Blackford Pond

Blackford Pond is situated adjacent to the entrance at the junction of Cluny Gardens, Charterhall Road and Oswald Road. The pond lies in a hollow gouged out by ice as it passed the crag and tail of Blackford Hill itself.

Further Tidying Up at the Pond

The Friends are delighted to be working (March 2010) with BTCV and the Countryside Ranger Service on refurbishment of the Blackford Pond area. Visitors will see that the cherry laurel bushes have been cut back, the seats have been reinstated on concrete bases, edges have been trimmed up and fresh grit layed over the main path around the Pond. New signage has been fitted. It is brown bread and not too much, for the ducks!

Edge Restoration Project

The Friends of the Hermitage and Blackford Hill are delighted to report (8 December 2009) that they have completed work on their biggest project to date, namely the repair of the eroded edges at Blackford Pond. The banks have been getting washed away steadily to the point where the path around the north side of the pond was at risk.

The contract for the repair work was been awarded to South Queensferry-based firm of Watergems, well known in Edinburgh for their work at Inverleith Pond. The contract works lasted about three weeks. Input from volunteers was a key part of the project and work days took place to provide cuttings of elm for the work. These were used by the contractor in bundles, tied down to the base of the pond, to support the pond edge along its restored line. The volunteers were called upon again on Friday and Saturday, 27th and 28th November, to help plant blocks of iris and other plants to fill in the large voids between the elm barrier and the eroded pond edge. Talking about the use of iris, Nick Benge of Watergems advised that, unlike some water-edge plants, the iris had thread-like roots that could not be unpicked and eaten by the ducks and swans and so were ideal as strengtheners for the pond banks.

The Friends would like thank the South Central Neighbourhood Partnership for awarding them their maximum grant assistance of £5,000 for the project. The work was also supported by Scottish Natural Heritage to the extent of a further £7,805. The total project cost was £14,105 including volunteer time.