Edinburgh
is unique in Europe in possessing a craggy peak within a stone's
throw of the city centre, the perfect antidote to crowds and culture.
Holyrood Park and Edinburgh are dominated by the extinct volcano
known as Arthur's Seat soaring to 251 meters above the city. The
volcano erupted some 325 million years ago during the early Carboniferous
era; its other remnants make up the Castle Rock and Calton Hill.
Keen geologists can trace the various stages of today's rock formations-the
summit marks where the cone erupted, while molten rocks formed
the sills such as Salisbury Crags and Samson's volcano, isolating
the twin peaks of Arthur's Seat and the Crow Hill. Explanation
for the name vary, some believe it to be a corruption of the Gaelic
name for 'Archers', others claim the Normans associated with the
semi-mythical King Arthur. You can climb Arthur's Seat
from a path starting near St. Margaret's Well just inside the
Palace of Holyrood House entrance to the park. The path divides
at Hunter's Bog Valley and either branch leads to the summit.
Take the right hand one to go along the path called the Radical
Road, which runs directly beneath the rock face of Salisbury Crags,
or the left, through the Dasses to the top.
Easiest of all is to drive to the car park near Dubsapie Loch.
From here it is a short sheepish climb to the top with one or two
rocky scrambles to give you a feeling of real achievement. However
you get there, it's worth it for the panorama of the city, the Firth
of Forth, the Pentland Hills and the coastline east of Edinburgh.
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