Sometimes Scotland is just too darned beautiful and too darned interesting for its own good (which, as ‘humble-brags’ go, is a delightful one to be able to make). Arthur’s Seat – the mountain in the middle of Edinburgh – and Holyrood Park already get some five million visitors a year and are set to become even more popular following their ‘starring’ role in the Netflix love story One Day.

Forget Emma and Dex, the supposedly central characters who climb Arthur’s Seat on the night they first meet, for many viewers the scenery is the thing – and they want to experience it first hand. The effects of Outlander and Harry Potter on tourism to Scotland have already been well-documented. Now it seems we should prepare for another influx.

However, there’s a problem. The park’s paths are said to be “under significant pressure from increasing user numbers” with “widespread damage and erosion” that is “scarring the landscape, degrading habitats, damaging archaeology and negatively affecting user safety and experience”.

So are we saying ‘keep your feet off our Seat’? Absolutely not. Just please tread lightly.

It's OK to put your feet on Arthur's Seat but please tread lightly – Scotsman comment

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