Searching a trekking route near Edinburgh

There are a variety of walking or trail running routes in the Edinburgh area. Some options include:

• Pentland Hills are a range of hills to the south of the city. They include plenty of paths on a variety of terrain, including over the hill tops. Using public transport, the easiest way to get to the hills is by bus. There are plenty of buses from the city to the northern end of the hills, eg Balerno, Bonaly or Hillend. Plus some buses along the road to the east, eg to Flotterstone and Silverburn. The Pentlands Hills Regional Park has a guide for getting there by bus.
• Union Canal and Forth and Clyde Canal run all of the way between Edinburgh and Glasgow, with a path alongside most of the way. As it is a canal, it is nearly all flat and easy to navigate. It passes through a mixture of scenery, some urban and industrial, as well as farmland and wooded areas. Most of the canal is fairly close to the main Glasgow to Edinburgh railway line, so it is easy to get to parts by train.
• Fife Coastal Path a variety of terrain and coastal scenery. Some parts easy to get to by train, eg North Queensferry to Kirkcaldy.
• Water of Leith Walkway runs from Balerno to Leith, through the city of Edinburgh. About 20km long, easy to get to the start and finish by bus.

There are websites with more details of specific routes. One useful site is Walk Highlands which includes maps and GPS tracks.