Out of Edinburgh: From Arthur’s Seat to Duddingston Village

On February 18th, I flew to Edinburgh for one week of exploring with my younger brother Brandon, who had recently moved there. He works as a bartender at the Three Sisters, but thankfully he had most of the week off so we could spend most of the days exploring together. On my second day in Edinburgh, we decided to head out to Holyrood Park, climbing over the mountain Arthur’s Seat to get to the tiny Duddingston Village.

By the foot of Arthur’s Seat, Brandon first led me to St Margaret’s Loch, which was full of ducks, swans and geese. We had brought some seeds to feed them, which is honestly so relaxing and meditative. Brandon and I used to do it every summer when we visited our family in Thetford, so it’s also kind of a tradition for us to do it whenever we travel together!

Then it was time to head up the mountain. At 251 meters above sea level, Arthur’s Seat is the highest point in the royal Holyrood Park. The park is a beautiful piece of wild nature with hills, lochs, ridges and basalt cliffs in the middle of the city, and thus a popular place for an outing, which was evident even on a Tuesday.

The climb up Arthur’s Seat was quite steep, but it didn’t take us long to get there. On the way up, we passed by the ruins of St. Anthony’s Chapel from the 15th century, before continuing on the steep path. Soon after, we joined the hundreds of other hikers on the summit and spent a moment enjoying the incredible views of Edinburgh and the surrounding areas, before descending down to Duddingston Village.

Duddingston Village is a quaint little village to the east of the city center of Edinburgh, founded in the 12th century. The small village is known for being the home of the Sheep Heid Inn, which is said to be Scotland’s oldest pub, dating from 1360.

Brandon and I spent quite a while exploring the village, which is his favourite place in Edinburgh, so he was able to show me some places I wouldn’t have found otherwise. We went for a walk to the fields above the village, through the lovely Dr Neil’s Garden by the church and down to Duddingston Loch, a wildlife reserve with wildfowl and reedbeds.

Duddingston Village is a perfect recreational place, and it actually also became my favourite place in Edinburgh! Since I’m not a huge fan of busy cities, the fact that there’s a quiet village so close to Edinburgh’s center makes me like the city itself even more!

On our way back to the city center, we decided to walk back through Holyrood Park and climb the Salisbury Crags, a series of 46 meter high cliffs at the top of a subsidiary spur of Arthur’s Seat.

It was an easier climb than the mountain itself, and the views from these cliffs were even better in my opinion!

All in all, it was a wonderful day, and a perfect introduction to some of the nature experiences that Edinburgh offers. I understand 100 percent why my brother fell in love with this place and decided to move there, because Edinburgh is the perfect city. Lots of history, a castle atop a hill, beautiful old buildings, the ocean nearby and endless hiking opportunities.