Tag: Calton Hill

Arthur’s Seat among the most popular destinations for a winter walk

Analysing TripAdvisor ratings, festive mentions in TripAdvisor reviews, average snowfall in December and the distance to the closest cosy pub, the team at GO Outdoors have highlighted the best places to head out to for a festive walk:

The UK’s Best Christmas Walks:

RankLocationAreaCountryTripAdvisor Rating /5Reviews Mentioning Festive KeywordsSnowfall in December (cm)Miles to Closest PubOverall Score /10
1Barmouth BeachBarmouthWales4.728.6%1.50.29.09
2Glastonbury TorSomersetEngland4.729.3%0.80.58.46
3Bournemouth BeachBournemouthEngland4.535.5%0.50.48.04
4Arthur’s SeatEdinburghScotland4.718.0%1.70.57.94
5Calton HillEdinburghScotland4.616.6%1.70.27.84
6Camber SandsCamberEngland4.330.5%0.60.27.83
7Filey BeachNorth YorkshireEngland4.729.0%0.00.27.63
8Fistral BeachCornwallEngland4.632.3%0.00.27.52
9Brighton BeachBrightonEngland4.130.4%0.30.17.42
10DovedaleAshbourneEngland4.528.9%3.41.57.41

Barmouth Beach has been crowned the UK’s best Christmas walk, scoring an impressive 9.09 out of 10. 

Located in southern Snowdonia, the beach has a Christmassy feel in winter, with 29% of reviews highlighting festive elements. With a seafront path, it’s a great spot for both family outings and peaceful solo walks. December can bring occasional light snowfall, and with a pub only 0.2 miles away, there’s a convenient spot to warm up after your walk.

Glastonbury Tor takes second place with a Christmas score of 8.46 out of 10. 

The route is a steady, manageable climb that ends with wide views of Somerset. Although the incline requires a bit of effort, most walkers will find it comfortable, making it suitable for most abilities. With 29% of reviews mentioning festive terms, it’s a great choice for a December outing, and with a pub only 0.5 miles away, it’s easy to round off the walk with a warm drink or meal.

Bournemouth Beach comes in third with a Christmas score of 8.04 out of 10. 

It stands out for its festive atmosphere, receiving the highest percentage of reviews mentioning festive charm among the top 10 walks. The long sandy shore and wide promenade make it perfect for a leisurely winter stroll. Occasional light snowfall in December can add a touch of magic, giving the beach an especially Christmassy feel.

Natalie Wolfenden, Author and outdoor enthusiast at GO Outdoors, said: “A Christmas walk is a wonderful way to enjoy the outdoors during the colder months, and the UK offers plenty of festive destinations to explore. Whether you’re heading to Somerset or Edinburgh, a little preparation can make your outing even more enjoyable.

“Plan your route well in advance and make sure it’s suitable for everyone taking part. With the colder weather, it’s best to choose paths you’re confident with, as this will make it easier for you to relax and enjoy the festive atmosphere.

“Dressing in warm, breathable layers with an insulated coat will help you stay comfortable, and supportive footwear is essential for any slippery or uneven terrain. If temperatures are set to drop particularly low, a hat and gloves can make a big difference to how long you’re able to stay outside comfortably.

“Finally, on the day of your walk, be sure to check the latest weather forecast before heading out, and be ready to change your plans if conditions take a turn.

“Staying flexible will help ensure a more enjoyable Christmas outing!”

Samhuinn Fire Festival 2025: Facing the Dark Together

AN EVENING OF REVELRY AND CELEBRATION ON CALTON HILL

Last night, revellers of 4700 gathered at Holyrood Park to take part in the annual Samhuinn Fire Festival, produced by Beltane Fire Society.

The festival brought to life the struggle between Summer and Winter in a night filled with drumming, dance, fire theatre, and a host of otherworldly characters.

At the heart of the celebration stood the Cailleach, the divine Crone, guiding audiences through reflection and transformation.

Copyright Bleu Hope for Beltane Fire Society, all rights reserved.

Her presence, alongside the deer and the battling Summer and Winter Courts, embodied this year’s theme of radical connection: the courage to face darkness, the strength found in community, and the wisdom of perspective.

Despite an initial spattering of rain, the wet weather staved off, and brought on an evening of fire, celebration and passion for the start of the darker season.

Jenny Bloom, Chair of Beltane Fire Society, said: “Another incredible Samhuinn! As the Cailleach ushers in winter, we carry her wisdom and strength into the dark months ahead.

“Thank you to our amazing volunteers and witnesses for an unforgettable night. See you at Beltane!”

The modern Samhuinn Fire Festival has been running since 1988 and is the autumn and winter counterpart to Beltane Fire Festival, which is held at Calton Hill on 30th April.

The events are immersive experiences, which involve modern re-imaginings of ancient Celtic festivals to mark the turning seasons, and the turning of the wheel.

The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient Celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.

PICTURES:

Bleu Hope, Cass Senior, Ana Fridrichova, Zhi Kang Chua, James Armandary and Nicholas Feathers.

Samhuinn Fire Festival 2025: Face The Dark, Find Community

SAMHUINN FIRE FESTIVAL 2025: FACE THE DARK, FIND COMMUNITY

Copyright Daniel Boyce for Beltane Fire Society. All Rights Reserved. www.beltane.org / www.facebook.com/beltanefiresociety

On Friday 31st October 2025, Edinburgh’s historic Calton Hill will once again blaze with fire, myth, and performance as the Samhuinn Fire Festival marks the turning of the seasons, brought to you by Beltane Fire Society.

Reimagining ancient Celtic traditions through immersive, contemporary performance, Samhuinn tells the story of the struggle between Summer and Winter, light and dark.

Drummers, acrobats, dancers, and a host of otherworldly characters will transform the city’s skyline with fire, music, and ritual.

At the heart of the festival stands the Cailleach – the divine Crone – who guides us through this time of transition.

Copyright Daniel Boyce for Beltane Fire Society. All Rights Reserved. www.beltane.org / www.facebook.com/beltanefiresociety

She asks: ‘Have you lived with care and courage? Have you supported your community and thought with nuance?’

With Her deer by her side, and with the Summer and Winter Courts locked in their eternal battle, the audience will be invited to step into the dark with courage and connection.

This year, Samhuinn centres on radical connection: the strength we find in each other, the wisdom of perspective, and the courage to face our shadows.

The festival is both a spectacle and a reflection, a chance to gather as a community and embrace the coming of winter together.

Copyright Sébastien Lemaire for Beltane Fire Society. All Rights Reserved. www.beltane.org / www.facebook.com/beltanefiresociety

Chair of Beltane Fire Society, Jenny Bloom, says: “”As the dark Scottish Winter approaches, hundreds of volunteers and thousands of witnesses will join together on Samhuinn night to welcome Winter, to honour the Summer’s passing, and make something magical on Calton Hill. Come and join us!”

EVENT INFORMATION

Tickets

Adults from £9.50 in advance
Under 18s £7 in advance
Booking fees an additional cost.
Tickets are only available from our authorised box office supplier, Citizen Ticket, and are not available for resale or transfer on any secondary market.

Do not attempt to buy tickets for sale on other platforms – they will not be genuine.

Location:
Calton Hill

Times
Gates open: 6:30pm
Event ends: 11pm.

Samhuinn brings together a host of volunteer performers with fire-play, drumming, and wild costumes to Calton Hill, marking the transition of Summer into Winter. Audiences will witness a host of characters representing Summer and Winter.

The characters will coalesce around a stage where the mysterious figure of the Cailleach, a Celtic representation of the goddess, or Divine Hag, will usher in the colder months.

The Beltane Fire Society is a registered Scottish charity run by volunteers and a staple of Edinburgh’s cultural scene, dedicated to keeping the ancient Celtic calendar alive and sharing skills of street theatre, costume-making, folklore, music and immersive performance.

Its Summer counterpart, Samhuinn takes place at Calton Hill on the last day of October each year. The festival celebrates one of the four Celtic quarter day festivals and marks the end of Winter and the beginning of Summer.

Collective Gala this weekend

SUNDAY 7th SEPTEMBER 11am – 5pm

We are so excited to welcome you to our Gala Day next Sunday 7 September, 11am–5pm! Join us for a free day of art, music, tours, makers market and children’s creative play, and scroll down to view the schedule for the day.

You can already pre-book your tickets for Jean Bareham’s Democracy walking tour, and for Lisa Williams’ Black history walking tour!

Otherwise, everything is bookable on the day at our sign-up desk. 

Click here for more access information about our site.

Mercedes Azpilicueta: Fire on the mountain, light on the hill

COLLECTIVE ANNOUNCES NEW SUMMER EXHIBITION

We’re excited to announce our next exhibition, Fire on the Mountain, Light on the Hill, by leading visual and performance artist Mercedes Azpilicueta, originally from Buenos Aires, now based in Amsterdam. 

The exhibition will run from 20 June – 7 September 2025, and will be her first solo show in Scotland. Fire on the Mountain, Light on the Hill will form part of Edinburgh Art Festival’s programme, taking place from 7 – 24 August 2025.

The exhibition is centred on a monumental human-scale Jacquard tapestry entitled ‘Potatoes, Riots and Other Imaginaries’ (2021). Accompanying the tapestry will be a sound piece that introduces whispered gossip and glimpses of songs from social demonstrations.

This mixed media installation weaves together historic and contemporary themes – inspired by the artist’s research of the 1917 Potato Riots in the Jordaan neighbourhood of Amsterdam, directly organised by working class women of this community in response to the extreme food shortages they faced during the First World War.

The work also references contemporary collective action in the form of Ni Una Menos – the feminist grass roots social movement in Argentina, in which Azpilicueta has played an active role since 2015.

A newly commissioned performance on Friday 22 August will draw connections between the themes of the tapestry to Collective’s site on Calton Hill. 

Azpilicueta has come together with award winning, Edinburgh-based artist and choreographer Janice Parker to devise this live event along with other Scottish performers. The exhibition will present drawings relating to the choreography and costumes that will be worn as part of the performance for Edinburgh Art Festival’s closing weekend. 

Azpilicueta’s work is committed to an exploration of care and resistance, often considering and revealing less well-known stories from history, and platforming the role of women who have made a difference in the past, and who continue to inspire in the present. 

Her recent exhibitions include a solo exhibition at Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía-C3A, Córdoba (2024), alongside presentations at the Barbican, London (2024) and Gasworks, London (2021).

Beltane Fire Festival turns the wheel into Summer

EDINBURGH CELEBRATES THE START OF SUMMER WITH BELTANE FIRE FESTIVAL

Last night, thousands of revellers gathered on Calton Hill to mark the turning of the seasons and reconnect with nature through this year’s re-wilding-themed Beltane Fire Festival. 

Just under 7000 people joined in celebrating this powerful Edinburgh tradition, immersing themselves in a vivid, elemental journey of fire, rhythm and transformation.

The night was filled with drumming, hundreds of performers and plenty of fire – illuminating Calton Hill with a fierce and joyful energy. An unseasonably hot day with the clearest of skies made Beltane Night a night to remember! 

Jenny Bloom, Beltane Fire Society’s Chair said: “Another year, another magical Beltane! As we roll into summer and carry the May Queen’s message of renewal with us, a huge thank you to the hundreds of volunteers and thousands of witnesses who made it all happen.

“What a night! See you at Samhuinn!” 

The modern Beltane Fire Festival has been running since 1988 and is the spring and summer counterpart to Samhuinn Fire Festival, which is held at Holyrood Park on 31 October.

The events are immersive experiences, which involve modern re-imaginings of ancient celtic festivals to mark the turning seasons. 

The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.

Autumn Exhibitions launch

Autumn Exhibitions Launch 🍂

Join us this Thursday 9 November for the launch of: asweetsea by Liza Sylvestre and John by Thomas Abercromby.

asweetsea explores what it means to communicate. As an artist who is deaf, and whose child and partner are both hearing, Liza Sylvestre seeks to locate where her disability lives within their family structure.

Sylvestre has collaborated with her 6 year-old child to reimagine her fond memories of the 1985 TV show ‘Sweet Sea’. The works shown at Collective as part of asweetsea were originally commissioned for Liza Sylvestre | asweetsea, John Hansard Gallery (2022). 

John explores the intricate ties between family, grief and the multifaceted layers of social class.

The exhibition is centred around a film installation that juxtaposes childhood paintings made by Abercromby’s late father with opulent gallery interiors, painterly images of urban landscapes, and behind-the-scenes moments of the film’s all-working-class cast and crew.

Refreshments will be served from our Play Shelter outdoors, so please dress for the weather. 

Access information about our site can be found here.

Collective: Gala Schedule Announced!

COLLECTIVE on CALTON HILL REVEAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION PROGRAMME

We are so excited to welcome you to our Collective Gala this Sunday 17 September, celebrating five years since opening the newly restored City Observatory as a centre for contemporary art.

Please see the full schedule for the day (above) to help you plan your visit. 

We have a special programme of activities running throughout the day, with free drop-in creative play sessions by Frieda Ford, makers’ stalls, introductions to our exhibitions, bookable tours of the site including Cooke telescope and Observatory House, and culminating in a newly commissioned performance by Zoë Gibson. 

Please note, Lisa Williams’ Black History walking tour has been postponed to October for Black History Month.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday! 

Speaker’s Chair from the Parliament building that never was acquired by National Museums Scotland

The Presiding Officer’s chair from what would have become the Scottish Parliament building in the event of a vote for devolution in the 1979 referendum has been gifted to National Museums Scotland.

It had been intended that the Scottish Assembly, as it was referred to at the time, would sit in the former Royal High School building on Calton Hill in central Edinburgh, and plans were sufficiently advanced for the Debating Chamber to have been furnished.

However, the referendum did not secure the required number of votes to achieve devolution. When the vote for devolution was later carried in 1997, the decision was taken to build a brand-new purpose-built Scottish Parliament building and so the chair was never used for its intended purpose.

Georgia Vullinghs, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary History, said: “We’re very pleased to be able to acquire this object. The furniture represents a key moment in the story of devolution and the history of Scottish politics.

“This large, blocky chair and its futuristic design is emblematic of a confidence in significant political change for Scotland in the late 1970s, but which did not ultimately happen at that time. This generous donation will allow us to better tell the story of that fascinating moment in Scotland’s history through our collections.”

The former Royal High School building is now undergoing a major restoration which will see it repurposed as a world-class centre for music education and public performance for the benefit of the whole of Scotland as the National Centre for Music. The Royal High School Preservation Trust (RHSPT) is leading the project and took possession of the building in March.

William Gray Muir, Chair of the RHSPT said: “We are delighted that this piece of constitutional history will have a fitting home in the national museum, where it can help tell the story of how modern Scottish politics encountered the legacy of the Scottish Enlightenment.

“The significance of the Thomas Hamilton building – the Old Royal High – and its symbolic importance to our national political and social ambitions is indisputable and its past, present and future form a critical part of Edinburgh’s status in the world. The Trust’s aim is that we add a new chapter to that story and the building’s relationship with Scottish heritage and our national museum will continue.”

Although the Scottish Assembly never occupied the building, the site of the Royal High School remained a focal point in the debate over devolution, with images of the building used in campaign material, and a Vigil for a Scottish Parliament was held outside the building for 1,980 days from 10 April 1992 until the 1997 referendum.

The tent from the touring campaign and related material are on display in the National Museum of Scotland. The chair is now at the National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh where it will undergo conservation treatment.