Arthur's Seat

It was another brilliant spring day forecast and my good lady wanted to join me for a shortish walk today. As we are still in Edinburgh a safe option is Arthur's Seat where we are guaranteed good views. The only downside is that this extinct volcano can be a very popular place on a day like this, particularly as it is still the school holidays.

The Gardens

We travel by bus into Edinburgh, getting off at the West End so that we can start our walk in Princes Street Gardens. There cannot be many cities where the main shopping street has the stupendous view this one offers looking out over the gardens and up to the Castle.
There are already a few holidaymakers around as well as a few workers heading towards their offices and shops, poor souls. We head to the base of the castle and follow one of the paths that meanders upwards leading to the castle esplanade. There are already a few souls regretting their decisions to go up this way, it may be short but it is steep.

St Giles

Spend some time taking in the views from either side of the esplanade, this is always a pleasure. The tourist numbers are ramped up now, if we had a pound for every snap being taken. Why does every Japanese carry a selfie?
The route to Arthur's seat goes straight down the Royal Mile. Have a look at the menus of the bars and restaurants and choose tonight's stop. Also you must take the time out to have a look inside St Giles cathedral. It is magnificent building and you certainly don't need to be religious to admire it. The number of war memorials inside listing the dead and wounded of long forgotten military campaigns are just amazing. Its interesting to see how many died of illness as opposed to the fighting.
Just a bit further down on the same side of the street is the Heart of Midlothian mosaic on the pavement. The badge of Hearts FC is based on this.

Salisbury Crags

Now the Royal Mile narrows into the Canongate, the buildings on either side encroach, the shops are full of tourist paraphernalia, local jewellery and cafes/bars.

At the bottom of the mile there is the Royal Palace, never had an invite to one of the Queens garden parties and across the road is the Scottish Parliament building, it is fair to say the design does not appeal to everyone and I am not a fan.

However today my sights are set on the view ahead of Salisbury crags and the start of our ascent. You can go a bit further south and take the path directly to the top but we go along the side of these crags, it is quieter and you get good views all the way up. 

Parliament buildings

After ascending and going along the crags you come back down again, which disappointed Mrs B but the views of the city are top drawer. You can spend a long time trying to identify all that you can see. Also from this angle you can now see Arthur's Seat, people are already at the summit.

The castle from the crags

We join a formal track and start the short sharp climb. With it being such a nice day there are a lot of people around but I knew the other route on the other side would be even busier. Up we go, the lungs are breathing deeper, the views are getting better. I hear a child cry and see a male trying to come down a totally unsuitable crag in the rocks, no path no holds and a terrified child. Thankfully they edge there way down but there one kid who hated her day thanks to her stupid parent.

Arthur's Seat

We reach the summit plateau but before climbing to the very busy trig we go across to the other crag where nobody else is around. You get excellent views from here so do it yourself. Arthur's Seat is a volcano and you get a good appreciation of the rock formation inside the crater.

With a heavy heart we go to join the mobs on the summit. It is 251 metres but with the climb up Salisbury Crag our climb will be about 350 metres. The rocks are surprisingly slippy, worn shiny by all the feet on them, makes us think about how interesting it would be on a damp wet day. Photos taken and time to head down the other tourist path towards Dunsapie Loch.

Leith and beyond

There is now an ant trail heading up the hill that we are descending. There is no doubt that for many that the ascent was a better idea in the pub last night than today's reality. A group of four hill runners go jogging past uphill at a good rate. Even a mountain biker goes past, not sure how high he is going but it looks hard work for him. There are a few of the ants significantly breathing heavily and with still a way to go.

Path from Dunsapie Loch

For us it is a pleasant descent and time to be tourists. We head for Cafe Truva which is just up Canongate, it is a Turkish cafe where you get a nice lunch, a bit different from the norm and on a fine day like this there are outside tables to people watch. If you just want coffee & cake there are plenty of options to entice you.
Arthur's Seat is a great short walk with fantastic panoramic views across Edinburgh and far beyond. Just don't expect to have it to yourself, sadly it is not a hidden secret.