Menus for every reader
Braille, large print and audio menus at the Brasserie — ask, and it's on the table.
A working farm since the 1930s · Pentland Hills, Edinburgh
Edinburgh's very own countryside retreat
One quiet road past the bypass and you're on a 700-acre working farm — Highland Cows on the hill, a busy hillside brasserie, six holiday cottages, and the Pentlands rising from the back door.
Farm open daily 9.30am–4pm · free
Brasserie — book 48 hrs ahead
Cottage weeks from £595
Start here
One road up.
Four ways to spend it.
Everything at Swanston hangs off a single dead-end road — the big white building at the top of it, and everything on the way. Pick a door, or open the map and wander.
01 — Swanston Brasserie
Eat & Drink
Seasonal Scottish cooking with a panoramic Pentland view
02 — Six holiday cottages
Stay
4★ self-catering in a converted stone steading, dogs welcome
03 — The famous residents
The Farm & the Cows
Meet the Highland fold — free, every day, five minutes' walk
04 — Private events
Celebrate
Weddings, afternoon teas and exclusive use of the whole view
Also at the farm
Eat & drink
The Brasserie at the top of the road
Book at least 48 hrs ahead — walk-ins rarely possibleFirst-floor dining in the big white building, with two balconies and the best table-side view in south Edinburgh. Head Chef Glyn Sommerville — thirty years of kitchens including The Witchery and Prestonfield House — keeps the menus seasonal and local.
- Open daily — Mon–Thu 9.30am–4pm · Fri & Sat to 7pm · Sun to 5pm
- Dinner served Friday & Saturday only, 3–6pm
- Coffee & tea from Forth Coffee Roasters and PekoeTea Edinburgh
- Booking by phone or email only — no same-day or next-day bookings
Stay
Six cottages in the old steading
Book before Fri 24 Jul 2026 — the 5% visitor levy applies afterA 2001 conversion of the Victorian farm steading: stone arches, south-facing gardens, and the city glittering below after dark. All six are 4★ VisitScotland self-catering, and dogs are as welcome as their owners.
- 2026 weeks £595–£1,650 by cottage and season · minimum 3 nights
- Saturday-to-Saturday weeks in summer — August goes first
- Dog-friendly — £35 per dog per week
- Booking by enquiry — the farm confirms every stay personally
| Cottage | Sleeps |
|---|---|
| 4 · Coach-House | 6 |
| 5 · Caerketton | 4 + sofa bed |
| 6 · Byreside | 4 + sofa bed |
| 7 · Stotfold | 2 + sofa bed |
| 8 · Todhole | 4 + sofa bed |
| 9 · Shearie-Knowe | 4 + sofa bed |
The famous residents
Come and meet the Highland Cows
The fold grazes the hillside as conservation grazers — shaggy, horned, and entirely unbothered by their fame. Seeing them is free, every day the farm is open: park up, follow the orange signs, and it's a five-minute walk to the gate.
Free · daily 9.30am–4pm
A working farm — not a petting farm
Please don't touch or feed
Follow the orange signs
Since AD 1214
“Look up, towards the hills and there you will find what you are looking for. You'll find it at Swanston Farm.”
Farmed by the McClung family since the 1930s. Robert Louis Stevenson spent his teenage summers here, below the thatched village and the T Wood — and the place has been on the record since AD 1214.
Celebrate
The whole view, just for you
Exclusive-use dates go fast — the farm closes for private eventsWeddings, christenings, milestone birthdays, corporate days and quiet farewells — take an area of the Brasserie, the ground-floor function room, or the entire building with its balconies and hill.
- Exclusive use of the Brasserie, or private areas within it
- Afternoon teas by arrangement — a 90th birthday favourite
- Gift vouchers £10–£50, and a Scottish-made Highland Cow gift range at the bar
For every visitor
Everyone gets the good view
Access isn't an afterthought here — it's one of the things the farm is proudest of.
A trained team
Sighted Guide-trained staff, and tactile farm tours for vision-impaired visitors.
Easy arrival
Accessible parking at the Brasserie door, and a proud Euan's Guide supporter.
Plan a visit
Twenty minutes from Princes Street. A world away.
111 Swanston Road, Edinburgh EH10 7DS
Up and over the bypass bridge — the road ends at the Brasserie. what3words: using.coffee.weeks
Open daily, 9.30am–4pm
The farm and cow walk are free — no ticket needed. Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Buses 4 · 5 · 16 · 27 · 400
To Oxgangs Road, then a 900 m walk up the hill. By car: Dreghorn or Lothianburn junctions; free customer parking on site.
0131 445 2239
Option 2 for the Brasserie · option 3 for the cottages · mail@swanston.co.uk for everything else.
Every corner of the farm, on one map.