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Calton Hill is an amazing place with an excentric collection of buildings and monuments... It looks like an "architecture sample's fair" :-)
This picture shows the Observatory House
( 1776 ).
The top of the Hill is an excellent and usually quiet place to come on any day, with its grassy slopes and panoramic views of the city.
A curiosity about the place:
On the last day of April it is the scene of the
Beltane fire festival.
( Beltane is a Celtic word which means 'fires of Bel' -- Bel was a Celtic deity. It is a fire festival that celebrates of the coming of summer and the fertility of the coming year. Leave a Comment
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I first saw Calton Hill from afar, going by bus on one of the bridges. The view, with all the amazing constructions, looked like something taken from Greece and yet it was Scotland. I stared at it every time I passed it, at least twice a day, but it only whetted my curiosity. I never went there - didn't have the time. Left it as something to look forward to on my next visit. In the meantime I did find out what the strange buildings were: the giant columns looking like the Parthenon were supposed to commemorate Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Never completed for shortage of funds, they give the view of Calton Hill that Greek flavour. The reddish tower looking like a lighthouse is Lord Nelson's Column with a ball at the top, which is lowered at noon and allows the passing ships to get their time right. You can climb the tower for great views of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth. The monument you can see in the picture is Dugald Stewart's Memorial by the architect W. H. Playfair and dedicated to a professor of moral philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in the early 19th century.
An oasis of peace most of the time, on 30th April Calton Hill comes alive with the celebrations of the coming of summer in the old Celtic calendar, the Beltane Fire Festival.
The painted faces of the dancers performing the ritual fire dance, the drums, the fire eaters in the darkness of the hill all create a great spectacle (I've only seen pictures of it in The Scotsman). The Scotsman says there is also a lot of alcohol, noise and litter left afterwards but that's the price to pay for the fantastic show. I should certainly love to witness it at least once in a lifetime.
Photograph by Barbara Godlewska Leave a Comment Address: Calton Hill
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It is impossible to miss Calton Hill... It is unmistakable with its Athenian acropolis popping up above the skyline. Known as The National Monument, it is pehaps the oddest of the structures on top of Calton Hill.
The acropolis is in fact an unfinished monument - originally called the "National Monument". Initiated after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, it was meant to be a replica of the Parthenon in Athens, as a memorial to those who had died in the Napoleonic Wars.
It's quite fun crawling up and down its giant steps... Leave a Comment
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Calton Hill is not only one of the best vantage points of Edinburgh, it also offers many odd monuments mostly dating from the first half of the 19th century. Among them is the Monument to Dugald Stewart, which commemorates an obscure philosophy professor.
Another one is the National Monument, which was planned as a replica of the Pantheon in Athens. Unfortunately, the money ran out during the project and only 12 huge columns were finished.
Last but not least, nice views can be enjoyed from the top of Nelson's Monument, an upturned telescope shaped tower. Leave a Comment Directions: Calton Hill encircles a volcanic hill at the eastern end of Princes Street in the New Town.
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I have to admit that I probably would have missed Carlton Hill had it not been for one of those city tour bus rides that we took on impulse. I'm much more of a city-center kind of guy and this place is definitely not. The hill is located at the east end of Princess Street and is visible from most locations.
I've included a website below which explains the strange assemblage of structures including a partially built reproduction of the Parthenon, the Nelson Monument built to resemble a stone telescope, an obelisk and two observatories. In my mind, however, the best reason to venture up to Carlton Hill is for the terrific views of the city. This vantage gives a real sense of the terrain and the layout of the entire area. Leave a Comment
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Edinburgh is a city chock full of great views, whether it be from the top of Edinburgh Castle, the top floor of the Museum of Scotland, Arthur's Seat (didn't get up there) or Calton Hill. If you do find yourself climbing up Calton Hill, be sure to walk all around it, from different sides there are dramatically different views, the Firth of Forth, Holyrood Palace and much of Edinburgh. I understand that an even better view can be had if you climb the Nelson monument but I was there too early for that.
The monuments on top of Calton Hill don't seem to have any connection, they all just seem to be placed there, independent of the others. The National Monument, meant to honor Scottish soldiers killed in the Napoleonic Wars is the oddest, designed to look like the Parthenon in Athens, funds ran out and it was never finished. Also found on top of the Hill are the Nelson Monument, the city observatory and the Dougal Stewart Monument. I never did locate the Robert Burns Monument, it's supposed to be somewhere on the southern slopes of the hill.
To get to the top, take Princes Street to Waterloo Place, just past Calton Hill, take the steps up to the top. Leave a Comment
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(from http://www.aboutbritain.com/NelsonMonument.htm)
The death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 was felt by many people in Britain to be more than just a public calamity, for he had been regarded almost as a personal friend by many who had never made his acquaintance. In Edinburgh it was decided that a monument should be built which would be both ornamental and useful, this to be accomplished by replacement of the existing "telegraph", a simple mast landmark, on the summit of the Calton Hill by a stone signal-tower tall enough to be seen by the shipping in Leith Roads.
The structure, most obviously comparable in form to a spy-glass, but also less reverently to a butter-churn, has its base 456 ft above sea-level and stands 106 ft high. Climb the 143 steps to see the tremendous panoramic view of Edinburgh.
In 1852 a time signal was installed at the top of the monument to enable captains of ships to set their chronometers accurately. A large time-ball drops at 12 noon GMT (1.00pm in Summer) on week-days. During the summer the lowering of the time-ball coincides with the firing of the one o'clock gun at Edinburgh Castle.
However the picture is mine!
April- Sept: Monday 1.00pm - 6pm; Tuesday to Sat 10.am - 6.00pm
Oct to March: Mon to Sat 10.00am -3.00pm.
Admission: 2.50 pounds Leave a Comment Phone: (0)1315 562 716Directions: Calton Hill Edinburgh EH7 5AA
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Calton Hill is in the centre of Edinburgh, at the east end of Princes Street and has several 19th century monuments at the top. One of them being the National Monument - an acropolis that looks like a monument from Athens, Greece as originally it was to be a reproduction of the Parthenon at Athens, but only 12 columns were to be completed. You can also see Nelson's monument up there - built in 1816 to commemorate Nelson's victory over the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument in the foreground of the picture is the Dugald Stewart monument and is another Greek influenced structure.
It is well worth going up Calton Hill for the lovely views across Edinburgh and down Princes Street. Leave a Comment
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...or close to it, on a high hill overlooking the city.
Carlton Hill is so close to the city center you can simply walk. That's why it's an ideal spot to picnic. It's green and grassy, has a great view of the city, and some monuments of it's own.
Just hit Sainsburys on the end of Rose Street and carry your food up with you. I did the same with some coworkers of mine on a beautiful sunny day. Leave a Comment Directions: East of Princes Street
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At the other end of Princes Street from the Castle lies Calton Hill, with a folly of a greek temple and a tower with a pole on top. Each day at 13.00 when the '1 O'Clock gun' fires from the Castle, the ball on top of this tower drops, so all those in who can see the tower from the sea and firth of Forth, can set their Watches.
Climb up for the view too. Leave a Comment
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