Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
St Margaret's Loch
Begin at the park's northern entrance on Duke's Walk, which leads to St Margaret's
Loch, an artificial pond created during Victorian times. The loch is well known for
its huge flocks of swans and ducks (please don't feed them - human food is not
healthy for wild animals).
St Anthony's Chapel
Take the path on the south side of the loch and climb up to the ruins of St Anthony's
Chapel. Dating from the 15th century, its origins are obscure; it may have been asso-
ciated with a hospital in Leith donated by King James I (for the treatment of the skin
disease erysipelas, also known as St Anthony's Fire), or it may have been a beacon
for ships in the Firth of Forth.
St Margaret's Well
Descend back to the road where you'll find St Margaret's Well, a beautiful, late-15th-
century Gothic well-house. It was moved, stone by stone, to this location in 1860
when its original site in Meadowbank was taken over by a railway depot. You can't
get into the chamber - all you can do is peek at the ornate vaulting through the metal
grille at the entrance.
Radical Road
The park's most dramatic feature is the long, curving sweep of Salisbury Crags, a
russet curtain of columnar basaltic cliffs. The stony path along the foot of the crags is
known as the Radical Road - it was built in 1820 at the suggestion of Sir Walter
Scott, to give work to unemployed weavers (from whose politics it took its name).
Hutton's Section
At the southern end of the crags, look out for an interpretation board set in a boulder
marking Hutton's Section. Edinburgh's most famous rock outcrop was used by the
