A walk · Edinburgh

Princes Street Gardens – A Bear, a Lodge and a Fountain

About a mile on foot.

Princes Street Gardens fill the long green hollow between Edinburgh's Old Town and its New Town, with the Castle on its rock above the west end.

A walk from one end to the other passes the Scott Monument, a gardener's lodge of red sandstone, a bronze bear who went to war and the teal and gold Ross Fountain. It's about a mile from Waverley station to the west end of Princes Street. Allow an hour.

Time: Allow an hour: about a mile from Waverley station to the west end of Princes Street.
The path: Tarmac paths with slopes and flights of steps. Ways in without steps exist but are roundabout; the top terrace of the East Gardens is level from the street.
Where to start: Start at Waverley station, beside the East Gardens. There is no parking in the gardens; trams and buses stop on Princes Street.
When to go: All year in daylight. The gates are locked at night and earlier in winter: check the times posted on them.
Children: A play area in the West Gardens.
Toilets: By the Ross Bandstand, 10am to 7pm, and at the west end of the gardens, 10am to 8pm.

The walk

Start at Waverley station: there's no parking in the gardens, and trains, trams and buses all stop beside them. The East Gardens come first, below the Scott Monument, which can be climbed for a charge. Across the Mound, beyond the National Gallery, the West Gardens run on under the Castle rock. There the walk passes the Floral Clock, first planted in 1903 and given a new design each year.

Beyond it are the red sandstone Gardener's Lodge and the bronze of Wojtek, the bear who served with Polish soldiers in the Second World War. Last comes the Ross Fountain, teal and gold beneath the Castle, a few minutes short of the west end of Princes Street. It's about a mile in all, on tarmac paths with slopes and flights of steps. Ways in without steps exist but are roundabout, and the top terrace of the East Gardens is the one stretch that is level from the street.

The gates are locked at night and earlier in winter, so check the times posted on them. Children have a play area in the West Gardens.

If it rains

The paths are tarmac and drain well, though the steps and slopes are slippery when wet. The National Gallery on the Mound is half way along for a heavy shower.