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A stone bench and terracotta urns sit in a garden clearing above a loch.
Edinburgh

Dr Neil’s Garden

A garden made from 1963 by two Edinburgh doctors on the church's glebe above Duddingston Loch, open every day from ten until dusk and free.

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Welcome

Down Old Church Lane in Duddingston, past the kirk, a gate under an iron sign opens onto a garden that falls away to the loch.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Stone paths wind between conifers and heathers, a small iron bridge crosses a pond, and benches and urns sit in clearings with Arthur's Seat rising behind.

It was made by two doctors. Nancy and Andrew Neil were GPs in Meadowbank, and in 1963 they began to garden a piece of the church's glebe that had never been cultivated, because it was too steep and too rocky. They brought their patients to dig with them. A trust has cared for it since 1997, and after the Neils died in 2005 a physic garden was laid out in their memory.

On the shore stands Thomson's Tower, built by William Henry Playfair in 1825 for the Duddingston Curling Society and restored by the trust. The garden is open every day from ten until dusk, and entry is free.

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Before you go

The garden opens every day from ten in the morning until dusk.

Entry is free and donations keep it going. It lies down Old Church Lane in Duddingston, beside the kirk and above the loch.

Where
5 Old Church Lane, Duddingston, Edinburgh EH15 3PX.
Open
Every day, 10am to dusk.
Entry
Free; donations welcome.
Thomson's Tower
The curling museum opens by appointment.

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Did you know

A sign reading "Dr Neil's Garden" is mounted on an iron gate arch.
Did you know

A garden made with the doctors' patients.

Nancy and Andrew Neil were GPs with a practice in Meadowbank. When they began the garden in 1963, they asked their patients to help with the digging.

Heather blooms beside a stone table and bench along a garden path.
Did you know

Ground no one had ever dug.

The garden is on part of the Duddingston glebe, land that belonged to the church. It had never been cultivated, because the slope was too steep and the ground too full of rock.

Reeds line the shore of a still tree-fringed loch.
Did you know

A tower built for curling stones.

Thomson's Tower, on the loch shore, was designed by William Henry Playfair in 1825 for the Duddingston Curling Society, to keep its stones by the ice. The minister, John Thomson, painted landscapes in its upper room.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Edinburgh

Step this way 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.

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A gravel path winds past terracotta urns beneath tall conifers in a garden.
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Where it is

In Duddingston village, down Old Church Lane beside the kirk, on the slope above Duddingston Loch.

Close byDuddingston, the loch and the far side of Arthur's Seat.
  1. Duddingston LochDuddingston LochA natural freshwater loch under Arthur's Seat, ringed with reeds.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Sheep Heid InnSheep Heid InnPerhaps Edinburgh's oldest pub, in Duddingston village.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. Craigmillar Castle rising above rough grass in Craigmillar Castle Park.Craigmillar Castle ParkThe woods and open grass around Craigmillar Castle.1 mile 5 min by road
  4. Margaret Hall’s CairnMargaret Hall’s CairnA cairn by Duke's Walk in Holyrood Park, renamed in 2024 for Margaret Hall.2 miles 6 min by road
  5. RhubarbRhubarbThe restaurant of Prestonfield House, a mansion of 1687 below Arthur's Seat.3 miles 12 min by road
  6. Arthur’s SeatArthur’s SeatThe 251-metre summit of an old volcano in Holyrood Park.4 miles 13 min by road
Directions
Water of Leith winds through Dean Village beneath timber-fronted tenements and stone wallsAttractionsAround Duddingston village0.3 miles
Stairwell with "STEP NO. 2" stencilled beside a waterfall photograph and windowsill plantAttractionsHolyrood Distillery1.1 miles as the crow flies
Green door reading "101 Bakery" beside leaf murals and potted plantsCafe101 Bakery1.1 miles as the crow flies
The bright yellow front of Tiger Dragon at 87 St Leonard's Street, its sign reading Chinese Traditional Pancake, with a white bench under the window.CafeTiger Dragon1.2 miles
The dining room at Condita by candlelight, with round wooden tables laid for dinner in the foreground and string-art panels on the white walls beyond.RestaurantsCondita1.2 miles
Angular rusted-metal sculpture rising from a grassy bank beside a curved stone pathAttractionsDynamic Earth1.3 miles as the crow flies
The glass counter at Peregrine filled with trays of bakes, among them a Tayto cheese and onion Danish, a Guinness wheaten loaf and a champ potato farl.CafePeregrine1.3 miles
A cast-iron pot of braised tofu in a red chilli sauce beside a plate of crisp battered slices in a light, sweet sauce, on a blue tablecloth at The Way Taste.RestaurantsThe Way Taste1.3 miles
A crisp, spicy stir-fry with red and green chillies and sliced peppers, served in a steel dry pot on a wooden table at Taste of Home on Clerk Street.RestaurantsTaste of Home1.3 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the garden, and when each is next free.

A turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from the garden
Check datesA hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from the garden
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from the garden
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • 2 miles from the garden
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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