Calton Hill, an attraction from Edinburgh

Edinburgh has plenty of things to do to spend time and enjoy the vacation. Calton hill is one of them. This nice little hill located just a walking distance from the center of Edinburgh town. This Calton hill now a days a park comprises of several small beautiful looking monuments. Lot of tourists use to spend an hour or two in the hill. Also lot of local people use to go there for a jogging or spending time with family.

The main attraction of the Calton hill is the monument that is a replica of Parthenon in Athens. This is known as National monument. The construction of the monument begun during 1826 and due to lack of fund it left unfinished in 1829. The monument was to commemorate the lost soldiers during the Napoleonic wars. Being left unfinished people give this a nickname Edinburgh’s shame. The But now a days this 200 years old monument is a popular tourist attraction among the Calton hill visitors.

Nelson monument is another edifice (or monument) from the Calton hill and which I’ve liked most. This one was built between 1807 and 1815 to commemorate Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 (and his own death at the same battle). This attractive monument is placed at the highest peak of Calton hill. The monument itself is 32 meter tall and has a public viewing gallery at top.

Dugald Stewart monument is another monument from the Calton hill and by that time the sun has already gone below the horizon. That’s why we couldn’t observe this monument properly. The monument has a similarity with a monument of Athens (as the design was based on that). The construction completed by 1831. This monument of Calton hill is a memorial to the Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart

Apart from these monuments the Calton hill has a nice 360 degree view of Edinburgh. You can observe the whole Edinburgh city from the hill. You’ll have a nice view for most of the major architectural buildings of Edinburgh (including the castle). The Scottish sea is also visible from the hill. The park has plenty of space for strolling around as well.

We have gone to the Calton hill just half an hour before the sunset. That’s why we couldn’t explore the area completely. This hill is a nice place to observe the sunset over the Edinburgh town. But due to the storm Ophelia (struck at day before and was passing on that day) the sky was not clear at all. That’s why the sun went behind the clouds well before the sunset. Having a walking distance this Calton hill is a must visiting place for the tourists who are visiting the Edinburgh town.

Caution: The area had some bad incident before, so it is better not to stay there after sunset. Although those incidents had happened many years back.

Calton Hill,
Edinburgh,
Scotland,
United Kingdom,
GPS coordinate (55°57’17.1″N, 3°10’55.9″W)

This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icwow.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, 17 October 2017