Ummmm .... is that Arthur's Seat behind me - I think that looks steep enough - damn it's windy!
Yesterday I decided to climb Arthur’s Seat which is the great little mountain in the centre of Edinburgh – well pretty central anyway. It is part of Holyrood Palace Park.
This is the path I will take ... scramble ... scramble
Phew ... sweaty ... from whence I came ... yup that was steep.
My cousin Raymond had advised me that if I wanted a better workout to climb up the steepest portion. Well clearly knowing me, that is exactly what I wanted. I wanted the hard workout. So after my 6 km jog around and through Inverleith Park, I decided to go tackle Arthur’s Seat.
... alot more challenging than this gentle path. Yea me!
Now how to get up or around this?
I have been to Edinburgh numerous times and the last time I climbed Arthur’s Pants (just joking) was back in 2006. So I was raring for a bit of a workout. Since that time I have only looked from afar and have not had the time to climb. When you are in central Edinburgh, and you look towards the Seat, you see a cliffy sort of mountain. For some reason I thought this was the Seat. So as I approached it, I looked for the steepest area to scramble up.
Hey what's this? Who put this here? Oh, no, this is Arthur's Seat... damn
So I began my ascent and it was fairly steep and just really divets and clumps of grass. This could be both helpful but also at times slippery if you did not see loose rocks hidden underneath. So for about 20 minutes I scrambled up this steep incline, my legs burning from my run, and made it up to the high path just below the cliff, quite proud of myself. I followed the much easier path around the cliff looking for my way to the top.
Holy hannah, where is this wind from ... almost blew me over
As I turned the corner, there in front of me was a second mountain/hill, much higher than the one I’d just done. Damn. And the sky was starting to cloud over and the wind had picked up to gusts of 45 mph. I so wanted to climb that one but was worried about the time given that it was now 3:30 pm and I had told my Aunt that I would be home for dinner. So sadly, I did not. And there I saw the true steep bit that Raymond had talked about.
That is what I wanted to climb ... if only I had time ...
So I satisfied myself getting to the top of the cliff instead and vowed that the next time I go to the top of the Seat again. I had forgotten that it was tucked behind that cliff. I had actually thought I might tackle it today but it was supposed to rain and I went to the Castle instead. Now I am heading back to Aunt Vi’s as my Aunt Ella and Uncle Andrew are visiting shortly and since I leave tomorrow, I won’t get another chance to tackle Arthur’s Seat.
Fine I will just take pictures of fascinating Edinburgh - here we see the Nelson Monument, National Monument and what I think are the New Parliament Buildings although they are old and not used
These are the New Parliament Buildings as of 1998 and don't ask me why they built this in this style
So a little disappointed I will make sure instead to tackle the next climb that will be available for me in my travels. I so love climbing. You just feel so good afterwards.
Edinburgh Castle and the steeple of what is now known as The Hub in the distance from the cliff top
So Arthur, sorry I did not get to climb up to your Seat this time. Next time, so make sure your pants are clean :o).
Holyrood Palace from up high with the ancient abbey seen attached to the rear
I’m blown away visually by the Seat almost as much as you were figuratively! What a great looking city. Sure beats Fergus hands down. Can’t imagine having such a wonderful geological monument in the midst of the town. Of course, I a bit of a rock hound when it comes to architecture so I’m not surprised that it appeals to me. Nice to be able to rest your windy bones at an historic pub. How’s the foot holding up?
Yup – it is great and next time I do the right peak too. Yes, the rock architecture here is amazing. I still have a couple of posts to do on the Castle and Edinburgh in general. Historic pubs are everywhere here. They make the so-called pubs in Canada look like a joke. The foot is doing alright. Not really sure what it’s issue is as it is fine one moment and then suddenly squawking a bit the next but changing sides as to which side of the foot it wants to squawk from. Doesn’t stop me from running though.
Used to climb Arthur’s Seat regularly when I was young – great fun . Also occasionally took the easy road up just for a change.
Definitely love climbing up his pants 😛
Hope you manage to meet up with Mike when you are in Wales.
Yup – well that’s a given as I am staying at the house in Fishguard and Mike is picking me up at the train station