CountrysideEdinburghHistoric Scotland4.8
Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed.
Historic Scotland's Broad Pavement car park on Queen's Drive near the Palace of Holyroodhouse, £1 an hour on weekdays 8.30am to 5.30pm and free at weekends; further car parks at St Margaret's Loch and Duddingston Loch. Not a Trust car park, so membership does not cover it.
Historic Scotland charges £1 an hour at Broad Pavement car park from 8.30am to 5.30pm, except on Saturdays, Sundays, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 25 and 26 December and 1 January; Blue Badge holders park free, and Historic Scotland members are not exempt (nor are English Heritage members). Parking is also available at St Margaret's Loch and Duddingston Loch car parks, with no tariff published. Dunsapie Loch car park is open to vehicles only Tuesday to Thursday, 9.30am to 3pm. Overnight parking is not allowed anywhere in the park.
Driving pin: Broad Pavement car park, next to the toilets and the start of the paths up Arthur's Seat, and the meeting point for ranger walks; it stays open when the park roads close every Saturday and Sunday during the day (from about 9am to 10pm). The park can be entered on foot from many points around its edge; Historic Scotland names no bus service, only its journey planners. Cycling is allowed on the roads and the path beside Queen's Drive, not off-road.
Holyrood Park is Edinburgh's largest greenspace, a royal park about a mile across whose hills and crags shape the city's skyline, dominated by Arthur's Seat. The summit and Salisbury Crags are the remains of a volcano that erupted some 340 million years ago, later carved by glaciers, and in the 18th century James Hutton studied the crags as he developed his theory of deep time. Bronze Age farming terraces still show on the eastern slopes in low sun. Legend says David I founded Holyrood Abbey after an encounter with a stag here in 1128, and Prince Albert laid out many of the roads and paths in the 1840s. Climb Arthur's Seat for views over the city and the Forth, about an hour or two there and back, or walk the High Road circuit past Dunsapie Loch and the ruins of St Anthony's Chapel. It is windy at the top, so wear grippy shoes.
Historic Scotland: 'Holyrood Park is open 24 hours a day, year-round and is free to visit.' Notices on 18 October 2026: the High Road is closed to motor traffic (walkers and dismounted cyclists can use it); the Duddingston Low Road is closed to vehicles because of rockfall risk, open to pedestrians behind safety fencing; the Radical Road is closed because of falling rock except the section from the Hawse to the South Quarry; climbing areas are closed for safety. Free ranger-led walks run on selected dates (booking essential for some; no dogs except assistance dogs on them), and a free audio guide is available in the Geotourist app.
Toilets are next to the Holyrood Park Education Centre on the north side of the park, behind the Palace of Holyroodhouse: April and September daily 8am to 5pm; May daily 8am to 6pm; June to August Monday to Wednesday 8am to 5pm and Thursday to Sunday 8am to 7pm; October to March daily 8am to 3pm. Paths range from the smooth High Road to steep, rocky and slippery routes near the summit, with sheer drops; wear sturdy shoes with good grip. No camping, fires, barbecues or golf; drones need permission. No cafe or shop in the park.
Dogs: Dogs are welcome in the park; owners must clean up after them. Not on ranger-led walks except assistance dogs. Dogs must be on a lead in signed areas during the nesting season to protect ground-nesting birds.
Photo: Arthur's Seat rising above rocky crags and grassland in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh. Miguel Mendez, CC BY 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arthur%27s_Seat_(22015178956).jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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Dogs, with restrictions
A smooth circular route round Arthur's Seat with views of Edinburgh, Fife and the East Lothian coast, a rest stop at Dunsapie Loch, and off-road options to St Anthony's Chapel or the summit, steep and rocky near the top; quieter paths cross Hunter's Bog. Free, open 24 hours; the High Road is closed to motor traffic but open to walkers.
