Holyrood Park is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It is regarded as a microcosm of Scottish scenery, with a stunning array of hills, lochs, glens, ridges, basalt cliffs, and patches of whin packed into its landscape. A loch (usually Lough as a name element outside Scotland) is a body of Water which is either a Lake or Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock. Gorse ( Ulex) comprises a Genus of about 20 species of Evergreen Shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family The park includes Holyrood Palace, Arthur's Seat, the Salisbury Crags, St Margaret's Loch, Dunsapie Loch, Duddingston Loch, St Margaret's Well, St Antony's Well, Queens Drive and St Anthony's Chapel. The Palace of Holyroodhouse, or informally Holyrood Palace, founded as a monastery by David I of Scotland in 1128, has served as the principal residence Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of Holyrood Park (also called Queen's Park, and formerly King's Park) is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland. It was also called King's Park and now Queen's Park.

The main route through the Park is closed on Sundays to motor vehicles. ^[1]

Salisbury Crags

The Salisbury Crags, seen from Edinburgh University's Pollock Halls

The Salisbury Crags are a series of 150 foot cliffs at the top of a subsidiary spur of Arthurs Seat which rise in the middle of Holyrood Park. Below the foot of the cliffs is a large and steep talus slope falling to the floor of Holyrood Park with a track known as the Radical Road running in the space between the two. Scree, also called talus and detritic cone, is a term given to broken rock that appears at the bottom of Crags mountain Cliffs or This track was given its name after it was paved in the aftermath of the Radical War of 1820, using the labour of unemployed weavers from the west of Scotland at the suggestion of Walter Scott. The Radical War, also known as the Scottish Insurrection of 1820 was a week of strikes and unrest a culmination of Radical demands for reform in the Sir Walter Scott 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 &ndash 21 September 1832 was a prolific Scottish Historical novelist and Poet popular throughout ^[2]

The cliffs are formed from steep dolerite and columnar basalt and have a long history of rock climbing on their faces starting from the earliest days of the sport and leading to a number of traditional climbing and sport climbing routes being recorded. Diabase (ˈdaɪəbeɪs or Dolerite is a Mafic, Holocrystalline, Igneous rock equivalent to Volcanic Basalt or plutonic Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock. Rock climbing is a Sport in which participants climb up or across natural rock formations or man-made rock walls with the goal of reaching the Traditional climbing, or Trad climbing, is a style of Climbing that emphasizesthe skills necessary for establishing routes in an exploratory fashion Sport climbing is a style of Rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors fixed to the rock especially bolts for protection. In recent years the Park Police (previously under the auspices of the Royal Estate and now Historic Scotland, who have taken over management of the park) have attempted to regulate access to the cliffs for climbing. Historic Scotland is an Executive agency of the Scottish Government, responsible for historic monuments in Scotland. One now needs to apply for a permit, free of charge, at the education centre to the east of the park in order to be allowed to climb. There is still some activity, though most of it is bouldering rather than free climbing. Bouldering is a style of Rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs so that a fall will not result in serious injury Free climbing is a type of Rock climbing, in which the climber uses no artificial aids to make upwards progress The finest areas are in the two quarries, although it is only in the south quarry that climbing is still permitted at this time. The South Quarry contains the Black Wall, a well known bouldering testpiece in the Edinburgh climbing scene. On a somewhat less cheerful note, the Crags are a popular suicide spot.

Arthur's Seat

Arthur's Seat on a partly-cloudy summer evening

Main article: Arthur's Seat

Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of the castle. Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The hill rises above the city to a height of 251 metres, provides excellent views, is quite easy to climb, and is a popular walk. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Though it can be climbed from almost any direction, the easiest and simplest ascent is from the East, where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch, a small artificial loch located between Dunsapie Hill and Arthur's Seat. The loch is fed with water from Alnwickhill in the south of the city, and is a popular location within the park, supporting plentiful numbers of bird species.

Samson's Ribs

Samson's ribs are a formation of columnar basalt. Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock.

Other geographical features

Other geographical features include the Haggis Knowe, Whinny Hill and Hunter's Bog, which drains into St Margaret's Loch.

See also

• Holyrood (disambiguation page)

References

External links

• Holyrood Park - site information from Historic Scotland