Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park overlooking Edinburgh

© Andrew Merry/Getty Image

Festival season begins

We’re kicking off festival season in Edinburgh with this view of the city from Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park. Throughout August, Scotland's capital city is hosting a huge number of music, theatre, opera, dance and other performances as part of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest international arts festival.

Less than half a mile from the main shopping street, Holyrood Park provides a welcome respite from the hubbub. Hike up here to take in views of the city and its famous landmarks including Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace. The city's Old Town and New Town have been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1995.

Formed by glaciers and volcanic activity millions of years ago, the craggy outcrops on our homepage are among the best examples of a geological sill in Europe. They formed when magma rose up and spread out horizontally, pushing its way between existing layers of rock. We’re lucky they are still here. For two centuries, the hard dolerite was mined, broken up and shipped off across the UK for use in cobblestone streets. The locals put a stop to the mining and now we can stand here to take in the views. If we listen closely, we may hear strains of music coming from the festivals somewhere down below.