Dunsapie Loch

Dunsapie Loch is a small artificial loch nestling between Dunsapie Hill and Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park. It was formed during the construction of Queen’s Drive through the park, and owes its origin to Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort, who oversaw its creation in 1844.
The loch is home to a variety of wildfowl, including greylag geese, mallards, tufted ducks, coots, moorhens, pochards and mute swans. These are always appreciative of scraps of bread.
The grassy slopes around Arthur’s Seat are excellent playing areas, and when the wind gets up you may well see the odd kite battling against the air currents.
The loch is accessible via the park’s east entrance, at the Meadowbank end, where a winding road leads gradually up towards around 110 metres (361 feet) above sea-​level. The road is one-​way, making for a hassle-​free drive around the park (apart from Sundays when the roads are closed to traffic). A path runs parallel to the road, popular with everyone from gentle strollers and hillwalkers to the more intrepid joggers. Parking locations en route make excellent picnic spots, offering wonderful views out over the city’s eastern suburbs, towards Berwick Law.
One reason why I am drawn to Dunsapie Loch is that it offers by far the easiest route to the summit of Arthur’s Seat. After parking by the loch, or strolling up from ground level, you can march up towards a path leading straight to the peak. From here you can enjoy panoramic views around 360 degrees.
If you feel that Arthur’s Seat is a bit daunting, then a good warm-​up would be Dunsapie Hill. This overlooks the loch, and contains the remains of a 2,000-year-old fort and farmstead.
What I particularly like about Dunsapie Loch, is that more than the other 2 lochs in Holyrood Park, St Margaret’s and Duddingston, visiting here makes you feel as if you have escaped from a city with a population nearing half a million. It is tucked away, teeming with wildfowl, and yet a matter of minutes from ‘civilization’. And on a Sunday, you can enjoy the whole experience without being bothered with cars.

The Dunsapie Loch is one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful, most often overlooked attractions. At a height of about 110 meters above sea level, this manmade reservoir looks and feels the part of Scottish Loch in the hills.
In order to get to this beautiful lake, you need to follow Queens Drive up the side of, and around Arthur’s Seat, until it wedges itself between Dunsapie Hill and Arthur’s Seat itself.
At first, you can easily miss the hidden gem, since a relatively thick growth of trees hides the Loch from view from the road, but the car park on your left gives it away. Walk into the carpark, and, voila, curving around the wee hill lies Dunsapie Loch.
This lake is host to a wild variety of species, both bird and fish, including, but not limited to crane’s, ducks and swans.
Sometimes, it gets very misty, and the view from Dunsapie Hill (maybe a 5 minute walk and climb from the loch) offers a great, vantage point to see the city shrouded in an exceptionally thick fog, only the lights shining through as beacons. And even if does not get foggy, the view is still breath — taking, and an alternative to the oft overdone look off the top of Arthur’s Seat