While many of us have climbed Arthur's Seat and enjoyed a walk around Holyrood Park during the warm weather, one thing that sticks in the memory is the breathtaking views and tranquillity.
Although there is a sense of escaping the city centre with the amount of greenery around the park, it would perhaps be too much to envision a heard of sheep roaming the area.
Centuries ago, that's exactly what was happening. Sheep used to graze in the shadow of Arthur's Seat until they were all removed around 50 years ago. In the 1800s, they were cared for by the 'king's shepherd', who was housed in a small, single-storey building called Wells o'Wearie cottage.
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The sheep were a welcome sight to locals and landowners in the area, as they kept the grass short and reduced the amount of scrub and woodland. However, when some of them started going missing, eyebrows were raised.
In 1977, the sheep were permanently removed and there have been several theories as to why. At the time, the reason they were moved on was because they caused "ecological damage". But since they were removed, the park's grassland area has actually reduced, resulting in an overall reduction in grassland biodiversity.
It seems the animals were actually doing quite a lot of good, after all. So is the "ecological damage" line entirely true, or was there a bit more to the decision than that? The answer is...possibly.
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We've uncovered another reason that the sheep may have been removed from the park, namely mischievous Edinburgh University students from nearby Pollock Halls of Residence in Newington which borders the part of Holyrood Park where the sheep roamed.
After a photo of sheep grazing in the park was shared in a local Facebook group called The Streets of Edinburgh, one ex-student who was at the university after the Pollock Halls new tower blocks were built in the 1960s said: "I remember during Freshers' week someone took one into Pollock Halls in the middle of the night and sent it up to the top floor in the lift. Maybe that's why they don't have them in the park any more."
This article was previously published on March 1, 2019.
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