Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Severin Carrell Scotland editor

Scottish walkers up in arms over Edinburgh footpath shut for five years

Protesters in front of a security fence near Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh
Protesters in front of the Radical Road, from left: ScotWays chair, Katharine Taylor; Cockburn Association assistant director, James Garry; Edinburgh Geological Society vice-president, Angela Mathis; Ramblers Scotland director, Brendan Paddy; president of Mountaineering Scotland, Brian Shackleton. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

A footpath built by Scottish revolutionaries two centuries ago in the royal park beside Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh is at the centre of a modern revolt over public access rights.

The Radical Road was laid around the foot of Salisbury crags, a spectacular basalt cliff that curves around the foot of Arthur’s Seat, by unemployed Scottish weavers who had threatened an insurrection against rapid industrialisation in 1820.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.