Calton Hill

If someone has only an hour in Edinburgh, I send them up Calton Hill. It’s the easiest of the city’s viewpoints to reach, ten minutes from Waverley station, and from the top you see everything at once: the Old Town ridge running up to the Castle, the spires of the New Town, Arthur’s Seat to one side and the Firth of Forth to the other.

What is Calton Hill?

Calton Hill rises at the east end of Princes Street, and it’s crowned with monuments that earned Edinburgh its old nickname, the “Athens of the North”. It’s part of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s a public park, and it’s free and open at all times.

The monuments are half the fun:

• The Dugald Stewart Monument, a circular temple on the south-west corner, is the one in all the photos.
• The National Monument, the unfinished “Parthenon”, was started in the 1820s as a memorial to the Scottish soldiers and sailors of the Napoleonic Wars. The money ran out after twelve columns, and it’s been known as “Edinburgh’s Disgrace” ever since.
• The Nelson Monument, shaped like an upturned telescope, has a time-ball on top that drops at 1pm, in sync with the One O’Clock Gun fired from the Castle (except on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day).
• The City Observatory, in the middle of the hill, is now home to Collective, a contemporary art centre with a café.

How do you get to the top?

From Princes Street, walk east onto Waterloo Place. Just past the Old Calton Burial Ground, a flight of steps leads up the side of the hill, and you’re at the top in five to ten minutes. There’s also a road up from Regent Road on the other side, which is a gentler climb if you’d rather avoid the steps.

Where to stand

For the postcard shot, go to the Dugald Stewart Monument on the south-west corner. Frame the monument on the left, with the Old Town skyline, the Balmoral clock tower and the Castle behind it.

For something different, walk round to the National Monument and shoot through its columns towards the Forth, or turn east for the view of Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags.

When to go

• Sunrise gives you soft light on the Old Town and an almost empty hill. In winter, sunrise is at a civilised hour.
• Sunset is spectacular, with the sun dropping behind the Castle, but it gets busy, especially in summer.
• Blue hour, just after sunset, is when the city lights come on. It’s my favourite time up here.
• Haar, the sea fog that rolls in off the Forth, can hide the view completely, or leave just the spires poking through.

Local tip

Zoom in rather than going wide. A longer lens, or your phone’s 2x or 3x setting, stacks the Dugald Stewart Monument, the Old Town spires and the Castle together and makes the skyline look dramatic.

Things to know before you go

• It’s windy. Even on a calm day in town, it’s often blowing a gale on the top. Bring a layer.
• It’s not lit at night everywhere. Paths are fine at dusk, but take care after dark.
• During big events, like the Christmas season and Hogmanay, it’s one of the best free spots to see the city lit up and the fireworks over the Castle.

Nearby

• Princes Street and the New Town, five minutes downhill.
• The Old Calton Burial Ground, on Waterloo Place, with the tomb of philosopher David Hume.
• Arthur’s Seat, about 20 minutes’ walk away via Holyrood.