Category Archives: Edinburgh

Good to know about Edinburgh

04 Thursday Aug 2016

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THE Festival

If you plan to attend the Edinburgh Festival, I can’t help you. We are leaving the city before it begins, in part because the cost of housing skyrockets and we can’t keep to our budget and stay in an apartment. Perhaps another year we’ll come for a Festival week and listen to lot of music, see a lot of theater and appreciate the scene.

However, I have advice on a few things for people planning to visit at other times.

Weather

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It rained most of the time we were at Linlithgow Castle.

Like everywhere else in Scotland, you can experience four seasons in a day. The sun may turn up early or late, the rain may pour before breakfast or after dinner–or in the middle of your plans. Be a good Scotsperson and ignore the fact that there is weather and keep going, or modify your plans enough to get out of the rain by going to a museum or a cafe. Either way, the weather will change soon enough. (Imagine you’re in Portland.) Wear waterproof shoes. Don’t go out without your raincoat.

Local Travel

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Waiting for the bus.

If you aren’t on an organized tour, consider purchasing a weekly (or monthly) bus pass. This year the first week is £21 and subsequent weeks £18. Additional weeks can be added in many corner shops (pay point), though to start you need to go to a Lothian Buses travelshop because they take your picture and put it on your card. A monthly pass is £57. Bus passes are especially helpful once you find out that there is no such thing as a bus transfer in Edinburgh, and you must pay £1.60 each time you board a bus. A bus pass includes tram service, and service to the airport by either bus or tram. It is not possible right now to purchase your bus pass at the airport, so even if you travel light, you have to pay £4 to get from the airport to the city on arrival (A taxi is about £20). Our bus passes are for Lothian buses, and that does not include every bus in the city. Sometimes you have to wait until your Lothian bus arrives. Overall, it’s been worth a lot. (I’ve rarely been tempted to call the bus line Loathsome buses.)

Visiting the Sights/Sites

If you are a fan of historic sights and sites, you might consider a membership in Historic Scotland. This gives you free admission to several of the major sites in the Edinburgh area, including Edinburgh, Stirling, and Linlithgow castles. You get a discount (20%) on admission to Holyrood Palace. Historic Scotland also manages many other sites throughout Scotland, many do not charge admission. I’ve taken advantage of their booklet to identify interesting lesser-known places to visit.

Outdoors–Gardens and Walks

Edinburgh is full of wonderful gardens and gardening. Often a small front garden is beautifully arranged with beds and pots of plants.

There are wonderful walks throughout Edinburgh. Several paths climb Arthur’s Seat and the Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park. Walking through Princes Street Gardens is lovely and there are more paths around St. Cuthbert’s church at the west end of the garden. There is a trail along the Water of Leith (see my post on the Modern Art museum) that you can follow for miles. Just because you are in the city doesn’t mean the outdoors isn’t nearby. Also, you can get to the beach on the bus. My only caveat: we saw very few birds in the city itself.

Food

We rarely eat out, but had an excellent dinner at Field, a tiny restaurant near the university. Make a reservation, because it seats 26 if every seat is filled.

Outside Edinburgh

Both the train (Scotrail) and buses go from Edinburgh to Glasgow (and other cities). There are websites for each and a variety of options. Train travel is reliable as well as a bit faster and a bit more comfortable than the bus. It costs slightly more.

A Last Word

We left Edinburgh with many places still to visit. Small museums, historic houses, even Building 2 of the Modern Art Museum (Building 1 took all our time on our first visit). Living in the city full time may not be for me, as I enjoyed our walks along paths as much as the big attractions. Who can resist a street called Ravelston Dykes? Or a path that looks like deep woods but actually circles a private school and takes you to Sainsbury’s (grocery store)?

 

 

Other fun in Edinburgh, ancient and modern

03 Wednesday Aug 2016

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Some of the places we’ve visited and things we’ve seen in Edinburgh haven’t fit in to my comments until now. By joining Historic Scotland, we were able to visit Edinburgh Castle multiple times, Linlithgow Castle and there are 75 sites they manage. Not all have admission fees, and I enjoyed visiting one of these that was just down the road from our flat, in Corstorphine.

The low hedge marks the historic site from the front yard, and divides the two front yard from each other.

The low hedge marks the historic site from the front yard, and divides the two front yard from each other.

Once a village, now a neighborhood within Edinburgh, Corstorphine was part of lands belonging to the Forrester family. Corstorphine Castle lasted from the 14th to the 18th century, but is now gone. The only remaining structure of the estate is a dovecote, built of stone with about 1000 nesting boxes.

I visited this dovecote, and found it sitting in two adjacent front yards that neatly curve around halves of the structure. An informational sign suggests the structure avoided being demolished because of a local myth that anyone destroying a dovecote would be cursed.

7.6.16 Corstorphine-004After making my brief tour, I returned to the bus stop via the Corstorphine Old Parish Church and churchyard. The oldest part of the church dates to 1429 (Unbelievable!) The historic documentation of some structures is impressive. There are records of who owned and built what building by dates in the 1200s. As a resident of the New World, I am amazed.

Without entering a museum in Edinburgh you can see historic symbols.

7.8.16 with Kathleen Renk-007

We also saw lots of entertainment in the street. My favorite busker is the bagpiper in Highland dress, though there was also a jazz bagpiper. 7.14.16 Jazz piper

 

 

 

 

7.8.16 with Kathleen Renk-009

 

Sometimes it was not clear what was going on, as with the drum group on the steps of the National Museum of Scotland. The drumming was great.

 

 

The parade for the opening of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival that precedes the overall Edinburgh Festival, was also full of character.

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The most unusual site we visited was the Dazzle Ship at the Prince of Wales Dock in Leith. A combination of history and art, the MV Fingal was repainted by artist Ciara Phillips as a tribute to the “dazzle” ship painting used during WWI. 7.24.16 Leith-003The original idea was not to disguise ships but to distract and confuse anyone viewing them through a telescope. Sadly, there is no evidence that the system worked at all, but the resulting ships were a distinctive landmark of the war. At least 2000 ships were painted in this way in Several ships have been “dazzled” by artists as part of a project sponsored by a number of UK institutions as part of this year’s centenary commemoration of WWI.

7.24.16 Leith-006verThe Fingal was a supply ship of the Northern Lighthouse Board, built in 1963, to ply the coast of Scotland and later the Orkneys, resupplying remote towns and lighthouses until 2000. Now owned by the Royal Yacht Brittania Trust (the Fingal is docked just around the corner from the former royal yacht), the Fingal is scheduled to become luxury hotel accommodations in 2018. Really?

 

Calton Hill

02 Tuesday Aug 2016

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7.3.16 Edinburgh Royal Mile-012sm

From many places around Edinburgh, you can see monuments on Calton Hill. Here is what you see from the Old Town. It’s a very romantic view.

 

 

 

 

There is a tower, a dome or two, and even some Grecian columns, a failed effort to duplicate the Parthenon in Edinburgh.

7.29.16 Calton Hill-004

During the Scottish Enlightement (18th century), the city called itself the Athens of the North, and the structure is officially the National Monument of Scotland (also, Edinburgh’s Disgrace, as it was never completed).

 

A stroll up Calton Hill seemed like pleasant walking, little did we know that it is full of monuments.

7.29.16 Calton Hill-003smAt the top, we could see not only the Parthenon, but all kinds of other buildings. It reminded me of being at a World’s Fair. Lots of other people, including a tour group from Spain, were enjoying the day with us. Jonathan practiced his hobby of offering to take group photos for people. He had lots of takers. In addition to the Parthenon, there is the Edinburgh Astronomy Society observatory and at least one other dome.

An art collective is renovating the old city observatory property as an art center. It’s very promising that their first act on the way to raising funds and planning what to do was to put up scaffolding so that visitors can see over the wall into the observatory grounds. Apparently, that has never been possible before.

7.29.16 Calton Hill-018 There’s nothing inside except the overgrown lawn and the same building you can see from outside, but it is fun to see “inside”.

7.29.16 Calton Hill-023In addition to the monuments, on Calton Hill is the only surviving private home built by James Craig, original architect of New Town Edinburgh. This home, Observatory House, was briefly the city observatory, then provided housing to astronomers using the nearby observatory designed by Wm. Henry Playfair, another esteemed Scottish architect. Today Observatory House is being renovated for rental as a luxury vacation spot—the only lodging on Calton Hill.

Looking outward from Calton is a panorama of Edinburgh. On the left is Holyrood Palace and behind it is Arthur’s Seat in Holyrood Park. On the right, you can see the Salisbury Crags with the new Scottish Parliament (the hedgehog building is part of it).

Turn to the right and you see the Dugald Stewart monument with Old Town Edinburgh beyond, marked by the crown steeple of St. Giles Cathedral and many other steeples.

7.29.16 Calton Hill-020 7.29.16 Calton Hill-002Turning again offers New Town, where you can see neat rows of stone houses. Beyond New Town is Leith, the docks and waterfront of the Firth of Forth, with Inchkeith island  in the distance.

 

With that you’ve completed a 360º tour of Edinburgh, all from Calton Hill.

So many castles,

29 Friday Jul 2016

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In the Edinburgh area, there are so many castles and palaces that are on the “must-see” list that it would take a solid week to see them all. Over the past month, we’ve visited Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, Linlithgow Castle and Rosslyn Chapel, and have passed up visiting the others. I’ve already mentioned Edinburgh Castle, and the most memorable aspect of Holyrood is that the Queen still stays there periodically. Of the interior, I only remember that we passed a beautiful figured granite table. The ruins are impressive, and the archaeological remains of Holyrood Abbey are clearly marked in the sod behind the ruins of a later abbey. The sequence of Palace, ruined abbey and archaeological remain of the older abbey are visually impressive.

7.19.16 Holyrood Palace-001

 

All of Holyrood Park extends beyond the castle as far as Arthur’s Seat, a beautiful setting.

We managed to stay out of the rain during our visit.

The chevrons on the archway below show that it dates to Norman times, possibly around 1128 when the Augustinian Holyrood Abbey was founded.

7.19.16 Holyrood Palace-016a

 

 

 

 

Next up in our castle itinerary was Linlithgow. It’s not far from Edinburgh, most easily accessible by train. Crossing the village to the castle is only a short walk and it is a postcard-pretty place.

7.25.16 Linlithgow Castle-005The village and the ruined castle are full of interesting details like the elaborate well in the photo above.

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We enjoyed the ruins more than we would probably have enjoyed another set of furnished rooms. Plus, it seems that you’re never allowed to photograph restored interiors. There is a spacious park and a small loch by Linlithgow. The walk around the park is about 5 miles, and would be perfect on a warm day. We were dodging showers of rain and contented ourselves with a short walk along the loch and tea in the town.

There is a bit of controversy in Linlithgow. The church was first constructed in 1242, and after many changes, the crown spire (similar to that on St. Giles in Edinburgh) was dismantled for fear of its collapse. The spire was replaced in 1964 with a contemporary aluminum steeple that some say is out of character with the village and castle.

We didn’t make it to Stirling Castle. As they say, “So many castles, so little time.”

I did make the trip out to Rosslyn Chapel, partly in homage to the DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, and partly to see the chapel’s rightly famous detailed stonework.

7.26.16 Rosslyn ChapelOnce again, the restored interior cannot be photographed and the postcards don’t do it justice. The carving is really, really intricate, beyond all reason or prudence, which is what makes it so much fun to look at. There are lots of “Green Man” carvings peeking out from under a leaf or chewing on a stem, alongside pillars carved with twisting designs or detailed flowers. Carved projections line the stone ribs of the chapel ceiling. It’s a fantasy, with no surviving plans. Built by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, the meticulous stonework required 40 years of work, and the overall project ended at the death of the Earl. His intention had been to complete a much larger church. We can enjoy what he was able to accomplish.

Restoration of the chapel from a ruin took place a couple of times during the 1900s, most recently in 1995. The movie of the DaVinci Code may have saved the chapel from long term ruin by increasing the number of visitors. Now thoroughly restored, the chapel is in good condition for now. It’s difficult to predict what will happen over centuries.

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The trip to Rosslyn Chapel highlighted the good and bad of a weekly/monthly bus pass. Yes, travel to Rosslyn was included on my bus pass. No, it wasn’t rapid, taking almost an hour, well, maybe a bit more than an hour each way. The village of Roslin is only 6 miles south of central Edinburgh. Buses are reliable, but not fast.

One Spectacular Day

29 Friday Jul 2016

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The weather was absolutely perfect. The sky was clear and bright blue and the sun shone. We walked on a path along the Water of Leith, a stream really, to get to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The entrance was inviting. Can you believe we’re in the middle of the city?

The exhibit on Surrealism was so good that you didn’t have to have any particular interest in the topic to enjoy the art, the explanations, the description of the three particular collectors whose donations have made Edinburgh’s collections on Surrealism one of the world’s finest.

The permanent collection includes Scottish artists and other works, though we were most attracted to the sculpture on the lawn, itself sculpted into a piece of landscape art. Signs indicate that you are allowed to walk on the sculpture. There is a somewhat arty play area for kids. It’s a very welcoming museum. There’s even some sculpture by women.

Conversation with Magic Stones
by Barbara Hepworth. It looks archaeological.

Conversation with Magic Stones              by Barbara Hepworth. It looks archaeological.

At the end of the day, the sun still shone, but the wind picked up and blew clouds fast across the sky, the air cooled and I could feel the cold on my cheeks. We’d had a day of all-out, full on summer, and yet I could already feel autumn in the air. Yes, there was one hot day two weeks ago–but that would make summer have lasted two days in total, if clouds and rain don’t count. That may be it for summer in Scotland.

Edinburgh: Men on plinths

25 Monday Jul 2016

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Yes, there is a statue of Queen Victoria that dominates all of Princes Street from its perch on top of the Scottish National Academy. However, the rest of Edinburgh hosts an unusual number of life-size or larger statues of men. Some of the figures are more recognizable than others.

August 16, 2016

It turns out that men on plinths is not just an Edinburgh phenomenon.

8.6.16 Dumfries-001But surprise!, it’s Robert Burns (again).

In southern Scotland, animals are an alternative to men.

Kirkudbright has kelpies.
Moffat’s sheep

Kelpies are malevolant water spirits in Scottish mythology that are impossible to tame, but if caught, have the power of ten horses. This story was recast by artist Andy Scott as two monumental horse heads 30 ft high that now stand by a canal in Falkirk, Scotland. The figures have become so popular that a pair travel around Scotland, spending time in many communities. This summer a pair of kelpies is in Kirkudbright, near us.

Become your favorite character for a day in Edinburgh

23 Saturday Jul 2016

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As readers of Alexander McCall Smith and Ian Rankin, each of whom set their stories in and around Edinburgh, it was easy to find landmarks that relate to the work of both authors.

7.18.16 AMS tourIn the background of the photo you see here is the street sign for Scotland Street. (There is no number 44). The series               44 Scotland Street recounts the goings-on of the people who live at that address. I think Lillian’s favorite is Bertie, the precocious, saxophone-playing little boy.

 

Thanks to a quiz app on Lillian’s cell phone, we had a pleasant introduction to the New Town and the landmarks used in the books. It was a bit surreal to find there really is a “Flotarium” (sensory deprivation tanks in which you float in salt water in the dark). The Cafe St. Honore is a couple of turns off a main street, with a charming facade.

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The photo is from the restaurant’s web page.

 

 

 

We passed the Queen Street Gardens, which unlike the gardens along Princes Street, are private, behind locked gates.

7.18.16 AMS tour-005This made it a bit difficult to answer one of the questions on our tour app, (the inscription associated with this statue), but never mind. I’m sure there is some historic explanation, though I don’t much like the fact that a very extensive garden covers several downtown blocks yet is not open to visitors. Blog post discussion of Edinburgh’s private parks:

Edinburgh’s private parks–David Hill (The New Town Flaneur blog)

7.18.16 AMS tour-003

New Town is called a masterwork of city planning, though it almost seems overly spacious to me. We found lovely neighborhoods in addition to the long streets of Georgian stone houses. I think I’d prefer a cozy mews to a stately home.

 

7.22.16 New Town-001

 

 

A true manifestation of “location, location, location” are the apartments that are two stories below street level. You’ve heard of a walk-up. How about a walk-down?

7.18.16 AMS tour-009

 

 

 

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is one of the museums that the characters of 44 Scotland Street like, and it is also a favorite of Isabel Dalhousie, of the Sunday Philosophy series, also by Alexander McCall Smith. I like Isabel, and was happy to see the self-portrait of Samuel Peploe, among her favorite Scottish artists. Lillian and Neil decided to take a selfie with him.

7.18.16 AMS tour-002

By this time, we were ready for a break, and it had to be at Valvona & Crolla, a venerable Edinburgh institution, and a favorite of Bertie and his mom. An early importer of fine Italian food, I thought we were mistaken about finding a cafe when we walked in. A long case lines one side, but if you keep walking and don’t get distracted by the meat and cheese, you turn a corner and go up a few steps and Voila! there is the cafe.  Everything was delicious.

 

That stop completed the McCall Smith tour, though I did go to Bruntsfield, Isabel’s domain. I didn’t see Isabel there, but she could have gone by, pushing Charlie in his stroller, while we were having coffee. At George Hughes & Son Fish, we bought some excellent Scottish salmon and some smoked haddock that with some bacon, onions, potatoes and a dash of double cream made a delicious chowder.

We haven’t embarked specifically on an Ian Rankin tour. I had my hair cut by a woman who lives in his neighborhood and says he does sometimes show up at the pub (“He can be a bit cranky,” she says.) I do enjoy seeing bits of Edinburgh that overlap with his writing. Now I know what they see when he and Siobean go out for a drive around Arthur’s Seat. I’ve seen Fettes Street (where the main police offices are located), and I’ve passed Gayfield Square and even St. Leonard’s (other police outposts in his books). I know that the Oxford Bar, his main character John Rebus’ watering hole, is visited by readers almost every night, but I think I’ll pass. I don’t want to make him cranky….7.21.16 Old Town-001

 

 

 

 

 

Ignore the menu, it’s Fleshmarket Close, site of one of Ian Rankin’s novels. There could be some very creepy stuff down there after dark.

 

It’s a great city for readers and their imaginations.

Museums and more museums

19 Tuesday Jul 2016

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The good weather having deserted us, we headed indoors to check out some of the museums of Edinburgh. We started at the Scottish National Gallery, where we admired art from the Renaissance to 1900.

7.15.16 national gallery of scotland-002

It’s a traditional art museum and we enjoyed the broad range of work.

(The Scottish National Academy is nearby, but we didn’t get there yet.)

 

 

We moved uphill to the National Museum of Scotland, an enormous natural history museum. On my first visit, I saw the current exhibit on the Celts. It is very extensive, with objects from Bulgaria to the Orkney Islands.

gold-torcHere’s a piece from Scotland, part of the Blair torcs find (also called the Stirling torcs). The four neck-rings, or torcs, were found by a metal detectorist in 2009. The UK policy toward archaeological finds by amateur treasure hunters, mostly with metal detectors, differs from that in the US. There is a clear policy that defines what is considered “treasure” and what must be reported. Portable Antiquities Scheme–UK

In the UK, finds must be reported, but are then evaluated and the nation has right of first refusal (the government can purchase the items). After being valued at over £400,000 the four “Blair torcs” were acquired for the National Museums of Scotland with funds raised by a public appeal. All four torcs are part of the “Celts” exhibit.

[In the US, metal detecting is only permitted (legal) on private land. Anything found belongs to the landowner and does not need to be reported. Anything found on federal land is the property of the US government and is a felony to remove.] There is a lot more cooperation between detectorists and government in the UK than in the US

For comic relief, see the British TV comedy, The Detectorists. It’s on Netflix.

I have now seen ALL the Lewis chessmen. The mournful – comic faces of these characters have charmed many museum visitors over the years.   I’ve seen those held by the British Museum (they have 82 of the 93 known) and now I’ve seen the 11 at the National Museum of Scotland. There are enough pieces for at least four chess sets, and ironically (based on our recent travels) they are believed to have been carved in Trondheim, northern Norway, in the 1200s.

7.15.16 National Museum of Scotland-006smThe figures were discovered in 1831, in a stone cist built into a dune on the beach at Uig (Isle of Lewis). There is enough speculation about when and why to fill several mystery stories, though at the time, the coast of Scotland was controlled by Vikings, and its suggested the pieces were property of a merchant who may have intended to sell them to wealthy local leaders in Ireland. It is remarkable that they have only been divided into two groups over the years. They are carved from walrus ivory (teeth). Notice the center figure is biting his shield, a characteristic of Scandinavian “berserkers,” though as a chess piece it is a rook. There are excellent close ups of these figures. Lewis chessmen close-up views, National Museum of Scotland

There is also a detailed account of the chessmen on Wikipedia. Wikipedia–Lewis chessmen

7.15.16 National Museum of Scotland

The National Museum of Scotland is loaded with other exhibits and activities, including a wacky clock that chimes every hour–lasting about 15 minutes–with whirling figures and flashing lights.

 

 

 

 

Our next museum stop was the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The portrait gallery was built to be shared with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, which it did until 2009. The structure has a shimmering frieze of figures from Scottish history that looks like something from a Byzantine church, busts of famous Scotsmen, and a small, more recent exhibit of famous Scotswomen.

There are many more museums to see in Edinburgh, and plenty of rainy days to enjoy them.

Plants and Animals, the Royal Botanical Garden and the Edinburgh Zoo

15 Friday Jul 2016

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Two days of sunny weather let us take advantage of the natural world in Edinburgh, the Royal Botanical Garden, and the Edinburgh zoo. Both have their high points. The Botanical Garden is very large and has many different gardens, though I misread Scottish Heath Garden as Scottish Heather Garden, and was mildly disappointed until I figured that out. The flowers were all in bloom, though a grounds keeper told us he thinks it is at its best in May when the rhododendrons are blooming.

There were trees with interesting shapes.

Sculpture and artwork is included in a number of places. 7.13.16 Royal Bot Garden-008

 

 

 

Jonathan wanted to play the aeolian harp, but he couldn’t quite reach the strings.

 

 

 

 

We saw a wild animal in the bushes, possibly stalking a fat pigeon.

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Despite the fact that this looks like a panther, it is a cat at the botanical gardens.

 

 

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We thoroughly enjoyed our stroll around the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

On we went to the Edinburgh Zoo.

There were many fun parts of our zoo visit. The movie celebrities were entertaining.

The Edinburgh Zoo makes it clear that it is heavily involved in research and conservation. It participates in projects in Scotland and all over the world. It also holds animals that are not commonly seen. That way it doesn’t directly compete with the very largest zoos, though they do have a giant panda. We dutifully went to look, but the female is off display because of breeding, and the male had just lumbered out of sight when we arrived. I guess it’s pandacam for us.

We did see the bald ibises that we were unable to see in Morocco, their largest remaining breeding area. They aren’t lovely, but there is a flock in Edinburgh and we could see their peculiar bald heads.

Another species we saw in Morocco has adapted well to Edinburgh, the Barbary macaque. The “wild” macaques (unconfined might be more accurate) we saw begging by the road in Morocco were obese from eating food provided by visitors. 7.14.16 Edinburgh zoo-014sm

The group in the Edinburgh zoo was livelier. This young macaque was chewing his way through a rope end. The zoo also participates in a chimpanzee project in Uganda. I even saw a Callimico monkey, from Bolivia, where my former colleague Leila Porter studies them.

 

There were a pair of dik-diks, each the size of a fawn, and a pudu, a Chilean species that I had never heard of before.

A local rarity is the Scottish wild cat. This animal has a tough time keeping its dignity, because it looks exactly like a tabby cat unless you look VERY very closely. I even read a conservation article that questions how many resources should be invested in saving this endangered species if it isn’t certain there are any left that aren’t part house cat.

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I have to admit, the differences are slight enough that I think some DNA testing is in order.

The penguins are always fun and Edinburgh has a large colony of gentoo, rockhopper and King penguins. The penguins go for a walk every day led by keepers, but (!),

“Please Note:

The penguin parade is run on an entirely voluntary basis. It is the penguins choice to take part, we do not encourage them with food. Unfortunately this does mean that occasionally the parade is cancelled if they do not wish to go out.” (Edinburgh zoo web site)

I also love all the birds. We saw the world’s largest pigeons, who strolled right out under visitors’ feet, a large stork, Chilean flamingos far from home, and scarlet ibis that you can see if you visit Trinidad (or northern South America).

The zoo property was purchased from a private owner in the early 20th century and the elaborate house is still present, right in the middle of the grounds. It’s now used as an event venue, “The Mansion.”

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It is the kind of house that a child looks at and says, “I want to live in that house in the zoo.” I agree.

 

 

The hike to Arthur’s Seat

13 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by in Edinburgh, Lillian

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A good park takes planning and Holyrood Park began as a hunting preserve long before 1541 when James V enclosed the area with a wall. Though adjacent to Holyrood Palace at the east end of the Royal Mile (where the Queen was recently in residence), the former hunting grounds are now a world-class park that encompasses Arthur’s Seat, a popular walk to the highest point overlooking Edinburgh. 7.12.16 Arthurs Seat.16 Arthurs Seat-016Arthur’s Seat is the remains of the heart of a volcano, highly eroded over the years and scraped by glaciers during the ice age. There are a few low junipers and grasses. (There are also gorse bushes, but I haven’t seen any. As a reader of Winnie-the-Pooh, I must see some.) It’s the high point Holyrood Park, 650 acres now surrounded by Edinburgh and its suburbs. We took only one walk of many possible paths that include several slightly lower hills and an area of cliffs, the Salisbury Crags. There is historic significance here, too, as James Hutton, the father of modern geology, made some of the observations that led him to propose the theory of uniformitarianism from viewing the geology of the area. He concluded that the earth’s crust, the surface of the land, was formed by continuing processes over long periods of time.

  • At the time, this was a fundamental, crucial change in thinking, because the history of the world was still viewed as very recent, so Hutton had to brave criticism of those who believed strongly and devoutly that the world was only a few thousand year old. Unimaginably long periods of time before people existed was rarely even discussed.
  • Hutton recognized that erosion and deposition along with volcanic action could explain the layers seen in any geological cross-section. It changed geology from the observation of curious features to a puzzle that could be solved. Based on Hutton’s principle, any section, even any landscape, could be explained by tracing the sequence of deposition and erosion. Geologists and archaeologists still rely on the underlying significance of uniformitarianism.

Guidebooks tell you the walk to Arthur’s Seat takes 45 minutes. That figure assumes you won’t be stopping to take photos, chat, look around,or breathe. We did all those things, so it took us a bit longer, but the view was excellent, the day was perfect, cool and comfortable, and there was no rain. The upper part of the route is uneven underfoot, slick from wear and rain in places, with exposed rock waiting to trip you. We got to the top and back without any (additional) twisted ankles, but it is not a hike for everyone, despite the deceptively smooth green view from a distance.

At places, it’s surprising to remember that we are within the city. The park seems vast when you are in the center. (I dreamed of an endless green landscape afterward.) Yet the city is just over the hill in every direction.

We made it to the top where we promptly took a selfie, now posted on Facebook. What you don’t see from my bucolic photos is the number of other people on the same walk. It shows you how we edit what we see and experience.

7.12.16 Arthurs seat aYou can have a personal stroll to Arthur’s Seat despite the hundred or so other visitors coming and going.

7.12.16 Arthurs Seat.16 Arthurs Seat-019

Lillian’s hair loved the top of Arthur’s Seat. It stood up and did a dance.