Calton Hill

This is the stubby crag just east of Princes Street: a short stroll up it commands great views. The "National Monument", a memorial to Scots killed in the Napoleonic Wars, was an attempt to out-do the Parthenon in Athens but the money ran out with only the west facade built. Nelson's Tower was built 1807-16 in the shape of an upturned telescope in honour of the naval hero. A Time Ball on the mast drops at 1PM every day just as the One O'Clock Gun is fired from the castle - this gives a time signal to ships in the Firth before the sound rolls out to them, or it would if not obscured by drizzle and the ships in possession of reliable watches. It was operated by the adjacent City Observatory, superseded in 1896 by the Royal Observatory in the south of the city. City Observatory remained active until 2009 then was refurbished as the Collective Gallery exhibition space for modern art.

• 103 m high

• history
• outdoors
• viewpoint
• museum

Address

Calton Hill

Website

en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)