Get back up that hill: Runners celebrate as Arthur’s Seat’s High Road reopens after August fire

The High Road in Holyrood Park has reopened after a fire tore through gorse on Arthur’s Seat during the Fringe Festival.

While most roads in the park were reopened shortly after, the High Road remained closed after reports indicated a risk of falling debris.

Historic Environmnet Scotland (HES), the organisation which oversees the maintenance of Holrood Park, have announced the High Road has now reopened to pedestrians and cyclists.

The High Road is popular with runners, cyclists and hill walkers and runs through Holyrood Park on the side opposite the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

It is normally open to vehicles from 9:30am – 3pm Tuesday to Thursday, and has a one-way system for cyclists.

The closure has affected a number of regular events, including the weekly Holyrood parkrun which was repeatedly cancelled but has announced it will return next weekend.

Holyrood Parkrun announced the reopening on Facebook, saying: “Historic Environment Scotland have confirmed they are reopening the High Road and that we will be good to go with Parkrun from 25th October.

Looking forward to getting back up that hill, see you at Holyrood.”

The road was also briefly closed in March, again due to concerns about rockfalls following a regular inspection.

According to HES, the wildfire burned away gorse which was essential for protecting the road below from rockfalls.

A fire chief stated in August that they believed the fire was caused by “some sort of human behaviour or intervention” though the blaze was made more likely by dry weather over the summer.

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An HES spokesperson told The Tab Edinburgh: “Following assessments of the rock faces and works to enable safe access, the High Road pavement and carriageway in Holyrood Park has reopened to pedestrians and one-way traffic following its closure in August due to wildfire.

As part of our routine weekend road closures, the High Road is open to vehicles from 9:30am-3pm Tuesday to Thursday and a one-way system is in place for cyclists.”

August’s blaze saw Scottish Fire and Rescue Services working through the night and continuing to wet down the dry surface over the following week. This was preceded by another gorse fire in February 2019 which took over eight hours to extinguish.

Holyrood Park has Scheduled Monument status and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, playing a central role in local plant and animal life. The Duddingston Low Road remains closed to vehicles, also due to rockfall concerns, though the pavement has been open since early August to pedestrians and dismounted cyclists.

Historic Environments Scotland also announced in September that the Radical Road, which has been closed since September 2018 due to significant rockfalls, will partially reopen early next year.

The path has served walkers heading along the Salisbury Crags for over 200 years, and overlooks the Scottish Parliament and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Featured image via Holyrood Parkrun/Facebook.