Calton Hill is situated just a couple of minutes’ walk from Princes Street and the Balmoral Hotel. It offers you unrivalled panoramic views around Edinburgh and beyond across the Firth of Forth to Fife and East towards North Berwick. The spectacular views over the city and the Forth from Calton hill has provided inspiration for poets and artists over the years, the most famous being Robert Burns.
Calton Hill, together with Arthur’s Seat and the Castle Rock, was formed by volcanic activity about 340 million years ago. Edinburgh was buried under a massive ice sheet about two and a half million years ago which was hundreds of metres thick. The weight of the ice carved and gouged many of the hills around Edinburgh throughout each Ice Age to create the spectacular scenery we enjoy today.
The Town Council of Edinburgh purchased Calton Hill in 1724 to make it one of Britain’s first public parks. The Monuments around Calton Hill date from the 1760s to the 1820s and relate to a period known as the ‘Scottish Enlightment’. This was a time of great artistic, literary and scientific advances.
Calton Hill remains an important part of the UNESCO Edinburgh World Heritage Site and provides a perfect opportunity to view the unique and contrasting features of the city’s Old and New Town.
A Writer in Edinburgh 