Nelson monument to reopen for first time since Covid

The Nelson Monument has been closed since structural issues were identified during Covid

A 200-year-old landmark shut since the Covid pandemic is set to reopen in Edinburgh next month.

The Nelson Monument on Calton Hill closed to visitors during the lockdown in 2020 when structural issues were uncovered.

The tower, which has stood in the area since the early 19th Century, features a museum dedicated to Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar.

Plans to reinstate the monument's "time ball" synced to the firing of the one o'clock gun at Edinburgh Castle are hoped to be completed later in the year.

The 32-metre (150ft) high monument will welcome visitors over the summer months before closing again later in the year while the remainder of the work is carried out.

Scaffolding has been erected around the parapet at the top of the tower in preparation for a new mast being built.

When it reopens, visitors will be able to take in views of the city from a public deck, as well as visit the museum.

City of Edinburgh Council's culture and communities convener, councillor Val Walker, said she was "excited" to see the landmark reopen.

Scaffolding has been placed around the monument's parapet

"We have been looking into replacing the mast on top of the monument and full refurbishment of the time ball, both of which have required working with specialist teams and a large capital investment," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"We’re looking to reopen the monument from May this year. It will operate for the summer months while a new mast is built and the time ball mechanism fully refurbished and a new automated system created.

“The monument will then close again around late September for the installation of the refurbished time ball and new mast.

"Installation will take some three weeks however this will be weather-dependent so exact timings may change."

Time ball

Construction of the monument was completed in about 1816 to commemorate Nelson's victory at Trafalgar in 1805.

The time ball - which sits on top of the tower - was not added until 1853 as a time signal to ships in Leith and the Firth of Forth.

It would be raised shortly before 13:00 and lowered exactly on the hour via an underground wire connected to the city's observatory.

However, in 1861, the one o'clock gun was added at Edinburgh Castle in order to provide an audible sign in the event of fog or poor weather obscuring the ball to those at sea.

The ball was damaged in a storm in 2007, before being removed altogether for restoration in 2009.

It was returned a few months later and will be automated when current restoration work is complete.