Edinburgh Part One.Holyrood Park and Arthur,s Seat.

                                                  Salisbury Crags.Holyrood Park.
I,ve been to Edinburgh over 40 times in the last ten years.I,m an outsider but I feel I know it fairly well now.I make no apologies for going back again,this time with a mission.I had received a combination stopwatch, altimeter ,pedometer,device as a present a while ago but never used it much.I,m not a big fan of gadgets like this ,usually finding them more of a distraction than a help. Then an idea came to me.Edinburgh is built over hills, an extinct volcano and its plugs in fact that give it its unique appeal.Few other cities in the world boast its incredible backdrop of  jagged cliffs  so close to cityscape's and castles.So...Could I climb three thousand feet ( 914 metres) of ascent and descent  taking photographs within the city during the course of a days walk.
I was sure it was possible.It might even be 4000 feet.I would also attempt to take my best set of photographs in Edinburgh yet,after all its a dream city for the amateur snapper.It really doesn't get any better than this.Could I take on the professionals living in the city.You always think when you see some poorly laid out professional images on TV ..."That's Mince! My granny could do better than that! "A good while ago I watched some guy photographing drab shop doorways in the rain in Edinburgh with a £1000 quid camera when he had this kaleidoscope of savage rock looming behind him.The commentator was praising him for capturing  the very essence of the city.It could have been shop doorways anywhere in the ******** world!.I nearly smashed the telly in I was so pissed off!
So here,s granny having a go instead.

The Pentlands From  the slopes of Holyrood Park.

Salisbury Crags.You would never know you were in the middle of a city here surrounded by houses.Holyrood park is a lot bigger than most tourists that climb Arthur,s seat realise.It has a lot of hidden quiet areas away from the crowds.

I came here because Glasgow was in the rain all day.What a contrast over on the East Coast.It also has its fair share of daredevils going where others fear to tread.

Spotted this guy near the top of what I think is Cat Nick. You are not really supposed to scramble on Salisbury Crags in case you knock rocks down on people below.Its also a hard type of rock to climb on with mainly outward sloping holds ,although this is not that hard it is steep.

Exposure on the summit escarpment is jaw dropping.In places as scary as anything on the  steepest Munro's when you look over the edge onto multi story flats far below.

Makes the height worse somehow.I promised this girl I,d post this up so she can have a copy.

Arthur,s seat itself has an easy and a hard side.Guess which this is.You can just see three figures on the ramp near the top.I don't recommend this face as a route.The rock is crumbly and loose and covered in sharp gorse bushes in places.

This is directly under the summit.Hope no one drops a camera on me unless its  better than mine.

One of the easy side with Inchkeith in the Firth of Forth behind.White ship in the distance.

A zoom of Inchkeith.A hard island to get out to and land on as its privately owned.

A six spot burnet moth.Someone stood on this one on the path so I rescued it and put it on a flower to die surrounded by sunshine.Aw.It wasn,t me,some other clumsy bugger.If things live and move on the planet they kill  other smaller things,sometimes by design, more often by accident.That,s nature for you.Just as well there are no giants still around today ,they were notorious for sitting down on humans leaving only a waving arm or a leg sticking out a bum crack.What a way to go!

One of the Lomonds,The Binn above Burntisland From the Grasslands of Holyrood Park.

One of Berwick Law From the empty  rolling end of the park,filled with skylarks and purple heather.

The start of the cliffs looking out towards Gilmerton.

Surprised no ones though of Paragliding off here.Probably not allowed.Next James Bond Film maybe?

Cant end without a photo of the Castle.Did I manage to clock up 3000feet of ascent in a city? I,ll save that for part two next week.
This has been a "granny does it better "production....And not a shop doorway in sight.