18 August 2023
Small wonder that Edinburgh was so expensive and I had opted to stay in Glasgow instead – I arrived on my day trip to find the city even more packed than usual as my visit coincided with both the Royal Military Edinburgh Tattoo and the Edinburgh Festival. I seemed to be the only visitor to the city who was there primarily for another reason than to attend these events.
I began by walking from the station to the iconic castle past hordings advertising the famous, infamous and of course people I’d never heard of who might or might not be past, present or future celebrities.
I was able to walk into the Castle Esplanade and then out again to emerge at the top end of the Royal Mile, which connects the castle with the palace of Holyrood House and the Scottish Parliament Building.
The Royal Mile is based in the Old Town and within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I could have spent all day exploring this area especially as there are museums to visit, but my main objective was to complete the climb to Arthur’s Seat.
There are multiple small shops selling every Scottish souvenir you could think of from cheap imitations right through to traditional high quality kilt makers and, of course, whisky. There are even at least two dedicated Christmas shops. Multiple cafés and other eating places line the route. It was packed with tourists and people trying to persuade everyone else to attend their fringe events later in the day.
There are also numerous passages off the main street. These were remarkably calm and quiet. I saw a section of the town wall, old quadrangles, peaceful gardens and multiple small offices. In places, the old buildings line the main street but behind this façade are very functional looking modern buildings.
I explored one passageway including a monument to the polymath Sir Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) biologist, sociologist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He used what were then innovative ideas in planning both in Scotland and abroad: “diagnostic survey” and “conservative surgery”. This included upgrading and renewing rundown areas of dilapidated housing, ugly and unhealthy quarters, congested and narrow lanes, and natural systems that had fallen into disuse without adopting drastic and expensive measures to remove or destroy them. He believed that it was necessary to live and study in an area in order to make an assessment, so moved his own home from the New Town to a place in the Old Town of Edinburgh where “squalor had reigned for at least half a century”. He created green spaces and preserved historic buildings in the Old Town whilst gently weeding out derelict buildings. This way of working conserved the Old Town for the future whilst removing slum housing and associated dereliction.
I visited Dunbar’s Close Garden which was developed, after the site was cleared of slum buildings in the 1960s and had been acquired by the Mushroom Trust in the 1970s, with a view to creating a public open space. The area was designed to suggest the spirit and layout of a seventeenth century garden.
Eventually I arrived at Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament Buildings. I noted that the EU flag continues to fly outside the Scottish Parliament.
I rested, sitting on a seat looking towards the imposing Salisbury Crags. The path above these crags was my first objective.
From there, I continued to walk above the crags and then, rather than making the more direct ascent up the zig-zag path, I walked below Arthur’s seat and climbed a path from the east to reach the summit. The last push to the trig point was actually quite precarious.
The summit was packed with people! However the views were wonderful including lots of places I had visited recently including Ben Lomond, Isle of May and the Bass Rock.
I left on the zig-zag path heading to a small unnamed hillock that was almost deserted and then to Crow Hill which was even less busy. From there I walked towards Whinny Hill, which was also very quiet.
I descended towards Queen’s Drive and reached St Margaret’s Loch from where I climbed up to St Anthony’s Chapel – a popular spot but not as busy as the summit. The chapel was built by the monks from Kelso Abbey and was a place of pilgrimage for people with skin problems.
As I arrived back near the Scottish Parliament Buildings, some American tourists asked me how long it had taken me to climb to Arthur’s Seat and back. They were clearly unimpressed with my honest answer of a few hours – although I went on to explain that I had taken rather a circuitous route!
I decided to visit the Scottish Parliament Building. My walking boots set off the alarm going through the airport-style security so I had to be “wanded”, but it was all very welcoming and friendly. In addition to seeing committee rooms, the main debating chamber and an exhibition explaining the role and history of the Parliament, there was also a special exhibition – the World Press Photo Exhibition. I didn’t look at everything but the photos I did see certainly gave food for thought and reflection – including the overall winner. This showed an injured pregnant woman being carried on a stretcher from a Ukrainian maternity hospital damaged during a Russian airstrike. Her baby, named Miron (after the word for “peace”) was stillborn and half an hour later the mother died as well. There were many photos considering different aspects of global warming and conservation as well as pictures exploring oppression of different groups of people. Amazingly, admission to look at the Scottish parliament building and the exhibition was all free! There was a lovely café too.
I returned to the Royal Mile. As I walked up the street, I spotted many features that I had missed in the morning. There is a lot to see! I didn’t think that I could possibly do justice to the National Museum of Scotland so that will have to wait for another visit. However I went round the Museum of Childhood which is an impressive collection of toys, games and artefacts relating to British childhoods.
I also stopped to watch some street performers, part of the Edinburgh Fringe, as they put on amazing acts of balance, juggling and entertaining.
Not only had I achieved my planned adventure to explore Holyrood Park and climb to Arthur’s Seat but I had been able to walk the Royal Mile, visit the Scottish Parliament and more in this vibrant and busy city.
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