Arthur's Seat

Overlooking City

It was a good day for a hill walk right here in Edinburgh. Roanoke has Mill Mountain. Edinburgh has Arthur's Seat. It is a dramatic rocky ancient volcano rising 600+ feet over the city. It is one of those, "you haven't visited Edinburgh if you haven't climbed Arthur's Seat" types of places.

The 360 degree views from the top extend over Holyrood Palace, over Edinburgh Castle, over the city center, to the Firth of Forth estuary, and to the North Sea. We walked the 3 miles from our flat to Holyrood Park, spent an hour climbing to, and enjoying the sights from, the top, then walked a longer route back to the flat.

From the top, as we were buffeted by the wind, as we looked down on Holyrood Palace, we could see a large gathering of people who were invited to attend festivities associated with the Queen's annual visit. She is here in Edinburgh for a one week stay at Holyrood Palace; that is the official residence of the Monarchy in Scotland. Our invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.