Arthur's Seat Summit: On Top of the Volcano

Why is it significant?

You made it. Stand beside the stone pillar on the summit of Arthur's Seat, 251 metres above the sea, and turn slowly in a full circle.

Key Facts

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You made it. Stand beside the stone pillar on the summit of Arthur's Seat, 251 metres above the sea, and turn slowly in a full circle. The castle on its rock, the spires of the Old Town, the long grey Firth of Forth with its bridges, the hills of Fife, the Pentland Hills to the south... and on a clear day, hills far away to the north-west.

Who was Arthur? Nobody knows for certain. Some link the name to the legendary King Arthur, as with many places in the north of Britain. Others think it is a garbled version of an older Gaelic name. The mystery suits the place. Mary Shelley mentions it among the sights of Edinburgh in Frankenstein, and Robert Louis Stevenson called it a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design.

Every first of May, before dawn, people climb up here to wash their faces in the morning dew, following an old belief that May dew brings beauty for the year ahead. The custom is centuries old, and Edinburgh's young women once made the climb in crowds. Today they are joined by runners, singers and anyone who simply wants to watch the sun come up out of the sea.

Under your feet is the plug of the old volcano. Around 350 million years ago this was its main vent, spitting ash and lava over a landscape of swamps and shallow seas. The volcano fell silent, was buried, was lifted up again and was carved down by ice, until only its hard core stood above the plain. Edinburgh is a city built on volcanoes: the castle rock and Calton Hill are remnants of the same ancient fires.

The summit is exposed, and the wind can be fierce even on a sunny day, so do not linger too close to the edges. Take your photographs, then descend eastwards on the gentler slope, following the path down towards the road and the little loch below Dunsapie Crag.