North Esk Reservoir

About North Esk Reservoir

The River North Esk rises near the Bore Stane high in the Pentland Hills above the North Esk Reservoir. The reservoir was built by a consortium of Penicuik mill owners in 1850 to help regulate the flow of water in the river to give a constant supply to the numerous paper mills which had sprung up in the valley. The engineer responsible was Thomas Stevenson, father of Robert Louis Stevenson. As the mills closed down, the last one to close only in 2004, the reservoir became a wildlife sanctuary. The area is a SSSI in two categories, biologically for the special flora and geologically for the unusual exposures west of Patie's Hill.