Arthur's Seat from Holyrood Park

From Broad Pavement car park near the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the walk follows Queen's Drive south-west under the dark cliffs of Salisbury Crags to the Hawse, the dip at the foot of the hill. There it turns up Volunteer's Walk, a stepped stone path, and climbs by rocky paths to the summit of Arthur's Seat (251 m), with the city, the Firth of Forth and the hills beyond in view. The way down heads east to Dunsapie Loch, then follows grass paths and Queen's Drive round the north side of the hill, past St Margaret's Loch, back to the start.

It is 5.4 km round with 230 m of ascent; allow about 2 hours. The grade is Easy: short, on made paths, steps and park roads, though the last climb is steep and rocky.

The Radical Road, the path under Salisbury Crags, is closed because of falling rock, apart from the sections from the Hawse to the South Quarry, and the park's climbing areas are closed, according to Historic Environment Scotland; this route uses neither, and it stays below the sheer crag tops. The summit is rocky and slippery when wet, and open to the wind. Park roads are closed to vehicles during the day at weekends.

Broad Pavement car park charges £1 an hour from 8.30am to 5.30pm, except on Saturdays, Sundays and some bank holidays, and overnight parking is not allowed; the park itself is open 24 hours a day and free (Historic Environment Scotland). Edinburgh Waverley station is about 1.2 km from the start.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.