Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
shaking floor, while the calmer grandeur of glaciers and oceans are explored through
magnificent large-screen landscape footage; further on, the polar regions - complete
with a real iceberg - and tropical jungles are imaginatively recreated, with interactive
computer screens and special effects at every turn. he tour is rounded off with a
“smellivized” 4D cinema experience complete with moving furniture, a chilly blast of
snow and a whiff of rhino poo.
Holyrood Park
Accessed from the foot of the Royal Mile • Always open • Coming by bus, take the #35 in the direction of the Old Town from Waverley Bridge
A natural wilderness in the very heart of the modern city,
Holyrood Park
is one of
Edinburgh's greatest assets. Packed into an area no more than five miles in diameter is
an amazing variety of landscapes - hills, crags, moorland, marshes, glens, lochs and
fields - representing something of a microcosm of Scotland's scenery. While old
photographs of the park show crops growing and sheep grazing, it's now used mostly
by walkers, joggers, cyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts. A single tarred road,
Queen's Drive
, loops through the park, enabling many of its features to be seen by car,
although you need to get out and stroll around to appreciate it fully.
Salisbury Crags
he amber hue of the setting sun's reflection on
Salisbury Crags
' sheer cliff face makes
an enticing backdrop to an evening stroll. An easy hour-long circular route begins
across the road from Holyroodhouse; the path nicknamed the “Radical Road” winds
southwards around the foot of the crags for a little under a mile before you have the
opportunity to hike north through the glen separating the Salisbury Crags and Arthur's
Seat and back to your starting point.
Arthur's Seat
he usual starting point for the ascent of
Arthur's Seat
, which at 823ft above sea
level towers over Edinburgh's numerous high points, is Dunsapie Loch, reached by
following the tarred Queen's Drive in a clockwise direction from the palace gates
(30-40min walk). Part of a volcano which last saw action 350 million years ago, its
connections to the legendary king are fairly sketchy: the name is likely to be a
corruption of the Gaelic
Ard-na-said
, or “height of arrows”. From Dunsapie Loch
it's a twenty-minute climb up grassy slopes to the rocky summit. On a clear day, the
views might just stretch to the English border and the Atlantic Ocean; more
realistically, the landmarks that dominate are Fife, a few Highland peaks and, of
course, Edinburgh laid out on all sides.
The Grassmarket
Just south of the Castle
Used as the city's cattle market from 1477 to 1911, the
Grassmarket
is an open, partly
cobbled area, which despite being girdled by tall tenements offers an unexpected view
north up to the precipitous walls of the castle. Come springtime, it's often sunny
enough for cafés to put tables and chairs along the pavement; however, such
Continental aspirations are a bit of a diversion as the Grassmarket is best remembered
as the location of Edinburgh's public gallows - the spot is marked by a tiny garden. he
notorious serial killers William Burke and William Hare had their lair in a
now-vanished close just off the western end of the Grassmarket, and for a long time
before its relatively recent gentrification there was a seamy edge to the place, with
brothels, drinking dens and shelters for down-and-outs.
he Grassmarket's two-sided character is still on view, with stag and hen parties
carousing between the area's pubs of an eveaning, while by day you can admire the
architectural quirks and a series of interesting shops, in particular the string of offbeat,
