Duddingston Loch

After a very hectic last few days and weeks, it is good to have a couple of more relaxed days before the next onslaught begins! Anyway, after an hour in the office, dropping off some stuff from the events and checking e - mails, I took the rest of the day off and where better to blip the cobwebs away than a nice wander round Duddingston Loch before heading to Portobello.

Duddingston Loch is a natural loch located in Holyrood Park, below Arthur's Seat. It is part of a nature reserve, being important for wildfowl, herons and the great crested grebe, as well as swans and ducks. It is the only natural loch in Edinburgh, and the largest in Holyrood Park.

Henry Raeburn's famous painting The Skating Minister is set on Duddingston Loch. The loch used to be a popular venue for skaters, with the Edinburgh Skating Club meeting there, but is now rarely sufficiently iced.

There are carp in the loch, allegedly reaching up to 20 pounds (9.1 kg) in size, as well as populations of roach, perch and pike.

In 1778, a hoard of fifty-three Late Bronze Age weapons was dredged from the loch; it is now held by the National Museum of Scotland.

Anyway, it is the weekend, so all chill and relax.