View from Arthur's Seat

Today we had our first properly dry morning since we arrived in Edinburgh on Wednesday. So we took the opportunity to walk up Arthur's Seat, the volcanic hill near the centre of Edinburgh. Even though there was a fair bit of haze, the view was impressive - in the top left of the photo you can even see some of the famous Forth Railway Bridge and some of the towers and cables of the road bridges. In the foreground you can see Waverley Station, the Ferris Wheel and the Scott Memorial.

The extra is a view of the Castle, again from Arthur's Seat.

It's worth looking large against black, if you've time.

Seemingly there are various possible explanations of how Arthur's Seat got its name. The simplest is that it somehow refers to the legend of King Arthur, but another suggests that it's a corruption of the Gaelic Àrd-na-Said, meaning "Height of Arrows". Or it could derive from Àrd-thir Suidhe, meaning "Place on High Ground". It was a nice hill to walk up anyway, with great views.

We're now back home after an uneventful train journey. We've had a lovely short break in spite of the mixed weather.