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A rock garden and stream under the glass of the Winter Gardens.
Aberdeen

Duthie Park

Aberdeen's Victorian park on the Dee, opened in 1883, with the David Welch Winter Gardens and their giant cacti.

Welcome

Duthie Park is Aberdeen's great Victorian park, laid out on the north bank of the River Dee just south of the city centre.

In 1881 Elizabeth Crombie Duthie of Ruthrieston bought 44 acres of the Arthurseat estate for £30,000 and gave them to the city as a park in memory of her brother and uncle, and it was opened by Princess Beatrice on 27 September 1883.

The park keeps its Victorian features, a boating pond, a bandstand, fountains and an obelisk on the lawns, alongside play areas and a café. Its treasure is the David Welch Winter Gardens, which began as a greenhouse in 1899 and has grown into one of the largest indoor gardens in Europe, with houses of tree ferns, orchids, banana trees and Spanish moss and one of the largest collections of giant cacti and bromeliads in Britain. The park is open at any time; the Winter Gardens open daily from half past ten.

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The Daily for 9 November, from Scotland with love. an autumn-wooded loch reflected in still water, rocks breaking the surface in the foreground
Close byThe Tartan PigA small, friendly coffee house on Hollybank Place in Aberdeen, for breakfasts, good coffee and a counter of homemade cakes and bakes.4 min by roadSee itCafé interior with wooden tables, pink and white chairs, shelves stocked with groceries

Before you go

The park is open at any time.

The David Welch Winter Gardens open daily from 10.30am to 5pm from March to October and to 4pm from November to February, and close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and 1 and 2 January.

Winter Gardens
Daily 10:30 to 17:00 (Mar to Oct), 10:30 to 16:00 (Nov to Feb).
Where
Polmuir Road, Aberdeen, AB11 7TH.

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Where it is

Polmuir Road, on the River Dee, Aberdeen.

Close byIn Aberdeen.
  1. The Ferryhill House Hotel on a sunny day: a white house of 1900 with bay windows and a conservatory, and a terrace of wicker chairs and tables in front.Coterie at the Ferryhill House HotelUnder a mile as the crow flies
  2. Waffle topped with ice cream and a Lotus biscuit, served with caramel dipSweet Mumma’s KitchenThe pinkest cafe in Aberdeen, in a railway arch by Union Square, for brunch, lunch, afternoon teas, events and graze boxes.Under a mile 3 min by road
  3. Bare trees line paths through a park, glass office blocks visible beyondBon Accord Terrace GardensUnder a mile 4 min by road
  4. Light of Bengal's front on Rose Street at night, its name lit above a window into the dining room and an open door.Light of BengalAn Indian restaurant on Rose Street in Aberdeen since 1978, named Bangladeshi Restaurant of the Year at the Scottish Asian Food Awards 2025.Under a mile as the crow flies
  5. FootdeeFootdeeAberdeen's old fishing village at the harbour mouth, its cottages set in squares with their backs to the sea.2 miles 8 min by road
Directions
Café interior with wooden tables, pink and white chairs, shelves stocked with groceriesCafeThe Tartan Pig0.9 miles
The bar room at Grape & Grain, under a ceiling hung with flowers and copper lamps, with high stools, velvet tub chairs and a large clock on the far wall.BarsGrape & Grain1.0 miles
Inside Cafe Moyo on Thistle Street: a counter of pastries and buns, an olive tree, and a dog bed and water bowl by the wall.CafeCafe Moyo1.0 miles
The Bread Guys Bakery at 16 Thistle Street in Aberdeen: a granite corner with a purple sign over the open door and a board outside for coffee.CafeThe Bread Guy1.0 miles
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The front of Mara on Thistle Street at night, its dark shopfront lit and signed Italian Wine, Bottle Shop, Small Plates, with tables and wine shelves seen through the windows.RestaurantsMara1.0 miles
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Ross of Chapel Street, the Chapel Bakery, on Chapel Street in Aberdeen: a red sign reading Craft Bakers, Est 1954, over the shop window and an open door.CafeRoss Bakery1.0 miles
Round sourdough loaves and floured tin loaves on dark wooden shelves against a white wall at Bandit Bakery on Rose Street.CafeBandit Bakery1.0 miles

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Stay nearby

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

A stone farmhouse covered in climbing ivy stands behind a gravel drive, seen through overhanging pine branches.Cuttieshillock
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Glen Dye
  • 20 miles from Duthie Park
Free 9–10 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in AberdeenAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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