Calton Hill lies to the east of the centre of

Edinburgh, the hill is home to several iconic Scottish monuments and buildings. These include, The National Monument, Nelson's Monument, Dugald Stewart Monument, New Parliament House, The Robert Burns Monument, The Political Martyrs' Monument and The City Observatory.
Calton Hill throughout it's history has been a place of mystery and mystique, the hill was used from ancient times as a place of execution. Major Thomas Wier who was a Scottish soldier and self confessed occultist was executed on Calton Hill in 1670 for witchcraft.
On the 30th April each year Carlton Hill is the setting for the Beltane Fire Festival. The present day Beltane Fire Festival was revived in 1988. The festival being inspired by the ancient Gaelic festival of Beltane which began on the evening before the 1st of May to mark the beginning of summer. From it's origins in 1988 with a dozen or so performers and a few hundred spectators, the event has now grown to involve several hundred performers and an audience of some twelve thousand. File 9929.