Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat

Distance	Approximate Time	Height Gain	OS Map
6 kms	02:00 (hrs:mins)	280 metres	Explorer 350: Edinburgh

Description

Holyrood Park and Arthur's Seat route map

Holyrood Park is a huge Royal Park in Edinburgh which is open to the public. It is a huge area of parkland, rough terrain, lochs, hills and crags, yet is right in the centre of Scotland's capital city. This walk is a tour of the park, visiting Salisbury Craigs, St. Anthony's Chapel, Arthur's Seat (251m) and Dunsapie Loch.

Holyrood Park is always very popular with joggers, walkers and tourists, and it's easy to see why, once you walk it. The park is a prime location, adjacent to the new Scottish Parliament and the popular visitor attraction Dynamic Earth, both of which are located at the bottom Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

The walk starts opposite the Palace of Holyroodhouse, climbing immediately and steeply to follow a path directly below the impressive Salisbury Crags, an imposing sight when viewed from the centre of the city. It then heads 'inland' down a flat valley, before climbing again to visit St. Anthony's Chapel, a ruin perched high on crags above a loch. It then turns back and climbs steeply, right up to the top of Arthur's Seat (251m). The views from the top are fantastic ? all of Edinburgh can be seen, as well as much of East Lothian, Midlothian and across the Firth of Forth to Fife. The route continues down the 'tourist route' to Dunsapie Loch, finally heading down beside the public road and around, past the lower loch, back to the start.

Access Info

By car: Arthur's Seat (the main hill in Holyrood Park) is visible from just about anywhere in Edinburgh. Follow signs to the Palace of Holyroodhouse visitor car park, on the south side of the palace.

Additional Info

Holyrood Park is adjacent to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, HM The Queen's official Scottish residence. It is also beside the new Scottish Parliament and Dynamic Earth, an interactive museum with a striking Millennium-Dome-esque canopy.