PARKS & RIVERS
Edinburgh is a City built on Seven Hills & all of them are excellent for walking, although we have only mentioned a few here. Edinburgh must be the only City in the world that has a volcano near the centre of the City. Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park has evidence of human occupation since at least 2000 years ago. Elsewhere you can take a walk on Calton Hill & see its many monuments. Calton Hill is were the annual Beltane celebrations take place, though these were cancelled in 2003 due to lack of council funding but they were reinstated in 2004 with council backing. Edinburgh also has two rivers with pleasant walks. On a nice day you may just want to laze in the shade of Edinburgh Castle in Princes Street Gardens, or on a cold day you could visit the Royal Botanic Gardens in Inverleith & stay warm in the Hothouses there. If you visit Corstorphine in the west of the City (on the way from/to the airport) you can combine a visit to Edinburgh Zoo with a walk on Corstorphine hill. If you are lucky & it is open you may even be able to climb Clermiston Tower. This was built to commemorate the birth of Scottish writer & poet Sir Walter Scott.
The most readily accessible park in Edinburgh is Princes Street Gardens. Princes Street Gardens used to lie beneath the Nor Loch. This was used to dump all the sewage & rubbish from the Old Town, but by the middle of the 18th Century it had become a huge health hazard & it was eventually drained in 1763. The railway was almost built through the middle of West Princes Street Gardens in 1846, however a compromise was reached whereby it was actually concealed to the rear of the Gardens. If you cross the bridge at the rear of the Ross Bandstand which holds concerts in the summer months in West Princes Street Gardens you can climb up the hill to the Castle Esplanade. On the way there you will see the ruins of the Wellhouse of Queen Margaret which is situated at the foot of the Castle rock. You should also pay attention to the statues in West Princes Street Gardens. These include the famous Scots Allan Ramsay, Thomas Guthrie & James Young Simpson. There are also memorials to the famous Scottish army regiments, The Royal Scots Greys & The Royal Scots. Also there is the Scottish American war memorial. Make sure that you see the famous floral clock, which as the name suggests is made completely of flowers although this is only visible during the summer months.
East Princes Street Gardens are smaller than those to the west. The most obvious monument here is the Scott monument which was built in memory to the famous Edinburgh born writer & poet Sir Walter Scott. You can climb the stairs inside the monument to get great views of Edinburgh. In this part of the gardens you can also see statues erected in honour of the famous Scots David Livingstone, Adam Black & Professor John Wilson.
Calton Hill is at the east end of Princes Street. It has many monuments on it including two observatories, but the most recognisable structure is the Parthenon like structure which remains unfinished. This is known locally as Edinburgh's disgrace. It was originally began as a National Monument to the fallen of the Napoleonic Wars & was designed by Sir William Playfair, however it quickly became called Edinburgh's Disgrace when the money ran out & they were unable to complete it. The tower on the hill is the Nelson tower & was built in honour of the famous Lord Admiral Nelson of British navy fame. You can also see a monument commemorating the success in the vigil for the return of a Scottish Parliament. Scots voted overwhelmingly on September 11th 1997 for this. You can get great views all around Edinburgh & over to Fife from Calton Hill & it is a great place to view Arthur's Seat. The large classical looking building at its foot was the Old Royal High School. This was the focus in the campaign for the return of the Scottish Parliament, many people thinking that the new Parliament would be housed here, however they decided to build a new building on The Royal Mile.
Central Edinburgh is dominated by the huge extinct volcano called Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park. The area has been occupied for thousands of years & there are many signs there to show evidence of the ancient Celtic people who lived there. The original volcano was at least double the size of what remains to be seen today & it erupted during the Carboniferous period when the area was under the sea. The science of geology was pioneered here because of the many various forms of rocks to be found. From various angles it is said to resemble a lion which is resting on its haunches. The Palace of Holyroodhouse & Holyrood Abbey are within the grounds of Holyrood Park. The 800 foot high cliffs of Salisbury Crags are a dominant feature but be careful not to stray close to the edge as you may fall over! There are many theories as to how Arthur's Seat got its name, many of these relate to the legendary King Arthur & Iron Age sites have been discovered there which could help to prove this. Another is perhaps an Anglicisation of its Gaelic name Ard na Saigheid (Height of the arrows). Whatever the explanation we know it only became known as Arthur's Seat from the 15th Century onwards.
There are three Loch's within the boundary of the Park, namely St Margaret's Loch, Dunsapie Loch & Duddingston Loch. The first two were artificially created, but Duddingston Loch has existed for thousands of years & is today a nature reserve which has countless bird life to be seen. Many important archaeological finds have been recovered from its waters. At Dunsapie Loch there are remains of a prehistoric hillfort which would have been occupied by the Celtic people's & their predecessor's who lived in the area.
Above St Margaret's Loch you will find the remains of St Anthony's Chapel which date from the 15th Century. You can also see St Margaret's Well. This is now protected by a grate and was founded by King James IV in medieval times.
The Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh were created in 1670 & were originally situated next to Holyrood Palace. Its original use was as a garden of medicinal plants. It moved to its current location between 1820 & 1823. Over the years it has expanded & towards the end of the 19th Century The Hothouses were built to accommodate the many plants from exotic regions of the World, many of which had been gathered from voyages of discovery. It is an excellent place to visit, fairly near to the City Centre, but on a beautiful summers day creating a wonderful oasis of calm.
The Gardens are open every day except for 25th December & 1st January from 10am &
they close at 4pm November-
This is a large public park just to the north of the Old Town. During the Edinburgh Fringe the annual “Fringe Sunday” event is held here. Many performers from the Fringe make free shows during this time. It is also home to the Meadows Big Top with shows like The Ladyboys of Bangkok being a hit year after year.
Corstorphine Hill lies in the district of Corstorphine between the airport & the City Centre. Edinburgh Zoo can be found on its southern slope. It is a recognised nature reserve & like many of the other hills in Edinburgh is a long extinct volcano. Markings from the Bronze Age period in Scotland were found there as recently as the last decade. On top of the hill is Clermiston Tower, although this is sometimes called Corstorphine Hill Tower or Scott Tower. Corstorphine Hill can be accessed from several points, but the best place to start is Clermiston Road, because if you enter the metal gate & follow the path you will reach the Tower.
The Tower was built in 1871 by William Macfie of Dreghorn to commemorate the centenary of the birth of author Sir Walter Scott. The tower is sometimes opened to the public & if you climb the 101 steps to the top you can have some spectacular views across Edinburgh, north to the Firth of Forth and south to the Pentland Hills.
The Pentland Hills form a southern barrier to the City of Edinburgh. There are many reservoirs here providing the drinking water for the city. There are several prehistoric sites of interest to be found here, the most well known being Castlelaw Hill Fort. Spectacular views can be had from here right across Edinburgh & over to Fife before.
RIVER ALMOND & THE WATER OF LEITH
Edinburgh also has two rivers within its City limits & you can walk along both of
these. The most westerly is The River Almond & you can begin walking on this from
the Cramond Brig Hotel, which is on the road to the Forth road & rail bridges. The
walkway terminates at Cramond beach on the Firth of Forth were you can visit Cramond
Island if the tide is low, or even visit the excavations of the Roman barracks that
were unearthed there. The second of the rivers is the Water of Leith & this is more
centrally located. It runs from the Pentland Hills through the City to Leith, which
is Edinburgh's main docks area. You can walk from Balerno to Leith. The walk should
take 3-
***Disclaimer***
I take no responsibility for any of the external links on this site.