East Lothian
Traprain Law (221m) — Parking
Traprain Law Car Park · Grid ref NT 581 749 · Free.
Quick facts
- Grid reference
- NT 581 749
- Spaces
- Seven, in a street-side bay on the minor road along the north side of the hill (OpenStreetMap, capacity 7, surface asphalt, unlit). East Lothian Council also runs a ranger service and information boards here.
- Cost
- Free.
- Surface
- tarmac
- Drive from Glasgow
- 1h 40m
- Drive from Edinburgh
- 0h 40m
From the car park
Access is off the B1347, with a signposted turning to the Law car park; from East Linton you can also come under the A1 and up past the farms. The path leaves the car park and climbs the north side directly. The old quarry cuts into the north-east face and is the one thing on the hill to keep away from — it was leased to the district council for road stone in 1938, did substantial damage to the hill, and closed in 1975.
The walk
About a mile round and rarely more than an hour, but genuinely steep for its length. The summit is a broad grassy top with the fort’s ramparts still legible under the turf and a view over the whole of East Lothian to the Bass Rock and the Forth. It is a working hill with sheep on it, so dogs need to be under close control.
Busy times
Summer weekends and evenings — it is forty minutes from Edinburgh and an hour’s walk, which is a busy combination on seven parking spaces.
Getting here without a car
Buses serve East Linton and Haddington on the A199 corridor; from either you are looking at a road walk of a few miles to the car park. Check Traveline Scotland for the current service.
Winter access
Muddy rather than difficult. The grass slope holds water and gets churned, and the short steep sections are slippery in the wet — but the road is low-lying and the hill is under an hour, so this is one of the better bad-weather walks in the Lothians.
Overflow parking
A grass verge opposite takes a few more cars. Seven bays is not many for a hill this popular, so an early start is the difference between parking and driving home.
Current conditions
Daylight Today
- Sunrise
- 06:24
- Sunset
- 19:54
- Civil dawn
- 05:46
- Civil dusk
- 20:33
NOAA Solar Calculator · 6 September 2026
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a car park at Traprain Law?
- Yes, and it is free — a street-side bay for about seven cars on the minor road along the north side of the hill, with East Lothian Council information boards. There is a grass verge opposite with room for a few more. It fills up.
- How long does it take to walk up Traprain Law?
- The round trip is about a mile and most people take under an hour. It is short but steep, and muddy in winter.
- What was found on Traprain Law?
- The Traprain Law Treasure, recovered in 1919 — over 24kg of sliced-up Roman-era silver, with pieces dated to the fifth century AD and origins as far away as Constantinople and Antioch. It is now in the National Museum of Scotland.
- Can you climb on Traprain Law?
- There is climbing on the crags, but access to the North Quarry routes is closed from 31 March to 31 July for nesting birds, and care is asked for in March before the ban starts. East Lothian Council owns the crag and asks to be contacted before any new bolting.
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