EDINBURGH CITY

Sunset sky on fire from Arthur's Seat

On an early winter's day walking around Arthur's Seat you can't help but marvel at the freshness and beauty of the park as the sun sets and birds take flight to their nesting grounds.

Here on Arthur's Seat, James Hutton (1726-1797), the "Father of Modern Geology", discovered the rocks that revealed the nature of geological time. Relating the strata of the rocks to the passage of the millenia, Hutton was able to relate the passage of events to the chronological history of the earth and consequently established geology as a science.  He approached his science with a mindfulness that allowed him to reason that the earth was perpetually evolving with mountains being formed and erosion shaping the hills and valleys. Previously it was thought and believed that the earth was only six thousand years old.  Even today, the creationists still believe that the earth is young and God created the earth in six days.  But it takes someone like Hutton to think laterally, without accepting the uninformed and unproven dogmatism of the church: and it takes someone who is overly-educated or simple in their beliefs to take it as gospel that the earth is as young as six thousand years.

As Bill Hicks said, God put dinosaur bones in the earth to test us?  You were put on the earth to test me. 

Now, to look at the strata of the rocks, we can see how the pressure of the surrounding earth has pushed them to an almost vertical orientation.  That Arthur's Seat was a volcano is now without doubt. The castle rock, I remember my geography teacher telling me, is a plug from the main volcano which erupted 350 million years ago.  The shape of the Seat is evidence that a glacier moved from the west to the east and left a slope on the latter's side. 

The "tail" of the mountain running off to the east

But to walk in the freshness of the hills and valleys right in the centre of Edinburgh is an escape from the traffic and the noise of the city.  How lucky we are to live here.  Despite the storms, the cold in winter, the often damp and humid summers, we have a lot to gain in terms of health and safety.

Magic Numbers

Walked round Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano looming above Edinburgh. Looking at my pedometer at the end of the walk, I discover with no uncertain incredulity that it reads 9999 steps. 10,0000-steps a day is the recommended minimum target to keep healthy and active. I'm one-step shy of the target. But who's counting? Well...me, obviously.

Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

This is my favourite walk/view. Today, the first real snow of winter to fall in Edinburgh. Compare to the calm, mild day below. When I set out, the sun was shining and as usual, with Scottish weather, the unpredictable happened and I found myself in a heavy snowfall.