Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland

© Andrew Merry/Getty Image

Info. Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland

We’re looking over Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city, from Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park. Located less than one kilometre south-east of Edinburgh’s main shopping street, you can hike up here to see famous landmarks, including Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood Palace, the City Centre and the New Town, which stretches out towards the sea. Formed by glaciers and volcanic activity millions of years ago, these craggy outcroppings are among the best examples of a geological sill in Europe. We’re lucky that they’re still here for our pleasure. For two centuries, the hard dolerite rock was mined, broken up and shipped off for use as cobblestone streets. The locals put a stop to the mining and now we can stand here to enjoy the views.