Salisbury Crags

Location: Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland
Season Visited: Fall
Trail Length: 2 miles round-trip
Time to Hike: About 1.5 hours
Difficulty Level: 2

Holyrood Park is a little bit of wilderness in the heart of Edinburgh.  Once used as a hunting ground for monarchs, the park now functions as a lovely place to walk.  Along with lochs and ruins, the park also houses the famous Arthur's Seat - the remnants of a dormant volcano - and the Salisbury Crags.  Walking the Salisbury Crags is a lovely way to get a bird's-eye-view of the city of Edinburgh.

Arthur's Seat from Edinburgh Castle.

To walk the perimeter of the Sailsbury Crags, begin at the trail past the Scottish Parliament Building.

Once you've reached the crags, you'll see a trail right in front of you.  Enjoy your uphill ascent and marvel at the amazing rock formations around you.

You'll have lovely views of Edinburgh during your entire walk.

Sunset over Edinburgh.

Edinburgh Castle from the crags.

These views are the highlight of the walk.  The trail itself is pretty straightforward and is mostly gravel.  Once you've come to this point you'll continue past Arthur's Seat and back down the "mountain."

Arthur's Seat.

To get back where you started, follow the path around the base of the hill to where you began.  Or you could simply re-trace your steps.

Should you find yourself in Edinburgh, I definitely recommend checking out Holyrood Park.  My only regret is not giving myself enough time to take in Arthur's Seat and the rest of the park since I only had half a day in Edinburgh and wanted to visit the Royal Mile, among other things.  As you can see by these pictures, I was losing daylight fast and there was only so much I could squeeze in if I wanted to make it back to my hotel before dark (which I didn't).  My advice?  Take at least two days in Edinburgh, if you can!

Enjoy your hike, and keep wandering.

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