Arthur’s Seat Views

infrared film using a 24mm wide angle lens

About 30 years apart, this and the previous photo complement each other inasmuch as each of them views the other's viewpoint. At the top right of this picture can be seen where the cobbled road was, now hidden by trees except for the top of the stairs.

Infra Red film. From Regent Road near Jacob's Ladder.

The familiar silhouette of Arthur's Seat is on the horizon as seen from Aberlady Bay.

Duddingston Loch photographed from Queen's Drive. Duddingston Village is just visible at the far left.

Bright November sunshine throws the surface of Arthur's Seat into relief.

Haggis Knowe is to the left of this footpath which leads up Arthur's Seat from St Margaret's Well near Holyrood Palace.

This is Haggis Knowe itself. Knowe means a small hill. Presumably it's called Haggis because the famed creature had been seen here. It has shorter legs on one side of its body so it can more easily run round the contours catching its prey.

Countless paths cross this area of Arthur's Seat which is becoming ever more popular.

Both the police station and Salisbury Crags which tower overhead feature in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus books.

This is the view from Nicolson Street. The top of Arthur's Seat is just visible, as are one or two people who have climbed up.

If you go east through The Meadows this is the view which greets you at the end.

A classic view of the crags.

Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town. Winter sunshine clearly shows the footpaths along the clifftop. There is no fence.

Edinburgh Castle, Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat as seen from Corstorphine Hill.

Nelson's Monument stands alone in a sea of cloud. Calton Hill, Leith and the Firth of Forth are submersed in fog. The sun shines on the grass on top of Salisbury Crags. On the far horizon the tops of some hills in Fife are just visible.

Dumbiedykes is obscured by the mist. Further away Edinburgh Castle and Corstorphine Hill are poking into the sunshine.

Twin cranes poke up through the mist, but the Dynamic Earth building lurks in the shade, looking more like a sea-cucumber than an armadillo.

The sun shining down on the mist, as well as a glimpse of a Fife hill-top several miles away across the Firth of Forth.

In this shot the sunny foreground contrasts with the mysterious gloom far below.

Quite odd. The sun is casting a shadow of the Crags onto the layer of mist below. Our two shadows are also visible because we were standing on the edge of the cliff. Moray House College of Education is barely visible but a road sign catches the sun's rays and shines brightly.

Looking down onto the 'armadillo' building.

Like some mysterious undersea scene but it's only the Dynamic Earth building and one or two trees.

The new zig-zag footpath up Arthur's Seat to the right of the eroded Gutted Haddie.

This vertical shot shows more of the zig-zag path and the badly-eroded Gutted Haddie on its left.

Taken for comparison with the 2 pictures above from June 2003. This one from 2005.

Looking down onto the new path with Queen's Drive visible below Nether Hill. Two women are plodding up the steps.

This building was converted from the former James Clerk's High School into houses.

The October sun is still low in the sky at noon and glances across the sloping top of Salisbury Crags, picking out the detail of the footpaths.

I've aimed the camera a little higher, following 3 walkers as they continue towards the top of the crags and the best view over the city.

A walker is coming down the slope towards me.

This shows a cliff-edge walker with the city and the Firth of Forth down below.

A couple stroll along the Radical Road.

David Hume (1711-1776) might be turning in his grave if he knew about the ugly building which bears his name. Its companion the Appleton Tower is no better. The white box-like University Library building on the left also borders the once elegant George Square.

Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat showing the rooves of Bruntsfield Place, Bruntsfield Gardens and Forbes Road.

A good view over the Firth of Forth to Fife, and a good place to bring children - as long as you don't let them fall over the cliff...

The main path up Arthur's Seat as seen from the southern end of the crags. The eroded area known as the Gutted Haddie may eventually become covered again, now that there's a footpath.

In this shot I zoomed in to have a closer look at the flowers and the reduced depth-of-field blurred the the distance.

A long lens shot from nearby Nether Hill shows crowds in front of billowing clouds.

This morning's mist conceals the views and focuses attention on these lines of stones.

This 2nd picture shows a wider view including the sun.

Zooming in on Arthur's Seat shows various footpaths up the hill, clearly outlined in the snow.

The ruts worn into the mining waste will have been made by male adolescents on motor bikes.

The distinctive shape of Arthur's Seat shows that this is indeed Edinburgh.

A short sequence of photos taken in May 2009 starting with the view from the north side near Royal Park Terrace.

From the same viewpoint, turning the camera round to the south west gives this view up the Radical Road.

People are visible at the summit and about 2/3 of the way up as well as the 3 walkers who have just descended one of the paths.

The path to the right leads into Hunters Bog.

The path through Hunters Bog is a pleasant city centre shortcut from Abbeyhill to Newington.

A closer look towards the pond and the western slopes of Arthur's Seat. A small group of people are on the path at the other side of the valley bottom.

This path is less steep than the grassy one to its left. At the top there are good views over the south side of the city to the Pentland Hills.

Looking over the houses at Abercorn and Willowbrae and the patchy slopes of Whinny Hill.

Zoomed in a little more on the patches of gorse on Whinny Hill.

Looking down on the main path through Hunters Bog from the top of Salisbury Crags.

Two fire engines were parked nearby, apparently so rescuers could practice on Haggis Knowe.

A long lens view of Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat. Fife lies across the Firth of Forth.

The view to Arthur's Seat from Liberton Hospital.

An infra red view of the path up the top of Salisbury Crags from Holyrood. A sunny day at the end of August 2010.

Looking at the easier path up Arthur's Seat as seen from the crags.

Photographed from The Meadows through a long lens, hence the apparent proximity of the Queens Hall in Clerk Street.

Bungalows as seen from Arthur's Seat.

Suburban bliss. Washing the car on Sundays. Taming Nature (cutting the hedge). Watching the neighbours, net curtains a-twitchin'.

In this view from Arthur's Seat we look across Prestonfield Golf Course, Craigmillar Park Golf Course, Braid Hills Golf Course, Mortonhall Golf Course, Lothianburn Golf Course, and Swanston Golf Course to the Pentlands. Needless to say that's not enough golf courses so they're digging up the meadow between Howe Dean and Lang Linn to build another one. (They did.)

The Royal Hospital for Sick Children is the red sandstone building in the left foregound, Sciennes Primary School to its left. Sciennes Road continues before changing its name to Warrender Park Road. It crosses Marchmont Road then curves to the left before passing the former Usher Institute Residence building with its twin red rooves.

The buildings at the front are, from left to right: St James Centre, Dugald Stewart's Monument, Nelson Monument, City Observatory and the never-completed National Monument. Nearly 3km away (left of the Nelson Monument) is Fettes College. Martello Court is the tallest of the blocks of flats 5.4km away. Barnbougle Castle stands across the tidal sands of the Firth of Forth's southern shore, about 11km away.

Edinburgh Castle with Corstorphine Hill as a background and the sloping plateau of Salisbury Crags in the foreground. From Whinny Hill.

Royal Park Terrace runs across the foot of the picture, with London Road running parallel to it. Cambusnethan Street and Wishaw Terrace are at right angles, running northwards.

Part way up the path and a broader view of Salisbury Crags.

Crows play in the updraught of wind coming up the Gutted Haddie.

A gap in the clouds lets the sun shine on Blackford Hill.

A party of schoolchildren is getting a field trip on Whinny Hill. Inchkeith Island sits out in the Firth of Forth. The sun is shining on Kirkcaldy over in Fife across the water.

Only Leith's new Western Harbour is enjoying the sunshine in this picture.

A view of Royal Park Terrace.

Queen's Drive goes right round Arthur's Seat in a circle. This is the start of the clockwise route near Duke's Walk and St Margaret's Loch.

A classic view of Arthur's Seat.

Zoomed in a little more. It's possible to make out people climbing the lower zigzag section. The path curves round above the cliffs on the right before curving left again towards the summit.

A view of the crags from part way up the zigzag path.

I was wearing my Autographer camera. Its wide angle fisheye lens captured this and other views of the path automatically with no intervention by me.

To the left of the crags are Edinburgh University's Appleton Tower and the Informatics building. Corstorphine Hill is in the background,

At the top of the zigzag section the path curves round to the left. Autographer photo.

I paused to look at the view and this person got photographed by the Autographer...

...as did this person too. In the bottom right corner there's a glimpse of the Lumix camera's viewfinder.

At the centre of the picture the Radical Road path follows the bottom of the crags. Edinburgh Castle and the Scott Monument are on the left.

A chance Autographer photograph of a girl photographing her companion on the skyline.

The former Royal High School stands beside Regent Road below Calton Hill. I climbed the tower of the Nelson Monument to take photos.

In this view of Bruntsfield Links you can see Warrender Park Terrace on the left and the Boroughmuir school building a little further back. Whitehouse Loan and Wright's Houses are the streets just beyond the golf course. Westfield Court is at the back with part of Tynecastle stadium at the right side of the picture.

Edinburgh Central Mosque stands in front of the Informatics Building and McEwan Hall. Appleton Tower is on the left.

Melville Drive curves through the picture from the bottom left corner to half way up the right edge. The area in front of the road is The Meadows.

Fife and the Firth of Forth show up clearly in this infrared photo. Calton Hill provides the foreground.

Two photos of Arthur's Seat summit, aka the Lion's Head. This one is infrared.

The same subject photographed in normal colour.

Looking towards the Pentland Hills, specifically Caerketton. Below the scree slopes are the T Woods, not far above Swanston. Infrared picture.

Two extreme telephoto shots of Leith.

In this shot you can see the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre.

Salisbury Crags looking rather sinister, especially when you remember that these cliffs in Holyrood Park have been the scenes of murders and suicides. A lone figure walks into the mist.

Montague Street has been pronounced 'montaygay' (with the emphasis on the 2nd syllable) by locals for many years. The long x10 zoom lens seems to flatten the perspective and give the image an isometric appearance.

Just north of Montague Street is Rankeillor Street. The LRT double decker bus is in Clerk Street having just passed the lane known as Gifford Park. This area has many student flats being close to Old College and other parts of Edinburgh University.

At the bottom left corner is the top of the tower of the Mosque and Islamic Centre at 50 Potterrow. To its right is the Medical School and McEwan Hall. The old Royal Infirmary lies in front of the light grey triple chimney. To the right is the sloping roof of the Scottish Widows Headquarters. Murrayfield Stadium is at the top of the picture.

An early photo, possibly from the late '60s, before there were any trees.

The same view as the previous 2 photos in normal colour.

An infrared photo from May 2013, showing the trees that have sprouted up.

The area bounded by Holyrood Park, Holyrood Road and The Pleasance lay derelict for so long, the city fathers could possibly be forgiven for this scheme.

I've included this 2005 snap which shows the trees doing a reasonable job of hiding the houses from Queen's Drive, but not from up here on Salisbury Crags.

View externally, scroll down to see The Pleasance running across the bottom of the picture. In the foreground the car park has long since been built on. Those houses behind the triangular patch of grass at the back of The Pleasance are still there today. The Edinburgh University Old College dome can be seen about 1/3 down on the right.

Another view over to Fife but this time with the site of the new Scottish Parliament building in the foreground, as well as the Dynamic Earth exhibition. January 2000.

Old St Andrew's House is the large building in the foreground, behind which is Waterloo Place. Some of the Year 2000 fairground shows are visible. Granton Gas Works is in the distance.

June 2003. The city is changing round here with a mixture of old and new. On the left is Lochview Court, part of the Dumbiedykes council housing development built in the early '60s.

Portacabins for parliament building workers

Most of the building is obscured by sheets of plastic over the scaffolding.

It must have been fun designing all these sweeping curves but a nightmare to put them into reality. I'm sure builders prefer straight lines or simpler curves.

There's still workmen here as the Scottish Parliament relocates to the new building. The new building contrasts with the Calton New [sic] Burial Ground between Calton Road and Regent Road.

The elegant old beside the flashy new.

A general view of the site as seen on 23rd September 2004.

Strange geometry in the ground adjoining the new Scottish Parliament.

Looking a bit tidier now. An unusual building in an unusual environment.

There has been some recent controversy about the grass at Parliament.

The grass is not only quite brown in places, it's also wild, unkempt and going to seed. Apparently the intention was that it would mirror the appearance of the grass on nearby Arthur's Seat.

Should native plants be encouraged and foreign invaders be weeded out? (The above image included though it's not from the crags.)

This photo was taken from Whinny Hill. The green area at the bottom left of the picture is the top of Salisbury Crags.

Easter Road. A large part of the Edinburgh population live in flats like these, most often 4 storeys high.

isometric effect by long zoom

The old Royal High School

In this age of litigation disclaimers are everywhere including here. At the top of the crags the authorities depend on our natural fear of heights rather than post signs stating the obvious.

The sun occasionally broke through the clouds drifting off the sea on this November day.

Sunny Leith and sunny Burntisland town across the Firth of Forth.

This view shows sunny Leith and the caravans near Kinghorn in Fife.

My preferred route to Arthur's Seat via St Leonard's Lane. (June 16, 2016)

At the top of St Leonard's Lane is St Leonard's Bank.

Entering Holyrood Park from St Leonard's Bank.

A much nicer way into the park.

For once, Leith wasn't sunny. Hibs stadium.

The old Royal High School

The old Royal High School

The pond in Hunters Bog is now well established.

It's hard to believe this is in the middle of a city.

A secluded area between Hunters Bog and the top of the crags.

A path from Hunters Bog up to the top of Salisbury Crags.

The bottom of the Radical Road as seen from outside Parliament.

Visitors climbing the Radical Road.

Similar view to the previous photo but with sunshine.

The well worn path up along the top of Salisbury Crags from the Haggis Knowe area.

The view to the summit from the path along the top of the crags.

The main path up Arthur's Seat next to the Gutted Haddie.

Higher up the path up the crags.

A new addition since my last visit.

To the left of the path up the crags is this wrinkle in the landscape.

Approaching the highest part of Salisbury Crags.

Another warning sign.

The northernmost arch of North Bridge.

Edinburgh Castle with Corstorphine Hill in the background.

The long view to Leith.

The building site where Homebase used to be at St Leonard's.

A lower path, parallel to the top of the crags, makes for an easier descent past young Rowan trees.

It's hard to believe that this is a city centre view.

After photographing the 2017 marathon I walked to St Leonard's for these views.

Same viewpoint but zoomed in on the Radical Road and crags.

Further on up the path - a different foreground.

The old James Clerk school on the right was converted to housing years ago.

Entering the park from St Leonard's

Entering the park from St Leonard's

Looking down on the ridge leading from St Leonard's

New path work near the summit

The main zigzag steps

Entering the park from St Leonard's

Long lens view towards Holy Corner and Napier Uni

Growing beside the Radical Road path September 2018

Growing beside the Radical Road path September 2018

The view to a misty Firth of Forth

towards Calton Hill

towards Calton Hill