Upcoming
31 January (Saturday, 10.00), Archaeology Project photogrammetry workshop, led by Katie Hutton, Headland Archaeology’s Technical Services Manager and Jessica Lowther, Headland Archaeology’s Community Archaeologist, held at Headland Archaeology, Jane St
7 February (Saturday, 10.00), Archaeology Project walk and talk on Calton Hill, led by Jessica Lowther, Headland Archaeology, starting at the Portuguese Cannon
8 February (Sunday, 10.30), CHCT/Dirty Weekenders Volunteers Day, starting at the Portuguese Cannon
21 February (Saturday, 10.00), Archaeology Project on-site walk-over survey workshop, led by Jessica Lowther, Headland Archaeology, starting at the Portuguese Cannon
27 February (Friday, 11.00), CHCT Volunteers Day, starting at the Portuguese Cannon
28 February (Saturday, 10.00), Archaeology Project final workshop to summarize results, with Jessica Lowther, Headland Archaeology, held at Headland Archaeology, Jane St
*10 March, John Playfair, scientist, mathematician, and professor of natural philosophy (10 March 1758 – 20 July 1819)
25 April (Saturday, 10.00), Fourteenth Litter Pickup
*26 April, Agnes ‘Nancy’ Maclehose, Burns’s love interest and Calton Hill resident (26 April 1758 – 23 October 1841)
*7 May, David Hume, the philosopher (7 May 1711 – 25 August 1776)
*3 June, James Hutton, the geologist, tercentenary (3 June 1726 – 26 March 1797)
* Notable anniversaries
Details of forthcoming events are always available from <info@caltonhilltrust.org>.
Past meetings, activities and events
2023
24 January, First meeting of the Calton Hill Action Group
1 February, Second meeting of the Calton Hill Action Group
9 February, Third meeting of the Calton Hill Action Group, adoption of constitution inaugurating the Friends of Calton Hill
14 February, Friends of Calton Hill apply for City of Edinburgh Council registration
21 February, City of Edinburgh Council registration approved
8 March, Calton Hill night-time walkabout
29 March, Public launch of the Friends of Calton Hill at the Collective City Observatory
15 April, First Friends Litter Pickup
18 April to 7 May, Membership Survey
12 June, First grant application to the Community Grants Funds for re-grassing eroded areas
24 June, First Members Meeting (AGM), Greenside Church
1 July, Second Friends Litter Pickup
10 September, ‘Walks on the Wild Side’ of Calton Hill (birds, plants & trees, invertebrates)
14 September, Community Grants Fund award for re-grassing eroded areas (funds received on 12 October)
16 September, Third Friends Litter Pickup
16 September, Launch of Friends Membership Drive
4 November, Geology of Calton Hill Walk
11 November, Fourth Friends Litter Pickup
20 December, Graffiti on Playfair Monument immediately removed by Graffiti Team
2024
10 January, Nelson Monument visit by Friends of Calton Hill Committee
13 January, Fifth Friends Litter Pickup
19 January to 2 February, Re-grassing four areas of severe erosion on the hill with 160m2 of new turf
2 March, ‘Our Classical Hill’: history walk led by Iain Gordon Brown (author of Old Greekie: Edinburgh as the Athens of the North)
13 April, Sixth Friends Litter Pickup
6 May, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust/Friends of Calton Hill Volunteers Day
11 May, Plants & trees walk led by Ben Averis
18 May, Bird walk led by Stephen Welch
18 May, Annual General Meeting (AGM), adoption of a new constitution, and a new name: the Calton Hill Conservation Trust (CHCT)
25 May, Invertebrates (insects) walk led by Craig Macadam
31 May, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust/CHCT Volunteers Day
6 July, Plant & trees survey walk led by Ben Averis
12 July, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust/CHCT Volunteers Day
14 July, Invertebrates (insects) walk led by Kate O’Leary
18 July, CHCT applied for Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) status with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
27 July, Seventh Litter Pickup
15 August, CHCT registered as a charity with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
28 September, Plant & trees survey walk led by Ben Averis
17 October, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust/CHCT Volunteers Day
26 October, Eighth Litter Pickup
1 to 10 November, Calton Hill Firework Control Zone
9 November, Geology Walk, ‘A Story of Rivers’, led by geologist Angus Miller
16 November, Mammal Survey Walk led by Graeme Wilson of GWEcology
5 December, Calton Hill Conservation Trust deputation to City of Edinburgh Culture and Communities Committee
11 December, Volunteers Day ‘extreme’ litter pickup
14 December, Calton Consort at Canongate Kirk
2025
10 January, Volunteers Day for low-level graffiti & sticker removal
18 January, Ninth Litter Pickup
6 February, ‘Protecting habitats and species: Holyrood Park and Calton Hill’ (online public meeting)
15 February, Tour of the Old Royal High School, Regent Road
27 February, Calton Hill Conservation Trust deputation to City of Edinburgh Culture and Communities Committee
28 February, CHCT volunteering afternoon
12 April, Tenth Litter Pickup
19 April, Bat Walk with Graeme Wilson of GW Ecology
22 April, Volunteers Day with the Employee Volunteers/Skyscanner
27 April, Volunteers Day with Edinburgh University Dirty Weekenders
15 May, Re-grassing 120 m2 with RTF turf in front of the National Monument: Volunteers Day with Gleeds and City of Edinburgh Council Park Rangers
17 May, Calton Hill Conservation Trust Annual General Meeting (AGM)
28 May, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust/Atrium/CHCT Volunteers Day
28 May, Black Time Ball restored to the top of the Nelson Monument
13 June, CHCT volunteering afternoon
14 June, Calton Hill Conservation Trust Garden Party at Greenside Church
5 July, ‘Exploring Holyrood Park: geology and rare plant species’ a special walk led by Conservation Ranger Matt McCabe
*15 July, Playfair Walk, led by local historian Hetty Lancaster, and celebration of the birthday of William Henry Playfair (1790-1857)
19 July, Eleventh Litter Pickup
25 July, CHCT volunteering afternoon
5 August, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust/CHCT Volunteers Day
22 August, CHCT volunteering afternoon
12 September, ‘Erosion Emergency’ declared by Calton Hill Conservation Trust
19 September, CHCT volunteering afternoon
20 September, ‘Plant communities on Calton Hill’ a walk led by Ben Averis
2 October, Calton Hill Conservation Trust deputation to City of Edinburgh Culture and Communities Committee
18 October, Twelfth Litter Pickup
31 October to 9 November, Calton Hill Firework Control Zone
1 November, Special Members’ Meeting of the Calton Hill Conservation Trust
7 November, CHCT volunteering afternoon
12 November, ‘Erosion Emergency Re-turfing’ in front of the National Monument with Trust volunteers and Park Rangers
18 November, further ‘Erosion Emergency Re-turfing’ with Trust volunteers
25 November, ‘Geology on Calton Hill’ (online public meeting)
6 December, ‘Astronomy on Calton Hill’ walk led by Professor Andy Lawrence
*28 December, Thomas Henderson, astronomer (28 December 1798 – 23 November 1844)
2026
17 January, Thirteenth Litter Pickup
23 January (Friday, 11.00), CHCT Volunteers Day