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Salisbury Crags
The Crags are a prominent, almost surreal sight on the Edinburgh landscape.
They
are towering, sheer cliffs of highly durable basalt.
They were originally shaped by shifting glaciers during the Ice-age, but
also by quarrying.
In 1646 Charles 1st appointed Sir James Hamilton of Prestonfield, the
2nd son of the Earl of Haddington and his heirs keepers of the King's
Park and Holyroodhouse.
The Earl organised the quarrying of the crags providing stone to pave
London streets in 1666 and all over the country. Almost 50,000 tons of
rock were removed between 1815-19
People satrted to protest and eventually in 1831 the house of Lords decided the Earl had no right to destroy and sell the crags he was appointed to protect.
