Skating on Dudddingston Loch

This is Duddingston Loch on Edinburgh's south side, viewed from Arthur's Seat. Duddingston Kirk sits in the left foreground.

The Loch, now a bird sanctuary, has many historical associations, the most familiar being the location for Henry Raeburn's famous painting "The Reverend Robert Walker (1755 - 1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch". It is one of Scotland's best known paintings and is in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland and surely due to be redisplayed in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery when it re-opens in November 2011 after a major refurbishment (supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund).

The provenance of the painting was the subject of some controversy in 2005 when a researcher suggested it was by the French artist Henri-Pierre Danloux, but expert opinion appears to have reverted to it being by Raeburn.

The Reverend Walker's profile as painted was allegedly a source for Enrico Miralles's designs for the windows in the MSPs' offices in the new Scottish Parliament.