It rhymes with Hollywood, but is much muddier...
Holyrood park is ... interesting.
Set near the middle of the city, it is quite wild except for being criss-crossed by decidedly civilised roads and walking paths. The roads are rather heavily travelled (ie busy) in spite of the 20 mile per hour speed limit, largely because going through the park tends to be a universal short cut (just as cutting through BYU used to be a short cut for so many in Provo).
The walking/running paths are scarcely less busy. We happened to drive through the park close to lunch time yesterday, and saw hundreds of people out walking on the various trails. The runners (dozens rather than hundreds) tend to dominate the scene when we usually drive through the park, at about 7 am and again between 6 and 7 pm.
We also go walking (or sometimes, in Richard's case, running) in the park at about 6 am, or at a slightly more civilised 7 am on Saturdays or for a decidedly civilised amble at 9am or later on Sundays. This is a new development for Louise as she is reluctant to walk anywhere muddy in the dark, having less than infinite faith in her ability to maintain her balance if she slips or trips. (there's a spiritual thought there somewhere). However, it is now light enough at 6 am to see where one is going.
If it is misty it may not be light, in fact, you may not even be able to see the hill a few hundred yards away. This picture is looking straight towards Arthur's Seat, just across the meadow. We were wandering through this misty landscape and Richard thought how amazing it might look after sunrise with the light shining through, but a quick check of the time reminded us we were well after sunrise, and you just couldn't see it. This is the mist of fairy tales that you get lost forever in and find yourself in a different world.
To get into the park we walk through the parking lot behind our flat, duck through the secret garden tunnel of enclosing greenery leading through an old wooden gate, and then along a few yards of more-or-less muddy path (depending on prevailing atmospheric conditions) to reach the paved but not overly smooth trails, which are only slightly less muddy than the more-or-less muddy paths, but decidedly less slippery.
Once you make it to the trail, the question is, left or right or cut across the grass? Left will take you to the palace, right will eventually take you to an official gate to leave the park, and across the grass will take you anywhere you choose to go, but it will be extremely muddy, regardless of prevailing atmospheric conditions, Edinburgh being, as we have mentioned before, a rather soggy place.
When we are on a morning walk we usually go right. After a while we reach the wall of the palace grounds. Again we have a choice. If you go right you head out of the park through an interesting and aged alley; if you go left you walk along a wide path that some people think is a road, with greenery and lots of trees on your left and the palace wall on your right. We usually go left. If it is early enough we will see no one at all; if later we will see roughly equal numbers of people and dogs. In this part of the park, most people walking their dogs have more than one. We have had pleasant conversations with several dogs followed by equally pleasant interactions with their owners.
Talking of finding yourself in different worlds, the weather can create amazing things. The other morning we suddenly realised we were in Narnia. If this is not Lantern Waste it is a very good approximation. We didn't go through a wardrobe, but we did go through an old wooden gate.
Keep walking a little further and you will reach the main road through the park. There is a parking lot on your right, just beyond the end of the palace wall, for people to park who wish to tour the palace or the park. You pay for parking, of course. Beyond the parking lot, on your right, is a roundabout, from which you can travel in either direction in the park or leave, going out around the front of the palace.
If you cross the road instead of going through the parking lot, you reach the trail which will take you up to King Arthur's Seat. It is deceptively smooth and well paved for a couple of hundred yards, making you think that climbing all the way to the top of the hill will be easy, but after the first major turn, it starts getting muddier and muddier. Richard has trotted up there a few times but I am waiting for a fine day.
Although we haven't had any truly hot days we have had some clear ones. It is not always misty, sometimes it is clear, and stunningly so.
If, instead of crossing the road or going right to the roundabout, you turn left, many delights await you. If you don't approach too closely, these delights will glide regally and serenely around St Margaret's Loch. If you approach too closely without feeding them, they will flap their wings and hiss and generally chase and threaten. We felt very sorry for the swans during the cold weather last week, as their lake froze over and they looked downright miserable, but they are back in fine fettle again.
Swans are not the only birds in the park. There are lots of gulls, and many smaller birds, and also ravens. Talking of fairy tales, the ravens are not quite as bright as one would expect, and certainly display a remarkable lack of humility. They seem to think the cars will stop for them or at least make an effort to avoid them when they are concentrating on exploring something or other in the middle of the road. They move in the end, but rather sulkily.
Seagulls, by the way, are not in the least revered in Scotland. They are regarded as a pesky nuisance. We can only think that Scotland has never been rescued by gulls from a plague of crickets, Mormon or otherwise.
The park is only a couple miles long and wide, but it would take years to explore the myriad trails through and around it. Being in a city and Scotland at that, each trail and road have names that evoke all sorts of images. Queen's Drive crosses the Radical Road and the Duke's walk is over the other side. All in all we have much to explore. We will do so joyfully.
Set near the middle of the city, it is quite wild except for being criss-crossed by decidedly civilised roads and walking paths. The roads are rather heavily travelled (ie busy) in spite of the 20 mile per hour speed limit, largely because going through the park tends to be a universal short cut (just as cutting through BYU used to be a short cut for so many in Provo).
The walking/running paths are scarcely less busy. We happened to drive through the park close to lunch time yesterday, and saw hundreds of people out walking on the various trails. The runners (dozens rather than hundreds) tend to dominate the scene when we usually drive through the park, at about 7 am and again between 6 and 7 pm.
We also go walking (or sometimes, in Richard's case, running) in the park at about 6 am, or at a slightly more civilised 7 am on Saturdays or for a decidedly civilised amble at 9am or later on Sundays. This is a new development for Louise as she is reluctant to walk anywhere muddy in the dark, having less than infinite faith in her ability to maintain her balance if she slips or trips. (there's a spiritual thought there somewhere). However, it is now light enough at 6 am to see where one is going.
To get into the park we walk through the parking lot behind our flat, duck through the secret garden tunnel of enclosing greenery leading through an old wooden gate, and then along a few yards of more-or-less muddy path (depending on prevailing atmospheric conditions) to reach the paved but not overly smooth trails, which are only slightly less muddy than the more-or-less muddy paths, but decidedly less slippery.
Once you make it to the trail, the question is, left or right or cut across the grass? Left will take you to the palace, right will eventually take you to an official gate to leave the park, and across the grass will take you anywhere you choose to go, but it will be extremely muddy, regardless of prevailing atmospheric conditions, Edinburgh being, as we have mentioned before, a rather soggy place.
When we are on a morning walk we usually go right. After a while we reach the wall of the palace grounds. Again we have a choice. If you go right you head out of the park through an interesting and aged alley; if you go left you walk along a wide path that some people think is a road, with greenery and lots of trees on your left and the palace wall on your right. We usually go left. If it is early enough we will see no one at all; if later we will see roughly equal numbers of people and dogs. In this part of the park, most people walking their dogs have more than one. We have had pleasant conversations with several dogs followed by equally pleasant interactions with their owners.
Keep walking a little further and you will reach the main road through the park. There is a parking lot on your right, just beyond the end of the palace wall, for people to park who wish to tour the palace or the park. You pay for parking, of course. Beyond the parking lot, on your right, is a roundabout, from which you can travel in either direction in the park or leave, going out around the front of the palace.
If you cross the road instead of going through the parking lot, you reach the trail which will take you up to King Arthur's Seat. It is deceptively smooth and well paved for a couple of hundred yards, making you think that climbing all the way to the top of the hill will be easy, but after the first major turn, it starts getting muddier and muddier. Richard has trotted up there a few times but I am waiting for a fine day.
Although we haven't had any truly hot days we have had some clear ones. It is not always misty, sometimes it is clear, and stunningly so.
If, instead of crossing the road or going right to the roundabout, you turn left, many delights await you. If you don't approach too closely, these delights will glide regally and serenely around St Margaret's Loch. If you approach too closely without feeding them, they will flap their wings and hiss and generally chase and threaten. We felt very sorry for the swans during the cold weather last week, as their lake froze over and they looked downright miserable, but they are back in fine fettle again.
Swans are not the only birds in the park. There are lots of gulls, and many smaller birds, and also ravens. Talking of fairy tales, the ravens are not quite as bright as one would expect, and certainly display a remarkable lack of humility. They seem to think the cars will stop for them or at least make an effort to avoid them when they are concentrating on exploring something or other in the middle of the road. They move in the end, but rather sulkily.
Seagulls, by the way, are not in the least revered in Scotland. They are regarded as a pesky nuisance. We can only think that Scotland has never been rescued by gulls from a plague of crickets, Mormon or otherwise.
The park is only a couple miles long and wide, but it would take years to explore the myriad trails through and around it. Being in a city and Scotland at that, each trail and road have names that evoke all sorts of images. Queen's Drive crosses the Radical Road and the Duke's walk is over the other side. All in all we have much to explore. We will do so joyfully.
I appreciated your guidance on Hollyrood pronunciation! I have always pronounced it as "Hollyrude". I'm still enjoying all my free trips around Edinburgh and the countryside. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous!
ReplyDelete