The Ministry of Defence has announced that they will be changing the way they mark live-fire exercises in the Pentland Hills.
From May 16 the Castlelaw Firing Range will no longer indicate a live firing exercise with the use of red flags, replacing them with flashing red lights.
The flashing red beacons will be used to cover both day and night activities and mark where hillwalkers should not cross into the firing area.
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From Monday, May 16, red flags will only be used in the event that there is a fault with the red beacons.
The change was announced by The Pentland Hills Regional Park and has sparked some debate among Edinburgh residents.
One person posted: “Am I the only person who questions why we allow a live firing range on the outskirts of Edinburgh?”
Another local responded saying: “The army has been a part of Colinton for a long time. Very used to hearing the firing and hearing the helicopters. Not a problem.”
Formerly a WW2 training area, the Castlelaw firing range has undergone a complete overhaul of its facilities.
The training area covers 1,900 acres of land in the Northeast extent of the Pentland Hills and is used for training small arms from the nearby Dreghorn and Redford Cavalry Barracks.
Remodelled in 1985, Castlelaw saw the construction of two new firing ranges, one measuring out to 600 yards and the other to 400 yards.
There are popular walks in the Pentland Hills that go around Castlelaw Hill and, as a result, come close to the Castlelaw Firing Range.
While the range try to mark when they’re firing as clearly as possible, people who want to take these routes are encouraged to pay close attention to the firing schedule, which can be found here:
