Description

There aren't many parts of Edinburgh from which Arthur's Seat isn't visible - it towers above the city and its surrounding suburbs and is just begging out to be climbed.

The way we've drawn it involves a bit of scrambling, hence the "Difficult" grade, but skipping out the actual summit of Arthur's Seat reduces the difficulty considerably and doesn't cost you much in terms of views. Park up at the pay and display carpark just to the north of Duddingston Loch and and follow a rough path which climbs up to cross the upper loop road which goes around Holyrood Park.

Carry on up to Crow Hill via a tough and unrelenting climb.

The views make the effort worth it but it's a bit of a slog! Upon arriving on the summit the view across Edinburgh city reveals itself, and what a view it is! The central city itself, the government buildings of Holyrood, football stadiums and mile after mile of beaches and sea are all visible, giving you the opportunity to really begin to understand the local topography. From Crow Hill descend briefly and then scramble onto the famous summit of Arthur's Seat, from where the view is even better, but you're going to be sharing it with a lot more people! You can often be alone on Crow Hill but that will only be true of Arthur's Seat on the most cold and wet of days! Scramble back down and stroll over to The Nether Hill before making the steep descent down a very polished rocky path to almost hit a road.

Just before reaching the road turn right and follow a gorgeous path along the top of Salisbury Crags.

The views across Edinburgh city and the landmarks of Holyrood are excellent and constantly changing.

Swing around on the path past St Margaret's Loch and around the foot of Whinny Hill (which can easily be climbed if you fancy a detour) to Dunsapie Loch.

Make one final climb up to Dunsapie Crag and then drop back down to the carpark to complete Edinburgh's best hike!