arthurs seat edinburgh

nutty1

how do you get up there, starting at princes street

azzabazza

There are several routes up Arthur's Seat. Most straightforward would be to go down the Royal Mile to Holyrood then turn right into the Royal Park. There are then several routes up the hill. Anyone local you ask can direct you to the Royal Mile.

nutty1

and is the momument there as well

Owain_Moneysaver

what momument?

The momuments are on the top of Calton Hill - at the east end of Princes St walk along Waterloo Place and opposite the Scottish Office building are steps and road up Calton Hill.

sleepless_saver

And the Scott Monument is in the middle of Princes Street.

nutty1

whats arthurs seat then, thought it was that monument thing and that tall tower

Owain_Moneysaver

Arthur's seat is the big lump of dead volcano overlooking Holyrood.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/holyroodpark/index.html

The momuments are on Calton Hill
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/caltonhill/index.html

unsure

Hi we've just been to Edinburgh for the first time and had a very educative trip up and down Arthur's seat.

On the way up we went the long, more arduous way. From Holyrood palace we followed the well-equipped walkers up the very steep path to the right(facing the hill). It was a long walk which got steeper and took us by Salisbury Crags, good for energetic walkers and some good views (but you get them up at the top anyway|) but the path then drops down and you could join at this point more easily by following the road/path round the base before ascending to Arthur's seat via some very steep paths which are stepped in several places.

When we got to the top it was windy and rainy...and the view were less pleasant so we headed down the other way (over the "back" as it were) towards Holyrood which was just visible. There were well made paths down and the descent was more gradual and easier than the way up (but the city views were largely hidden by hill and rain at that point!). We came down more quickly and easily than we went up and ended up at almost exactly the same spot across the road from the Holyrood carpark.

So I'd say it depends what you want --
For an energetic challenging walk go straight up and right.
For an easier option but still with steep climb and great city views - follow the road round to the right and join at Salisbury Crags (with hindsight we'd probably have chosen this -- But I'm 50+ with dodgy knees!).
For more of a gentle upwards stroll go left (there's the start of a bike trail) and make your way up the well worn paths.

The paths are easy to follow but there is little/no signage, so it's nice to know which option you'd prefer from the outset!

I'd also highly recommend the free tour of the Scottish parliament building (you do have to book).

sleepless_saver

Here's a blog with lovely photos of Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill, and the Castle.