Arthur's Seat wildfire: Warning to visitors as Arthur's Seat grass fire burns into second day
Visitors are being warned to steer clear as crews work to fully extinguish the flames in the Capital
Firefighters remain at the scene tackling a grass fire which broke out near Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh on Monday.
The alarm was raised at about 6.50pm on May 25 when the fire started in an area of vegetation near the ruins of St Anthony’s Chapel.
Two fire engines remained at the scene at 2pm on Tuesday.
The High Road at Holyrood Park is currently closed to vehicles due to the ongoing incident. Members of the public have been advised to avoid affected areas.
Clouds of smoke could be seen rising from the area as firefighters tackled the blaze and local residents were advised to keep their windows and doors shut as a precaution.
There were no reports of any injuries.
The blaze came as the city felt the heat during the current sunny spell, with a maximum temperature of 25C recorded by the Met Office on Monday.
In a social media post, Historic Environment Scotland said: “Following the recent fire in Holyrood Park, the High Road is currently closed to vehicles.
“Much of the park remains open for visitors, but for your safety we ask that you continue to follow guidance from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and avoid affected areas for now.”
In a statement on Monday evening, a spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are currently in attendance at an incident on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh.
“Operations Control has mobilised three appliances to the scene. People are being asked to avoid the area as crews work to extinguish a large grass fire.
“There is no further need to alert our Operations Control to this incident as we have already received a large volume of calls.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said on Monday: “We are in attendance at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh following reports of a fire on the hill on Monday, 25 May, 2026.
“The park is closed to vehicles and we ask the public to avoid the area while emergency services deal with this matter.”