Books and Tea

Trip to Scotland, Day 4: Arthur’s Seat

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Christina

Today, Mr. BooksandTea and I took a day-trip to Edinburgh via ScotRail, with the goal to see two things in particular: the weekly Edinburgh farmers’ market, and Arthur’s Seat.

The market was smaller than expected, but I still hit jackpot: we got breakfast from someone selling sausage rolls, and I found a local tea vendor who made blends containing Scottish herbs. I bought three different bags of loose-leaf from him, because of course I did. One of them contains heather flowers, which is pretty neat.

But the main event of the day was hiking Arthur’s Seat, a not-quite-mountain – and EXTINCT FREAKING VOLCANO – near the centre of the city. Although we took the same well-worn path all the other tourists did (and there were a lot of them!), it was still an incredibly strenuous climb for us. We often had to sit and take breaks.

However, I was lucky in two ways: one, the weather was perfect for hiking, because it was sunny and windy despite the forecast calling for rain. Two, Mr. BooksandTea is a big, broad man and easily a foot taller than me, so I was able to rely on him during particularly precarious parts of the ascent and descent.

I can’t overstate how thrilled and full of accomplishment I feel for doing this. I saw so many new species to me: gorse and broom, jackdaws and new types of crows, fireweed and ragwort. The thing is, I’m not particularly outdoorsy or athletic so this was, quite literally, a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. On my way back down, I joked that I would be embracing flat ground like a sailor finally reaching dry land.

But what am I going on for? You’re here for photos! And even though we did plenty of walking and shopping afterwards (including fancy perfume!), most of the photos I took today were of this hike. So here they are below.

Arthur’s Seat from a distance.
This part of the gentle slope near the base. The body of water here is St Margaret’s Loch. However, as someone who has lived their whole life next to the Great Lakes, I have to say that Scotland’s definition of “lake” is…generous at best.
Partway up the climb. You can see alternate routes and switchbacks here.
The lower slopes of the hill with Edinburgh visible in the distance.
The ruins of St Anthony’s Chapel. To get here, you have to deke off the main path.
Arthur’s Seat gets a LOT of visitors.
This jackdaw got pretty close to me when I was resting about 1/4 of the way down from the top.
The jackdaw in flight. I like how its wings turn iridescent blue in the light.
I’m near the summit here. You can see way into the distance beyond the city!
Another shot high up. I think that building on the left might be Holyrood Palace.
The rocky surface seen here was pretty common on the path up. I highly recommend good hiking boots if you attempt it yourself.
A closeup of fireweed, with a bee. What a vibrant pink!
Another flower close-up with another bee friend. I think this is ragwort.

Comments

3 responses to “Trip to Scotland, Day 4: Arthur’s Seat”

    1. Christina

      Yes, I did. I saw the photos yesterday and it grew really quickly!