Walks, Wildlife & Nature in Edinburgh

For a capital city, Edinburgh gives up its green surprisingly easily. One moment you’re in a crush of tenements, the next you’re watching herons lift off from a loch, or standing at the edge of a dormant volcano with the Firth of Forth in view. You don’t have to leave the city to find space, nature, or silence—just step in the right direction.

This section pulls together the quieter corners. There are formal gardens, like the ones tucked behind closes in the Old Town or laid out in the symmetry of the New Town. Some—like the Physic Garden at Holyroodhouse or the Archivist’s Garden off Princes Street—are compact but considered, full of native plants and quiet nods to history.

There are bigger patches too: The Meadows, Inverleith Park, and Princes Street Gardens act as daily breathing spaces for the city. And then there’s Arthur’s Seat. No matter how many times you climb it, the views still catch you out. From its summit, you can trace the whole city—stone, sea, and sky.

The Water of Leith Walkway links many of these areas, running from the Pentlands down through Dean Village and Stockbridge to the Shore at Leith. It’s one of the best ways to see the city without traffic or crowds, just the sound of the river and the scrape of tyres from the odd passing bike.

Some of the places listed are easy to miss if you’re not looking. Others—like Dr Neil’s Garden or Craigmillar Castle Park—feel like full departures from the city altogether.

Whether you’re after birdlife, open skies, woodland trails, or a well-placed bench for lunch, it’s all here. You just have to know where to look—and be willing to walk a little further.

Dunbar’s Close
Old Town
Snaffled away off the Royal Mile you’ll find this charming little garden, with handsome trees, neatly partitioned beds and several benches for the foot-weary. It’s a princely picnic spot, and improbably close to the throng.

Physic Garden
Old Town
The palace’s original physic garden was founded in 1670 and evolved to become the Royal Botanic Garden, but a far newer version was opened in 2020, with three different zones representing different stages of history.

James Hutton Memorial Garden
Old Town
Recognised as the father of modern geology, 18th-century scientist James Hutton is remembered in this small Old Town garden, which stands where his house was once located.

Moray House Garden
Old Town
Much famed as an urban oasis when it was planted and laid out in the 17th century, this Old Town garden is now a fraction of its former self but remains an interesting diversion. Remarkably, the humble summerhouse that still stands is said to be where Scottish and English representatives signed the Act of Union in 1707.

Princes Street Gardens
New Town
Are these the UK’s most panoramic public gardens? Quite possibly. Made up of two neighbouring parks and dating back to the building of the New Town, the centrally located Princes Street Gardens grant superb castle views. They’re also dotted with all manner of points of interest of their own, from the towering dark spire of the Scott Monument to an animal statue commemorating Wojtek, the so-called “soldier bear”.

Archivist’s Garden
New Town
This courtyard garden contains close to 60 different species and was created to celebrate the link between certain plants and “Scotland’s collective memory”. As such, you’ll find everything from sea thrift and myrtle to heather and iris, with due reverence also given to the thistle – part of Scottish heraldry since 1488.

Calton Hill
New Town
Any walk to the summit of this UNESCO-listed hill is a walk to remember. Topped by numerous monuments and some strikingly neo-classical architecture (said to have been the main factor behind Edinburgh’s “Athens of the North” nickname), it also boasts frankly spectacular views over the rest of the city.

Royal Botanic Garden
Stockbridge
A world-class botanic garden in 72 acres of grounds, with giant redwoods, rhododendrons, Alpine houses and a famed rock garden among the features to show for its three and a half centuries of history.

Circus Lane
Stockbridge
A curving vision of greenery and cobbles – and big on Instagram – this charming residential street was originally lined with stables. It’s close to St Stephen Street in the Stockbridge area.

Dean Village
Stockbridge
Huddled around the Water of Leith, near the Stockbridge area, you’ll find this atmospheric collection of 19th-century buildings and old houses. Its most famous feature, Well Court, was used as accommodation for the workers at the watermills.

Inverleith Park
Stockbridge
“The city is to be congratulated on the acquisition and opening of this magnificent park which…will form in all time coming… an open space of unrivalled beauty.” So said Cockburn Council of Inverleith Park in 1891, and more than 130 years later the 54-acre park remains a gem, complete with swans, wildflowers, a boating pond, wetlands and tennis courts. It’s right next to the Royal Botanic Garden.

Duddingston Loch
Southside
A natural freshwater loch within walking distance of the Royal Mile? You’d better believe it. Duddingston Loch provides a blast of natural wilderness in the confines of the city. Surrounded by reedbeds and woodland, it serves as a fine habitat for herons and wintering wildfowl, and otters have even been spotted.

Dr Neil’s Garden
Southside
A fine option for a break from the crowds. Set up in the 1960s by Drs Andrew and Nancy Neil, this free-to-enter garden is a landscaped oasis at the foot of Arthur’s Seat, on the edge of Duddingston Loch. Combining evergreens and heathers with alpine plants and all manner of seasonal flowers, it creates a tangible sense of calm.

Craigmillar Castle Park
Southside
Woodland trails, a converted farmhouse and an age-old castle – once a haven for Mary Queen of Scots – provide the setting for this unique swathe of green, lying south of where the city walls once stretched. Pheasants, squirrels and even deer still call it home.

Arthur’s Seat
Southside
Towering 251 metres above the city, the iconic volcanic peak of Arthur’s Seat offers a proper hill walk close to the heart of Edinburgh. Urban hikes don’t come much better. One theory is that the name was originally Àrd-na-Said, which loosely translates as “Height of Arrows”.

Braid Hills
Southside
A rolling belt of open land to the southwest of the city, the Braid Hills are famous not just for the sweeping views back across to the Firth of Forth but for being home to a historic golf course.

George Square Garden
Southside
Close to The Meadows is this leafy city square, laid out in (you guessed it) the Georgian era and long a popular venue for Fringe performances. Arthur Conan Doyle and Sir Walter Scott are among those to have lived in the surrounding houses.

The Meadows
Southside
South of the Old Town is this large expanse of grassland, criss-crossed by tree-lined paths and offering green respite from the hullabaloo of the city centre. It’s well worth visiting in April, when its spectacular cherry blossom display heralds the onset of spring.

Water of Leith Walkway
Leith
This 13-mile riverside walkway runs next to or close to the Water of Leith for almost its entire length, giving a simple way of stepping away from the hubbub of the streets. The northern end of the path is in Leith itself, while the southern end is way out in the foothills of the Pentland range. As such, it winds past all sorts of cultural, natural and historical points of interest – from the Royal Botanic Garden and Murrayfield Stadium to the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art.

Harbourside Leith
Leith
The harbourside stretch known as The Shore is where you’ll see the most evidence of Leith’s long history, with cobbled quays and age-old maritime buildings – but a stroll also gives you the chance to enjoy its more modern charms, with some brilliant places to stop and refuel. And if you’re after something really special? Three Michelin-starred restaurants – Heron, Restaurant Martin Wishart and The Kitchin are clustered in the vicinity.