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EdinburghHolyrood ParkHolyrood Park, to the southeast of the Old Town of Edinburgh, covers an area of 650 acres and offers a variety of landscapes in the centre of the city itself - and the possibility to forget the fact that you are actually in a city. It was formerly known as the King’s Park, and is now also referred to as the Queen’s Park, as the reigning monarch officially owns it; it was originally a royal hunting estate, which King James V had enclosed around 1540. In the mid-19th century Prince Albert planned for the park to become more accessible, which included laying out roads that we use today. At the same time two lochs were created, St. Margaret’s to the north and Dunsapie to the east. In 1832 the park had been considered as the site for a cemetery, but that was never built – instead the park is now protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The path that follows the ridge immediately below the crags is known as the Radical Road, which was built in 1820. Sir Walter Scott suggested the name as people who held radical political views were used to build it. Following the same direction as the Radical Road, the Queen’s Drive passes Our Dynamic Earth on its way to the St. Leonard’s area. From there the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway, also known as the Innocent Railway, used to run via a steeply inclined tunnel, which skirted the park, to Duddingston and beyond. Continuing round Queen's Drive leads to a roundabout near the southern point of the Salisbury Crags. From there a road leading to Duddingston passes Samson's Ribs, a group of basalt pillars similar to those on the Hebridean Island of Staffa. Nearby Duddingston Loch is the largest loch in the park and the only natural stretch of water. It is also a bird sanctuary. Beyond this roundabout is Powderhouse Corner, at the southern end of the Radical Road, where The Hawse can be found. This is a gap in the rocks, which leads to a path heads north across the park. To the east of this are the Echoing Rocks.
Continuing north, the road heads round Whinny Hill, in the northeast corner of the park, to St. Margaret’s Loch – the second of the two man-made lochs. Above the loch, beside the small hill known as Haggis Knowe, stand the remains of St. Anthony’s Chapel, which is believed to date from the mid-15th century. To the west of the loch, near the start of the Radical Road, is St. Margaret’s Well. |
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The
park is dominated by the hill commonly referred to as Arthur’s Seat, which is an
extinct volcano in the middle of the park and Edinburgh’s most prominent
landmark. Arthur’s Seat is actually the name of the highest peak (251m/823 ft)
and, along with Nether Hill, resembles a crouching lion when seen from the west;
Nether Hill is also referred to as the Lion’s Haunch for this reason. A number
of paths lead to the summit of the hill, with the easiest approach being from
the east, starting at Dunsapie Loch. Views from the top cover the entire city,
as well as the Pentland Hills to the southwest and the Firth of Forth and
The
best way to approach the park is from the eastern end of the
Queen’s Drive continues round the southern end of Arthur’s
Seat before heading north to Dunsapie Loch, the first of the two man-mad lochs
in the park. To the east of the loch is Dunsapie Hill where the remains of a
small 2000-year old Iron Age fort can be found.
