St Anthony's Chapel: A Ruin Above the Firth
Why is it significant?
Climb up to the ruined walls of St Anthony's Chapel and turn around. The loch lies below you, the palace and the Parliament off to the west, and beyond the rooftops stretches the wide grey band of the Firth of Forth, with the hills of Fife on the far side.
Key Facts
| Place | St Anthony's Chapel: A Ruin Above the Firth |
|---|---|
| Address | St Anthony's Chapel, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh EH8, UK |
| Geo Coordinates | 55.95090, -3.16140 |
| Part of Walk | Climbing a Volcano: Arthur's Seat & Holyrood Park, Edinburgh |
| Generated | Generated |
Climb up to the ruined walls of St Anthony's Chapel and turn around. The loch lies below you, the palace and the Parliament off to the west, and beyond the rooftops stretches the wide grey band of the Firth of Forth, with the hills of Fife on the far side. Only fragments of the chapel still stand, with an empty window frame looking out towards the sea.
Nobody is quite sure who built it, or exactly when. Most historians place it in the fifteenth century, and some link it to the Order of St Anthony, a religious order that cared for victims of a terrible illness known as St Anthony's fire, and which had a hospital at Leith. Down the slope, a small spring was known as St Anthony's Well.
Why build a chapel up here, on a bare and windy knoll? One appealing theory says that a light burning in its window could be seen by ships in the Forth, a beacon and a blessing for sailors coming home to Leith. It is a lovely idea, and from this spot you can certainly see the water... but there is no firm proof.
The ruin became a favourite of the Romantics. An old Scottish ballad, Waly Waly, has a broken-hearted woman singing that Arthur's Seat shall be her bed, and Saint Anton's well her drink, now that her true love has forsaken her. Walter Scott sent his heroine Jeanie Deans, in The Heart of Midlothian, to these lonely slopes at night for a frightening meeting. For two centuries painters drew this broken gable against the sky.
From here the serious climbing begins. Follow the path that heads south-east, up the long grassy ridge of Whinny Hill. It is steady uphill work, so take breaks, and turn around often to enjoy the view opening up behind you.