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Calton Hill

The Folly on the Hill

Regent Road
City of Edinburgh,
EH1 3DG

Neighborhood: City Centre

Phone: +44 131 200 2000
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Calton Hill is open to all during daylight hours and is free of charge. Take the steps up from Regent Road and then choose between more steps or a more gentle walk along the path. There are magnificent views of Fife, Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth from the summit, and the definitive view of Princes Street. The hill is the stage for the epic Beltane Festival celebrations at midsummer, with drumming, partying and a colourful pageant ushering in the new season. Monuments at the top include the Nelson Monument and a part-reproduction of the Parthenon, intended to commemorate the war dead in the Napoleonic wars. Alas, it ran out of funding and has become known as Edinburgh's Folly.

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Associated Events
Beltane Fire Festival
Apr 30th, 2010
The Beltane Fire Festival, held on Calton Hill on 30th April, is a neo-pagan fertility ceremony. Revellers in costume and bodypaint dance around the hill to the sound of various drummers, musicians. Bonfires rage and spectacular props abound to make the whole thing a rare and often enthralling sight. It all begins at about 9:30p when the May Queen emerges from the Acropolis with her White Women. Together with the Green Man, they process around the hill visiting sites dedicated to each of the four elements. After the Dionysian Red Men have been seen off, the Green Man is subjected to a symbolic death and resurrection before marrying the May Queen. Fires are lit and the May Queen returns to her bower as the festival continues on through the night.

RatingRatingRatingRatingRating
Wonderful view for a small climb
Each year I go to Edinburgh I walk Carlton Hill a couple of times. The climb is moderate but the rew...
Reviewed by:A Yahoo! Contributor from on Jul 31 2006

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