Destination: Edinburgh
Top Ten
1 Arthur's Seat
2 Dynamic Earth
3 Edinburgh Castle
4 Museum of Scotland
5 National Gallery of Scotland
6 The New Town
7 Palace of Holyroodhouse
8 Royal Botanic Garden
9 The Royal Mile
10 Scott Monument
8 Royal Botanic Garden

The Royal Botanic Garden's collections of trees, shrubs and flowers are an oasis of quiet, and draw plantsmen and garden lovers from many countries.

The Royal Botanic Garden started life in 1670 with the founding of a Physic Garden near the Palace of Holyrood-house; three centuries later the garden is a thriving and inter-nationally famous plant study centre, and a haven of colour and scent throughout the year.

Moved to its present site in 1823, the garden covers 28 ha of undulating ground lying between the city centre and the Firth of Forth. Winding paths link the different sections of the garden, much of which is grassed and dotted with the superb trees which comprise the Arboretum, a collection of more than 2000 tree species, carpeted in spring with delicate spreads of bulbs. Spring flowers give way to the blazing colours of rhododendrons and azaleas, their flaming reds and yellows offset by underplanting of lilies, primulas and meconopsis. The Rock Garden is at its best in late spring, its rocky slopes brilliant with alpine and Mediterranean plants, while near by the Heath Garden has year-round displays of Scottish and other heathers. High summer sees the 165m-long herbaceous border, with its stately beech hedge, at its best, and the rose collections fill the air with scent. Horticulturalists will be fascinated by the Chinese garden, where wild plants clothe the slopes of a watery ravine leading to a tranquil pond.

The garden is particularly famous for its glasshouses, a complex of ten contrasting structures where you'll find everything from Amazonian rainforest plants to cacti from deserts all over the world. Don't miss the Temperate Palm House, an elegant cast-iron structure built in 1858, and still the tallest in Britain.



Address: 20A Inverleith Row
Phone: 0131 552 7171
Open: Apr-Aug 9:30-7; Sep 9:30-6; Oct, Feb-Mar 9:30-5; Nov-Jan 9:30-4
Restaurant: Café and snack-bar (Inexpensive-Moderately priced)
Bus: 8, 19, 23, 27
Accessible: Very good
Admission: Free
Other: The Colonies; Stockbridge; Water of Leith
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