Midlothian’s selected guides offer different settings: Dalkeith Country Park, the estate and hill paths around Penicuik, and Roslin Glen. Accommodation can sit outside the named town, so plan the journey as well as the walk. Choose between shorter park or glen sections and more demanding hill routes, following livestock, water-safety and estate access rules.
Dalkeith offers an estate-walking break with several trail choices inside the country park. Both selected hotels have Lasswade addresses, so plan a separate journey to the park. Melville Castle gives a country-house setting and the Melville Inn a pub-and-rooms alternative. The park’s short Wilderness route and longer North Woods trail are choices within one estate, making it easy to scale the outing to your dog’s energy.
Penicuik makes a rural escape with a choice between an estate cottage and a shepherd hut. Clermount is on Penicuik Estate; the huts are at Braidlaw Farmhouse on the Carlops Road. Choose that base first, then decide between a modest estate outing and the Pentland Hills’ Glencorse View route. The latter is a moderate hill-country walk, so its short length should not be mistaken for a level promenade.
Roslin is a woodland-and-river break where the glen, rather than Rosslyn Chapel admission, is the dog-friendly focus. Stay in the village and choose a manageable path through Roslin Glen, with a section of the Penicuik-Dalkeith Walkway as another option. Both researched properties have only one pet-friendly room, so the booking needs to start with room allocation. The chapel, visitor centre and chapel grounds exclude ordinary pet dogs.
Choose the shorter Wilderness Trail or the longer North Woods route at Dalkeith Country Park. Check the current map and closures; do not assume a link remains between the woods.
Use estate paths for a modest outing or consider Glencorse View only if hill conditions and your dog’s fitness suit it. Keep dogs controlled around sheep and heed reservoir warnings.
Make Roslin Glen the dog-friendly focus and choose a manageable river or woodland section. Rosslyn Chapel, its visitor centre and grounds exclude ordinary pet dogs.
