IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Pomathorn Bank, PENICUIK, EH26 8LP

These modern houses have been built on the steep bank running down to the southern bank of the North Esk river from the Castle Brae on Pomathorn Road. This road winds its way from the A701 south of the Telford Bridge in Penicuik to the B7026 near Howgate.

Penicuik's reputation as a beach resort is not widely appreciated, but this stretch of sand by the North Esk should silence the doubters.

A plaque fixed to the corner of the old wall informs that once the Low Mill, part of the Valleyfield Mill complex, stood here. Papermaking began on the site in 1709 and the Cowan family ran the business from 1779 until closure in 1975. The 6" OS map of 1905 (Edinburghshire sheet XIII.NE) shows that this area including Valleyfield Mill upstream was once a large industrial complex with its own railway network. Now the mill sites at Valleyfield, Eskbridge and Dalmore have become housing areas, almost small villages in their own right.

The trackbed of the Penicuik Railway, a spur from the railway to Peebles which ran a little too far away from the town to be very useful, especially for freight. The North Esk was industrialised with several paper mills.

This ruined late medieval hall-house or fortified farm stands overlooking Penicuik, high above the east bank of the Black Burn, close to where it joins the North Esk. The building ceased to be used as a dwelling at the end of the 18th or early in the 19th century. A proposal in the 1990's to renovate the castle did not obtain planning permission. The caption for the castle appears to be misplaced on the 1:50,000 OS map.

For historical details see Image

A late 16 C medieval castle, now dilapidated. The first known reference is dated 1641. For a detailed account see:- http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-352-1/dissemination/pdf/vol_128/128_1017_1046.pdf , which is a 30 page report of the structure 'written in advance of a proposed restoration' - clearly not much has happened in the intervening 10 years.

Part of a recent development on the site of a former paper mill and the Penicuik railway station opened in 1872, closed in 1951 - see http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/p/penicuik/index.shtml for more details.

New houses on one of Penicuik's former industrial sites - paper mills beside the North Esk.