Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh

Bruntsfield Links is parkland in Edinburgh, but its quiet lawns preserve a determined golfing history. Golfers continued playing here even when quarrying had left pits and heaps across the ground; a local account says those workings became hazards in the game. In 1695, the council ordered quarriers to keep away from the golfing area.

Later, golf protected the links from development: in 1791, burgess golfers stopped a proposed straight road, forcing it around the edge, and in 1798 the council refused Walter Scott permission to practise cavalry drills here because golfing societies used the ground. The older societies eventually moved elsewhere, but a short-hole course remains, maintained by the last club based on the links. Dutch elm disease has taken many trees, while surviving mature elms and replacement hybrids continue the story.