During previous walks around Edinburgh, we had noticed a hill in the new town area with some interesting looking structures on it. So we vowed to explore this at a later time. Well...this was that later time. Calton Hill is located on the eastern end of Princes street, rises to over three hundred feet above the city, and offers magnificent views of Edinburgh to the south and the port district of Leith (with the Firth of Forth harbor) to the north. In the late 1500's, this hill was part of the land owned by the Logan family of Restalrig. It was forfeited in 1609 when Robert Logan was accused of treason. Later, the burgh of Edinburgh acquired the land. A number of structures important to the history of the area, sit atop the hill; notably the National Monument, dedicated to the Scottish soldiers killed during the Napoleonic wars. Originally, this structure was to be a replica of the Parthenon, but was never completed because of a lack of sufficient funding; Nelson's Memorial Tower with its famous timeball for ships in the harbor to synchronize their chronometers, also sits at the apex of this hill; and the City Observatory with the Craig House(designed by architect James Craig, to emulate the Greek Temple of the Four Winds). In spite of a bit of rain when we first arrived, this was a glorious visit. We had a great time and met some wonderful people. If you come to Edinburgh, be sure not to miss climbing this hill as the panoramic views are spectacular.
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