Nice hike up to epic views. I found the info about the walk online varied widely and now that I’ve done it I can see why - there are multiple ways of approaching the summit, some of which aren’t too bad and some are quite challenging.

I’m in my 30s, overweight but with fairly decent walking fitness (regular hill walker). I’m not an especially experienced hiker. I went up via the main path used by most people, which starts near the car park behind the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It’s on the map below in black dotted lines. From the car park to the summit took me 40 minutes with a few quick photo stops. That was at a steady pace as I was conscious of daylight. This path was fairly easy to follow and well maintained. You need sneakers at minimum, and it would be slippery on the stone steps in wet weather. The last 2 minutes or so is scrambling/climbing the rocky part to the top, it’s not especially hard but there’s no one track to follow.

The safest way down for inexperienced hikers is back down the main path. If you’re very fit and not planning to linger for long at the top, up and down the main path would take you about an hour I think. If you’re not very fit and/or planning to sit and admire the view for a bit, give it an hour and a half.

Instead of going back down the main path you can also go down the other side, which I did. I don’t think the whole path on that side is marked on the map but it drops down to meet the path marked as Piper’s Walk. This side is much steeper and there are some slippery spots with loose gravel in places. I had a near miss with some loose stones and took it pretty slow after that including a couple of moments of bum shuffling! Some people were climbing up this way but I’m very glad I didn’t. Once you’re down that way you have the option to walk on a relatively flat track back to the car park, or head on up again to the ridgeline of Salisbury Crags, the rather striking cliffs that are closer to the city. I did this, and I was back in the car park 1:45 after I started (including about 10 mins stopped at the summit). I had been up Salisbury Crags before so didn’t linger there for long, but if you’re doing the whole circuit for the first time I’d allow 2 hours as the view there is worth stopping for!

This is a really nice walk and well worth doing while in Edinburgh. If you’re not a confident hiker or really pressed for time, the walk from Holyrood to the top of the Salisbury Crags is quicker, about 30 minutes up so could do the whole thing complete with a decent stop for photos in about an hour, and offers a closer and (in my opinion) equally spectacular view of the city! But if you have the time, the satisfaction of getting to the summit is well worth it