inner and outer ramparts was used to store agricultural produce. Roman pottery and jewellery were found at the site during excavations, indicating that this Earth House may have stored grain meant to be traded to the army.
The path to Castlelaw continues on to Allemuir Hill, the most prominent of the Pentlands that look down on Edinburgh. A steep path leads to its conical top from which peaks as much as fifty miles away can be seen on a clear day. The top of Allemuir is one of the best views of the city of Edinburgh available to the public.
The Pomathorn Bridge across the Esk was once the main route between the city of Edinburgh and the Borders. To serve them the town had a number of quite ancient inns. Also nearby is Glencorse Parish Kirk, which inspired Robert Louis Stevenson as he wrote his novels Kidnapped and Catriona. Some of Penicuik's streets are named for characters in the books.
Places to Stay and access
Penicuik is a peaceful village well suited for a quiet weekend getaway or a longer country retreat. It lies a short distance outside the Edinburgh bypass. While it has no rail station of its own, convenient local buses connect it to the capital. From Edinburgh it is possible to get motor coach or rail transportation anywhere in Scotland or the UK. The city's international airport allows access to the rest of the world as well.
As a small country town, Penicuik has only the most basic of lodgings in B&Bs, guesthouses or the descendents of the old coaching hotels. Camping and caravanning are also possibilities, as is taking self-catering accommodation. This last is a particularly attractive idea because of Penicuik's limited restaurant scene. Pub grub and takeaway are filling, but can become monotonous with time. Evening entertainment in the town is also based in public houses.
Accommodation in Penicuik
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