Edinburgh

Edinburgh's Hills – Arthur's Seat at Dawn, Calton Hill at Dusk

A day by bus and on foot, from the Old Town and back.

The route

Edinburgh is built on hills, and each of its great views has its own hour, when the light comes from behind you and falls full on the crags, the castle walls or the spires you've come to see.

At the wrong hour the same view can look flat and grey. This day on foot and by bus takes each view at its hour, from first light to last, and leaves the flat light of the middle of the day for a long lunch and a rest. It's about 7.8 miles on foot, with two bus rides, three hills and 287 steps up a monument, and either half of the day works on its own.

Before you go

Book a bed near the Old Town
Book a bed in the Old Town for the night before, or for two nights so a cloudy morning can wait for a clear one. The day is for the end of March to mid-April and sets off at about five.
The nearest of ours is Old Town Chambers.
Then Moment George IV Bridge. Sleeps 2.
Book supper at Cafe Calton
Book a table at Cafe Calton, beside the Observatory on top of Calton Hill, for about an hour and a quarter before sunset, a quarter to seven in early April.

The day

Light

A day that follows the sun round Edinburgh, from sunrise on Arthur's Seat to sunset on Calton Hill, with a long lunch and an afternoon rest in between. It starts in the dark with a climb and ends at dusk in the city centre.

Arthur’s Seat
An attraction
This day is for the end of March to mid-April. Set off with a head torch about five, 90 minutes before sunrise: it's 20 minutes down the Canongate to Holyrood Palace, then about 40 up. The path climbs past St Anthony's Chapel and behind the Lang Rig to a rocky knoll above Dunsapie Loch, five minutes below the top. Keep off Salisbury Crags: there's no fence. Go on a dry, still morning, wrap up warm, and if you lose the path in the dark, wait for the light.
More about Arthur’s Seat
45 min on foot
Loudons New Waverley
A café
Stay on top until about three-quarters of an hour after sunrise, while the low sun lights up the city below, then come down the way you went up. It's a 45-minute walk back past the chapel to the Palace and up the Canongate to Loudons, in New Street Square. It's open from 8am, a big, light room made for breakfast, with eggs Benedict every way, pancakes, full plates and good coffee. After a dawn on the hill, take your time over it.
More about Loudons New Waverley
15 min on foot
The Castle Esplanade
It's a 15-minute walk, uphill all the way, along the Royal Mile to the Castle Esplanade, the long parade ground in front of the gatehouse. It's open to all in daylight, with no ticket needed. Be here by about a quarter to ten, when on a clear morning the sun is behind you and lights the gatehouse and the walls above it. From the north side the New Town lies below, with Calton Hill, where the day ends, away to the right. Twenty minutes is plenty.
10 min on foot
Scott Monument
Walk 10 minutes down Ramsay Lane and the Mound to the Scott Monument. The only way up is a guided tour: tours leave every half hour from 10.30am, with tickets sold on the day at the kiosk at its foot, by card, so be there by a quarter past ten for the first. It's 287 steps up spiral stairs to the top platform, where the morning sun lights the Castle and the Old Town from the side, and Arthur's Seat, where the day began, rises in the east.
3 min on foot
The Scottish Cafe
A café
It's a 3-minute walk west through the gardens to the Scottish Cafe, at the National Gallery's garden entrance, with long windows looking across the gardens to the Balmoral's clock tower. Lunch starts at noon; until then, the gallery upstairs is free to look round. At one o'clock the gun fires from the Castle, every day but Sundays and Good Friday. Then rest for a couple of hours, since the midday light is flat and the evening is long: back to your room, or a bench in the gardens.
More about The Scottish Cafe
23 min by bus, 20 min on foot
Blackford Hill
An attraction
Take the 9 from the Mound about four hours before sunset, a quarter to four in early April. Pay by contactless, one card or phone each, or the exact fare in cash. It's a 23-minute bus ride (check the times) to the stop opposite the Royal Observatory, by the red sandstone arch, then a 20-minute walk up Observatory Road, past the Observatory, to the top. The Castle and the Old Town are ahead, and the sun behind you lights Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags on the right. It's exposed in a wind. Stay an hour.
More about Blackford Hill
24 min by bus, 15 min on foot
Calton Hill
An attraction
Walk 15 minutes back down to the bus stop by the arch: it's a 24-minute ride on the 9 to the Mound (check the times), then 15 minutes' walk along Princes Street and up the steps from Waterloo Place. Be on Calton Hill an hour and a half before sunset, eat at Cafe Calton, then stand by the round, columned Dugald Stewart Monument. The sun sets over the New Town, well right of the Castle; turn round, and its last light is on Salisbury Crags. Go down while there's colour in the sky.
More about Calton Hill

If it rains

This day needs a clear sky, so choose it from the forecast the evening before. If the morning is wet, windy or lost in haar, the sea fog off the Forth, sleep in and start the day with breakfast at Loudons. The rock near the top of Arthur's Seat is slippery when wet, and in cloud there's nothing to see. The Scott Monument's tours run in the rain, but its platforms are open to the weather. On a wet afternoon, give the time to the National Gallery above the Scottish Cafe, which is free, and go up Calton Hill only if the evening clears.