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Helen Rose’s Outdoor Diary: Edinburgh.

December 2024

In the autumn, the Glasgow Health Culture Rambling Club organised a walk in Edinburgh travelling on the Citylink coach from Glasgow. As the group were all over 60, we had concession cards giving free bus travel in Scotland. When we left Glasgow, it was sunny but as we approached Edinburgh there was a thick haar from the North Sea – Edinburgh is on the east coast of Scotland. Very different from last month when I wrote about the sunny weather on the North Sea at St Andrews. In Scotland, we regard mist as atmospheric!

Regent Stones

I know Edinburgh well having spent a lot of time there over the years, attending the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe which is now the largest arts fringe event in the world. There is always something new to discover and on our way to the main part of the walk, we stopped at The Stones of Scotland in Regent Road Park. Completed in 2002. it includes a circle of stones from each of the 32 Councils in Scotland, poetry by Hugh MacDiarmid and others, and links to the Scottish Parliament.

Arthur’s Seat

We walked through the city to Arthur’s Seat. It is sometimes said that its name is derived from legends pertaining to King Arthur, such as the reference in Y Gododdin, a Welsh poem of the 6^th Century referring to North East England and South East Scotland. Some support for this may be provided by several other hilltop and mountaintop features in Britain which bear the same or similar names, such as the peak of Ben Arthur (the Cobbler) in the western highlands, sometimes known as Arthur’s Seat, and Arthur’s Chair on the ridge called Stone Arthur in the English Lake District. These Arthurs certainly get around! Arthur’s Seat, an ancient volcano, is the main peak of a group of hills in Edinburgh sitting 823 feet (251 metres) above sea level. There are several paths to the top and it is a gradual climb. However, it was so misty and slippery on the path, we did not reach the top. In the mist, there were no views. We descended to our lunch stop outside the Scottish Parliament building.

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) held their first debate in the new building on 7 September 2004. It was designed by Enric Miralles who said it should reflect the land it represents and the building should arise from the sloping base of Arthur’s Seat as if surging out of the rock. The Parliament has some devolved powers from the United Kingdom parliament in London. It is adjacent to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Royal Mile Statue

We left the Scottish Parliament and walked up the Royal Mile passing an interesting statue of a poet. The statue stands in tribute to Robert Fergusson, an 18th century Scottish Poet, on the Canongate. When you are walking on the Royal Mile it’s hard to miss as it stands prominently outside the entrance to the Cannongate Kirk. The Royal Mile runs uphill from The Palace of Holyroodhouse to Edinburgh Castle at the top.  Ancient buildings, cobbled closes, hidden gardens and secret underground streets offer an unforgettable visit into Edinburgh’s past. Robert Fergusson is said to have influenced our National Bard, Robert Burns, also known affectionately as Rabbie Burns and immortalised every year at Burns Suppers worldwide with the ubiquitous haggis You can read the address to the haggis on the Scottish Poetry website which is located on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.

Calton Hill

We walked uphill on a series of steps to Calton Hill which dominates the landscape. The National Monument of Scotland on Calton Hill is Scotland’s national memorial to the Scottish Soldiers and Sailors who died fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. It was intended, according to the inscription, to be “A Memorial of the Past and Incentive to the Future Heroism of the Men of Scotland”. The monument dominates the top of Calton Hill, just to the east of Princes Street. It was designed during 1823–6 by Charles Robert Cockerell and William Henry Playfair and is modelled upon the Parthenon in Athens. Construction started in 1826 and, but due to the lack of funds, was left unfinished in 1829. It looked very atmospheric in the mist. I had always thought of the structure as a folly but on researching, I discovered it was a monument.

Parliament Beacon cairn was built to commemorate the vigil for a Scottish Parliament held at the foot of Calton Hill, and celebrating the “yes, yes” vote in favour of a Scottish Parliament in September 1997. A small plaque commemorates Jane Haining, a Scottish teacher who died at Auschwitz and another marks a stone from near the cottage of Robert Burns, the Bard, in Ayrshire.

Old Observatory

Also on Calton Hill is the old City Observatory, the birthplace of astronomy and timekeeping in Edinburgh. The oldest surviving building on the site is the rounded gothic tower which now forms part of Observatory House, a remnant of the first attempt to build an observatory on top of the Hill in the 1770s. The Old Observatory building is now used by an Arts Collective with an arts and crafts shop but the chair and telescope remains of the Observatory. The new observatory is on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh.

The impressive 18th century building designed by and once inhabited by New Town architect James Craig is one of the best surviving examples of Craig’s architecture. Although originally built as a family house, the building was used by astronomers for a short period of time as the Old Observatory until William Playfair built the City Observatory building nearby in 1818.

Café Royal

On our way back to the bus station we stopped at a very famous Edinburgh pub, the Café Royal.  Café Royal remains one of the grand salons of Edinburgh. Scotland’s oldest oyster bar was founded in 1826 on West Register Street, a short dash from Waverley Station and Princes Gardens. The Victorian Baroque setting, with stained glass, dark mahogany wood, plush booths and an ornate circular bar, has been reinvigorated with modern Scottish, produced food to be ordered at the bar including oysters.

Thanks to Maisie for organising and leading the walk in such an historic city.

Coming attractions. Grantown on Spey and Huelva Province in Spain

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