Scorched Earth

the aftermath of the fire on Arthur's Seat

I took a wee walk round Arthur’s Seat to see the extent of the fire damage on the south side. This part of Arthur’s Seat is called Crow Hill and the images below show the fire boundary. Scorched grass and bushes draw a diagonal line through this image at a place I call Magic Corner - where the view as you drive/cycle/walk round the corner on the high road opens out to the castle, and then the whole city.

This image below is the view of the castle from the road at Magic Corner. The burnt bit of hillside is over on the right of this pic.

…and looking back around the corner as it looks after the fire. The firey folk worked extremely hard at preventing the flames from crossing the road because once below that line the fire could have spread all the way to Duddingston Village.

The wind was from left to right and strong during the day, settling down a wee bit overnight, which must have helped.

Just to remind you of the fire brigade tackling things on the night, these shots below show a point on the road just where the road disappears on the pic above. The road was a crucial fire break which had to be defended.

Spot the appliance at bottom right hosing the vegetation above the road. You can just make out the road at the same level across the frame.

The wider scene again from a distance not long after it broke out.

As well as the fantastic (sweaty) work from our boys and girls in yellow, I think the fire probably petered out when the gorse (whin) bushes thinned out round the main hill, above Dunsapie Loch. This slope is largely grass dotted with trees and marbled with heather outcrops. It looked like this at sunrise a few years ago, and there have been more trees planted since. (Note to self: get up and check the heather this year)

The south part of Crow Hill looks the very definition of “scorched earth” in places but I bet it regenerates really quickly. Gorse/whin does smell great in spring with its vibrant yellow flowers but I’d be quite happy if we saw the back of most of it, just not in this destructive way! Any geologists care to comment on this piece of rock?

We should seed it with wild flowers - that would look crazy beautiful. This scene was a wildflower seeded area in Harrison Park one year.

Unbelievably, some pals were up Arthur’s Seat on Saturday and someone started a fire out of sight behind this bush, although they quickly extinguished it. Apparently a passing fire engine sent a couple of firefighters to have a wee word. The folk in this shot are blurred to represent their thinking.

I was reminded of our generally shit caretakership of Planet Earth this week when taking photos of an Edinburgh International Festival rehearsal of Book of Mountains and Seas which reimagines ancient Chinese myths, first transcribed in the fourth century BC, through the lens of today’s environmental challenges. This 21st-century adaptation explores our complex relationship with the natural world, blending music, puppetry and mythology to reflect on humanity’s role as caretakers of the Earth.

When you have your eye to the camera much of the time it’s impossible to keep up with the storyline which was being shown as titles in the background, so I have to admit I became fixated with how the Danish choir’s heads seemed to float in space.

Later their heads bobbed around the stage along with these chinese lanterns.

The lanterns represented ten suns competing to light the Earth. Thankfully we only have the one sun (for now) and here it is setting last night behind the Dugald Stewart monument and the Forth bridges.

Spread the word - enjoy our beautiful parks and inner city volcanoes but please leave your lighters and matches at home, or you could end up with a red coupon like a chinese lantern when the whole place goes up in flames.
Maybe see you out there.
TD

PS - the upper road around Arthur’s Seat is closed to all traffic, including on foot or by bike.