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Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood
Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of
Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above
the city to a height of 251 m (823 feet), provides excellent panoramic views of
the city, is quite easy to climb, and is a popular walk. Though it can be
climbed from almost any direction, the easiest and simplest ascent is from the
East, where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch.
Many claim that its name is a derivation of a myriad of legends pertaining to
King Arthur, such as the reference in Y Gododdin. However it has also been
claimed that the name is a corruption of the phrase "Archer's Seat" on the
supposition that the rock was a significant point of city defence in the Middle
Ages.
View of
Arthur's Seat from Room 5
Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park is a royal park in central
Edinburgh, Scotland. It is regarded as a microcosm of Scottish scenery, with a
stunning array of hills, lochs, glens, ridges, basalt cliffs, and patches of
whin packed into its landscape. The park includes Holyrood Palace, Arthur's
Seat, the Salisbury Crags, St Margaret's Loch, Dunsapie Loch, Duddingston Loch,
St Margaret's Well, St Antony's Well and St Anthony's Chapel. It was also called
King's Park and now Queen's Park.
The main route through the Park is closed on Sundays to motor vehicles
Salisbury Crags
The Salisbury Crags are a series of 150 foot
cliffs at the top of a subsidiary spur of Arthurs Seat which rise in the middle
of Holyrood Park. Below the foot of the cliffs is a large and steep talus slope
falling to the floor of Holyrood Park with a track known as the Radical Road
running in the space between the two. This track was given its name after it was
paved in the aftermath of the Radical War of 1820, using the labour of
unemployed weavers from the west of Scotland at the suggestion of Walter
Scott.[2]
The cliffs are formed from steep dolerite and columnar basalt and have a long
history of rock climbing on their faces starting from the earliest days of the
sport and leading to a number of traditional climbing and sport climbing routes
being recorded. In recent years the Park Police (previously under the auspices
of the Royal Estate and now Historic Scotland, who have taken over management of
the park) have attempted to regulate access to the cliffs for climbing. One now
needs to apply for a permit,free of charge, at the education centre to the east
of the park in order to be allowed to climb. There is still some activity,
though most of it is bouldering rather than free climbing. The finest areas are
in the two quarries, although it is only in the south quarry that climbing is
still permitted at this time. The South Quarry contains the Black Wall, a well
known bouldering testpiece in the Edinburgh climbing scene. On a somewhat less
cheerful note, the Crags are a popular suicide spot.
96
Dalkeith Road,
Newington, Edinburgh,
EH16 5AF, Scotland,
United Kingdom (UK)
+44
(0) 131 667 1244
clanwalker@ymail.com
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