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A Taste of the Highlands
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My dream has always been to walk along the busty ridges of the Scottish Highlands. We had driven up to Edinburgh all the way from London and we didn't want to spend anymore of our holiday hours inside the car, so driving further up to the Highlands was out of the question. There was however an alternative, an alternative that would give us the same taste, smell and feel of a genuine trek through the Highlands. Holyrood Park.
Arthur's Seat is the name of the peak which one can see from any point in Edinburgh. They say that's where King Arthur watched his army defeat the Picts, a tribe of Scottish folk. Being a sucker for Arthurian lore, we were instantly intrigued.
The park is like walking through miniature Highlands. Not that we'd know but that's what our guide book said. It's a perfect example of what wild Scottish scenery which encapsulates, in just a small area, ancient volcanoes, remains of prehistoric animals, and trails of lava flows.
We first came across a lake, St. Margaret's Loch, resting on the basin of the hills that poured down into it. Different water birds were bobbing up and down on the waves created by the fast wind, although they didn't seem to mind. Overlooking the lake were some old stone ruins on the foot of a small hill. So far, this was idyllic.
The path that led to the old ruins was pretty easy to climb, and although very narrow, it was quite lovely to pass a bushel or two of Gorse, a tiny yellow flower which adorned our pathways. We reached the ruins in no time, and found by the bronze plaque that this was St Anthony's Chapel, dating back to the 16th Century. It also appears that there was a connection between this chapel and the Knights Hospitallers of St Anthony.
We continued climbing upwards, following the dirt path which soon turned into a softer grass path. The harsh wind was making our endeavour a little difficult and we laughed at the idea that if I were to be blown away Ed would have to catch me by my foot, like a kite. "Or a balloon", he said. Smartass.
So we continued our climb upwards through the grassy paths which quickly turned into fields, and then into huge bowls and dips. It made us want to roll downhill and get lost on the
grassy pools of those hills, but then we remembered we were made of bones and not rubber.
Soon the hike started getting steeper, and the wind factor was not helping. The rocky bits of the hills started to peak out from under the carpet of grass which had made it easy to walk on. Now we had to hang on to rocks and stones in order to stay balanced from the winds that threatened to really blow us away. No to mention the arctic cold on our faces.
Later than sooner we reached the top. Or we thought we did. These hills were tricky. We continued upwards; Ed behind me to push my bum up cause I would falter at times. Finally, and completely out of breath, we reached Arthur's Seat, a well deserved name. It was hard not to be blown away by the views. We gazed upon all of Edinburgh while a huge break in the clouds right above the city let a few silver sunrays pass through and shine upon its buildings. Nature really knows how to show off sometimes.
Also, from up here, the wind was at its full force. I had never felt such powerful wind upon me, it was like a pound of bricks upon my chest and although it was fun, it was also a bit daunting. I was really scared I would loose my balance and thrown to the jagged rocks down below.
We explored some more, running off to neighbouring peaks. We stood at about 60 degrees from the ground and found that we did not have to make fight gravity; the wind was holding us up all on its own. On the way back down we took advantage of the grassy tapestry of the hills and ran down, hardly being able to control our movements since now gravity and the wind were pushing us down. We miraculously made it to the bottom in one piece and strolled around the lake once more to visit the swans, which were all now lying on the grass, like perfect white pom-poms.
The sun was almost all gone now and so was our energy. We wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a comfy bed since tomorrow we had to leave these parts and start our long descent back to London. But there was still some energy left for something: one last Scottish pint.
Total spent £0
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