Calton Hill, Edinburgh

Calton Hill is a hill in central Edinburgh. It is the headquarters of the Scottish Government, which is based at St. Andrew's House. The hill is also the location of several iconic monuments and buildings; the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory. The Dugald Stewart Monument was built 1831 by Playfair, he was inspired by the Tower of the Winds in Athens. The National Monument was built in 1829 by Cockerell and Playfair, it was modelled after the Parthenon in Athens, but only 12 columns were completed. The Nelson Monument was built between 1807 to 1815 or 1816. The structure is 106 feet high with 143 steps to the top, and it sits 465 feet above sea level. The time signal which was installed in 1852 allowed ships captains to set their chronometers accurately. A large time ball drops on weekdays at noon in the winter and 1 pm in the summer to coincide with the firing of Edinburgh Castle's one o'clock gun. The City Observatory was built in 1818 by William Henry Playfair and now holds the older Observatory House.