This circular route starts at Arthur’s Seat and goes to Portobello and the mysterious Coade Stone Columns. Take a short ride along the breezy Portobello beach to reach the cairn of Ailie Muschat and end on Abbey Strand to see the Sanctuary Stones. This route is mostly well-paved and relatively flat. You can hire a bicycle from Cycle Scotland,Tartan Bike Hire, or Leith Cycle Co. You can also find parking with Parkopedia if you have your own bike. You can find out more about taking your bike on public transport here.
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Route overview
When you mention Edinburgh, Arthur’s Seat is often one of the first tourist attractions that pop into mind; it is also the reason Edinburgh exists. Arthur’s Seat is not hard to find, as it looms over the city, therefore offering stunning views. Around 350 million years ago, Arthur’s Seat was a volcano, and the two summits you see are the points where the lava poured out. There is speculation as to exactly how the name came about. The most popular being that it was the site of Camelot, King Arthur’s home, and the Round Table of his Knights.
An old tradition still practised today by some is that of young women washing their faces in the dew of the hillside on the 1st of May, May Day. This is said to help maintain their youthfulness and bring them eternal beauty. It could be worth a try. Another theory is that the hill got its name from the Gaelic expression Àrd-Na-Said, meaning “Height of Arrows.” This makes sense, too, as Holyrood Park served as Royal Hunting Grounds. Holyrood Park served as the Royal Hunting Grounds; therefore, the maximum distance an archer could shoot an arrow was 251 metres, the height of the summit of Arthur’s Seat.
Arthur’s Seat. Credit: Edinburgh Tourist
Feel free to ride along the pathways around Arthur’s Seat before beginning your journey. Find your way to Duddingston Low Road, and ride on the pathway in the direction of and past Duddingston Loch on your left. The pathway will lead you to Duddingston Road West. Ride over this road and back onto a pathway just to the left.
Part 1 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
Follow this pathway as it runs parallel to a railway line. Continue straight along this same pathway until it curves up to the left along a stream, Nidrie Burn. Following the stream, you will be led to a main road, Duddingston Park South. Cross this road onto the pathway that passes a small playground.
Part 2 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
Continue straight and under the Milton Link Bridge. Turn left and pass the car park on your right. Continue straight until the path reaches the main road. Walk your bike to turn right over the bridge, then ride left onto Brunstane Road.
Part 3 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
Continue on Brunstane Road for 800 metres, then turn left to find Portobello Community Gardens and the Coade Stone Columns. Leaving the columns, continue along Portobello Promenade with the beach on your right. Continue for roughly 800 metres when Promenade becomes Promenade Terrace.
Part 4 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
Originally, these stones stood at Argyll House for roughly 90 years. However, not much is known about how and why the Coade Stone Columns were built here. “Coade” is the name of the stone they are built in, and it is virtually weatherproof, so it is likely they are in just about the same condition as they were when they were first built.
The columns date back to the early 1800s, and there is a record that shows that £3,800 worth of Coade stone was shipped to Leith from the Coade factory in Lambeth. Thus, it is possible some of the chimney sections came to Portobello then. The columns were placed in storage after being removed from Argyll House and were placed in the current location in the mid-2000s.
Coade Stone Columns. Credit: Hidden Scotland
Turn left onto Bridge Road, just before the car park. Then turn left again onto Bridge Street after the first car park. Turn right onto Portobello High Street, then left onto Fishwives’ Causeway.
Part 5 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
Follow the curves of the causeway, turning slightly right onto Baileyfield Road, to cross over Sir Harry Lauder Road back onto Fishwaves’ Causeway. Turn right at the next road, then left at the next road to stay on Fishwives’ Causeway, which then runs along a railway line. The causeway curves to the right and turns sharply left onto and over the bridge. Follow the curve of the path, then turn right onto Mountcastle Park, then right onto Mounstcastle Crescent.
Part 6 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
At the end of the road, turn right onto Mountastle Drive North, right onto Northfield Broadway, and then immediately left onto Northfield Road. At the end of the road, turn right onto Willowbrae Road, then left onto Willowbrae Avenue and immediately right onto Kenmure Avenue.
Part 7 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
Continue straight onto Wilfred Terrace, which becomes Scone Gardens. Scone Gardens curves around to the right onto Meadowbank Crescent. At the end of the road, turn right onto Queen’s Park Avenue, and at the roundabout, turn left onto Duke’s Walk to see Ailie Muschat’s Cairn.
Part 8 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
Just past and to the left of St. Margaret’s Loch and up a short flight of steps into the park is Muschat’s Cairn. A cairn, pronounced “ken,” is a monument of sorts constructed out of irregular rocks. Muschat’s Cairn serves as the reminder and place where surgeon Nichol Muschat murdered his wife, Ailie Muschat, in 1720 after other failed attempts at getting rid of her, if you will. Eventually, Nichol confessed to the murder and was hanged in Grassmarket. This cairn was created in the 1800s after the original one was removed.
Muschat’s Cairn. Credit: Hidden Scotland
Continue along Duke’s Walk, which becomes Queen’s Drive. At the first roundabout, take the second exit to stay on Queen’s Drive, then curve left and right along Horse Wynd to turn right onto Abbey Strand to see the Sanctuary Stones and end your route.
Part 9 of the 12km Arthur’s Seat Circular Cycle
If you look carefully at the ground between the Junction of Horse Wynd and Abbey Strand, you’ll find a row of three brass “S” letters. This stood for sanctuary, particularly from creditors, and marked off an 8km section where debtors would be safe from harassment and potential imprisonment in Tolbooth jail. However, this came at a cost, as housing and food were substantially more expensive here. It was only in 1880 that it was made illegal to imprison debtors, thus ending the need for a sanctuary. The old sanctuary buildings were then demolished and replaced with parade grounds for military demonstrations.
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Resources:
If you enjoyed this route, see our 11km Duddingston Loch to Fisherrow Sands route.
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Information from various sources including wikipedia.org