Swanston Farm - Edinburgh

Christopher H.

Swanston Farm was an amazing find with a handsome collection of "hairy coos" in a breathtaking setting.

We started off by having lunch at the Brasserie. A white-table cloth experience with excellent food. You may want to make reservations on the weekends.

As you walk out of the brasserie, take a right down the stonewall lined Swanston Rd. This will curve to the right and dead end next to a small fenced area with some cows. This is a quick look, if nothing else.

For the more adventurous who are ready for a strenuous hike and who are equipped with a water bottle... from the small fenced area, take the path that leads up the hill, past the golf course. Continue on through the horse gate until the path dead ends at a "T" intersection and you are looking up at the mountain. This is where the cows were for us and it took us about 30 minutes walking up hill to get here. (If you want to do the loop, turn right, not left at this intersection.)

This opportunity provided close access to the cows. But please be kind to the animals and be safe by keeping your distance. They are wild, after all. Another word of warning... don't trust the free chocolate pudding.

Not including lunch, we spent about 3 hours here.

Jae T.

found out about this farm from an instagram reel. i needed another “coo” fix for our last full day in scotland. a 5 minute walk in, you’ll see 3 of them but if you hike up even farther, you can see the whole herd! seeing these babies up close was the absolute highlight of my trip & it was a beautiful sunny day too!

Sara H.

Lovely little park not far outside Edinburgh with free parking. Most people come to see the Highland cows but there are also trekking ponies and beautiful views of Edinburgh if you're able to make the climb.

Veronica L.

Cute farm close to Edinburgh (you can get there by bus), where you are guaranteed to see highland cows. They have 3 cows a very short walk from entrance, and then we walked up the hill to see many more roaming freely. Highly recommend.

Zoe W.

we loved visiting Swanston farm, they had three cows quite close to the entrance which are easy to find.
we also did the hike around the rest of the farm. we weren’t able to spot anymore cows but the walk is really nice and i highly recommend it anyways.

Yizhou W.

Just walk up to the top for the cutest most friendly highland calf, quite foolproof and guaranteed? view of the highland cow instead of trying your luck spotting wild ones.

Haggis is super adorable and friendly, views were great too during early jan

Vidi H.

I had a wonderful experience seeing Highland cows just a short distance from Edinburgh. The location was easy to find, well signposted along the way, so no worries about getting lost. Parking was available, though somewhat limited, so plan accordingly if you're visiting during peak times. The cows were as majestic and charming as you’d imagine, making for a unique and memorable outing. Whether you're a local or just visiting Edinburgh, this is a delightful little trip, especially if you want to get up close to some iconic Scottish wildlife. Highly recommend!

Carley P.

We enjoyed visiting Swanston Fram while we were in Edinburgh! It is an easy bus ride from the city centre and for sure worth it! We loved seeing the highland cows! We saw 3 cows closer to the entrance in a fenced area and then hiked for maybe 45 minutes and saw 2 more highland cows roaming around! The views are also amazing!