I have visited Calton Hill numerous times over the years. Every time I had a visitor in Edinburgh, I would take them there. I visited this hill for the first time in 2010. It was a remarkably beautiful day. The hill is not a very steep walk at all and it offers great views over the city. On one side you can see New Town and Old Town (Arthur’s Seat) and on the other side you can see Leith. You can actually also see some small islands which are uninhabited, during the war they were mistaken for war ships, which threw a lot of pilots off when they were attacking.
I loved walking up the hill and looking at the flowers in bloom (especially in spring).
National Monument
The National Monument is the main sight on the hill. This monument is otherwise known as Scotland’s Disgrace. It received it’s nickname because back in 1823, two architects designed the monument to look like the Parthenon in Athens. However, due to the lack of funds they stopped construction in 1826 and it remains unfinished to this day (when I lived in Edinburgh from 2010 until 2013, the construction of a tram line which was supposed to connect the Airport with Leith was started and abandoned in the same way – this has since been completed though, even though it doesn’t reach as far as Leith).
Nelson Monument
The monument was built in the 1800s to celebrate Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and his own death at the same battle. The slope you can see in the picture gets very slippery in winter, so be careful!
Dugald Stewart Monument
This monument is a memorial to the Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart. It has been modeled after the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates in Athens, Greece and is a circular temple of 9 fluted Corinthian columns around an elevated urn.
Conclusion
I would really recommend that anyone who visits Edinburgh should also visit Calton Hill. It is a five minutes walk from the main shopping street in New Town. The hill offers great views over the city. If you stay in Edinburgh for any of the festivals, it’s worth watching the fireworks from this hill as well. I have visited both in summer and winter and this place suits any season.
