Holyrood Park is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland about 1 mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. It is open to the public. It has an array of hills, lochs, glens, ridges, basalt cliffs, and patches of gorse, providing a wild piece of highland landscape within its 650-acre (260 ha) area. The park is associated with the Palace of Holyroodhouse and was formerly a royal hunting estate. The park was created in 1541 when James V had the ground "circulit about Arthurs Sett, Salisborie and Duddingston craggis" enclosed by a stone wall.
Arthur's Seat is located within Holyrood Park
Salisbury Crags seen from Blackford Hill
View down over the crags, with walkers on the Radical Road.
Looking south over St Margaret's Loch, towards St Anthony's Chapel
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyroodhouse has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse viewed from the Forecourt
The ruined nave of Holyrood Abbey
The gatehouse built by James IV, with the palace's James V's Tower behind, in a 1746 drawing by Thomas Sandby.
Detail of a sketch made by an English soldier in 1544, showing the palace and abbey in front of Arthur's Seat. The Royal Mile is at right.