St. Anthony's Chapel (ruins), Edinburgh

Edinburgh is an ancient city, but a busy, crowded one. Sometimes it’s good to get out of the hub and walk in the hills to clear your head. While you are out on a walk, you’ll probably see Saint Anthony’s Chapel on top of a hill and you’ll want to get closer to have a look at it.

The chapel overlooks Saint Margaret’s Loch and is perched on top of a rather steep hill, so you’ll have to have rather a lot of stamina and curiosity to get to the top.

Sadly, there are no definite records to date the construction of the chapel, but it was probably built during the 14th century. There is a short mention of it in the early 15th century, when Pope Martin V granted a small sum of money to repair the chapel.

Today, only the north wall remains, and you can see some of the original vaulting which suggests that the chapel had three bays. In keeping with the era, the building was probably rectangular with a three storey tower.

It is possible that it was built as an additional chapel serving Holyrood Abbey at the foot of the hill, and used by visitors on their yearly pilgrimage to the area. A beacon lit at the top of the tower would have served as a focal point for pilgrims arriving in the Firth of Forth.