Yesterday, a sumptuous Saturday afternoon of splendiferous sunshine, and a couple of hours free in the afternoon.
I want to head down to Tinto Hill near Biggar for a long scree run, or up to the Paps of Fife, but I don't have time for the drive, so I've decided to have a bit of a romp around Holyrood Park. This place really is one of the jewels of Edinburgh.
The most prominent feature, of course, is the little hill Arthur's Seat which stands at a height of 251 metres. It's a very popular walk with locals and tourists alike, the footpaths and summit can be crowded. There are a few smaller tops as well ... Nether Hill, Crow Hill, Dunsapie Crag, Whinny Hill and the charmingly named Haggis Knowe. Throw in a bit of running above and below Salisbury Crags, and you can get a decent wee bit of a hill run here - right in the city centre and just a few minutes from the afternoon shopping crowds!
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| Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat, seen from Regent Road |
I'm starting at the eastern end of the park, from the car park near the Meadowbank entrance. The route immediately takes me around St. Margaret's Loch a pretty pond and very popular with families feeding the birds.
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| The beginning, through trees near the Meadowbank entrance. |
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| St Margaret's Loch ... |
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| ... a nice place to feed the birds. |
Leaving the pond behind I'm running underneath Salisbury Crags on some nice soft earth and soon I start to climb. There's a grassy area ahead of me which might not look much in the photograph, but it's a good place for hill sprint interval training. Toward the top of this stretch I have a great view of Arthur's Seat ahead, and the crags behind.
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| Running below Salisbury Crags ... |
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| ... on some nice soft earth. |
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| Good grassy stretch for hill sprints! |
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| Lovely views of Arthur's Seat in front ... |
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| ... and sun on Salisbury Crags behind. |
In a moment I reach the bottom of the Gutted Haddie between Arthur's Seat and the southern end of Salisbury Crags. I'm making a left here for a rocky run around over the top of the crags, then I'll return to this place on soft paths through Hunter's Bog.
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| Rocky running around the tops of Salisbury Crags ... |
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| ... softer going on the paths through Hunter's Bog. |
The views from the tops of the crags are as wonderful of course. To the south Pentland Hills, Caerketton, Allermuir, ... aah! To the north the Port of Leith, the Firth of Forth, and beyond the Paps of Fife. To the west, the castle, and Corstorphine Hill behind.
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| Pentland Hills |
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| Port of Leith, Firth of Forth, Paps of Fife |
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| Edinburgh Castle, Corstorphine Hill |
To the northern end of the crags I descend at speed and make a right into Hunter's Bog. Soon the climb back up toward the Gutted Haddie appears, it's a bit steeper going on this side of the Crags. The most popular route up to Arthur's Seat is on a stone staircase which zig-zags steeply toward the summit. I prefer a smaller path through the gorse to the left, it's a nice traverse for a couple of minutes, leading to another stone staircase (very slippery when wet). First I must stop for some footwear and clothing adjustments.The insole of my right shoe is creeping up my heel. I am too hot, my shirt is stuffed into the bug bag. I am now running bare chested in early March, in Scotland, and I'm still sweating ... unbelievable.
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| Hunter's Bog |
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| Climb back toward Gutted Haddie |
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| Stone staircase zig-zag path up the hill ... |
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| ... but I prefer a traverse through the gorse ... |
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| ... leading to another stone staircase |
The summit is soon reached and is very crowded as expected, there is a trig point hidden in this bunch. The folk here seem a bit surprised to see a bloke wearing only a tiny pair of shorts ... someone takes a photograph. The views from here are excellent of course, but I can't get clear sight of anything much with these crowds. I take a look to Nether Hill and Crow Hill, and into the gulley down which I will scramble to escape.
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| Summit of Arthur's Seat with trig point obscured by crowds |
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| Lightly clad old bloke surprises locals and tourists. |
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| Nether Hill |
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| Crow Hill |
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| Escape route |
It's just a moment from here to the grassy top of Nether Hill with a pause to look back over the summit of Arthur's Seat, and then after another moment the rocky top of Crow Hill. From here a descent toward Dunsapie Loch and Crag. The descent is steep here, great fun today ... in the dark of the night when it rains, not so much. Dunsapie Loch is a pretty little place and there's another car park area here. The small platform on the loch is for nesting swans. I often scramble up Dunsapie Crag but today I'm going to run up a short steep path to the grassy flat top. In front of me now my next ascent up to Whinny Hill.
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| Crowds on Arthur's Seat summit area, viewed from Nether Hill |
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| Dunsapie Loch and Crag, viewed from Crow Hill |
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| Steep fast descent of Crow Hill ... |
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| ... leading to pretty little Dunsapie Loch. |
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| Short steep ascent to ... |
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| ... the grassy flat top of Dunsapie Crag. |
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| Whinny Hill, viewed from Dunsapie Crag |
The sides and top of Whinny Hill are a network of paths through gorse and half an hour spent running around these little paths is always half an hour well spent. Today I can only spare a few minutes of fun exploring here, and stopping to capture a few lovely views ... over the north-east of the city, the Firth of Forth, and North Berwick Law in the distance ... looking down to little Dunsapie Crag with Lammermuirs and Moorfoots on the horizon.
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| Footpaths through the gorse on Whinny Hill |
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| North-east Edinburgh, Firth of Forth, and North Berwick Law in the distance |
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| Looking down to Dunsapie Crag, Lammermuirs and Moorfoots on the horizon |
I make a fast descent along the Long Row and Dry Dam to the remains of St Anthony's Chapel. This ruin stands above St Margaret's Loch and the car park I left about an hour and a quarter ago. I am not done yet, I have one more top to climb on this journey, it's little Haggis Knowe below. I've never been up this little lump of rock before, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the view toward Holyrood Palace, the Parliament, with Calton Hill behind.
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| Long Row and Dry Dam |
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| St Anthony's Chapel |
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| Dunsapie Loch, viewed from the ruin |
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| Haggis Knowe |
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| Holyrood Palace, Parliament, Calton Hill behind |
I'm heading over the fields on the other side of the road for a moment now for a brief trip down memory Lane. Less than ten years ago I used to live in the second floor of one of these gorgeous old stone tenement buildings on the edge of the park. The view from my living room window was wonderful ... I', thinking to myself, I wish I'd been running back then.
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| Royal Park Terrace ... was a good place to live ... |
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| ... with great views from the front windows. |
It's time to head over the fields back to the car park. Mine is the red one :-) Loving the sight of the the chapel with the sun behind!
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| Mine is the red one :-) |
What a wonderful happy time I've had this afternoon. I've run up and down and around and over the tops of Holyrood Park for an hour and a half. I've covered a distance of just over 10km, and climbed an ascent of just under 450m. For me, a decent wee bit of a hill run. I've spent about ten minutes savouring the sights and shooting lots of lovely photographs - about half of them shared with you here. Now I must dash home and barbecue some steak before sunset (yum!).
Enjoy!
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