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Dumfries and Galloway

Logan Botanic Garden

Tree ferns and cabbage palms on the Rhins, kept alive by the Gulf Stream.

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Welcome

Logan looks like a mistake of geography.

It stands on the Rhins of Galloway, further south than Newcastle and washed by the tail of the Gulf Stream, and the result is a garden where tree ferns, cabbage palms, eucalyptus and the flowering shrubs of Chile, Australia and South Africa live outdoors all year in Scotland. It is one of the four gardens of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and the specialism is the southern hemisphere: there is a walled garden with a lily pond and an avenue of palms, a gunnera bog with leaves you can stand under, and a woodland garden that runs up the slope behind. It closes for the winter, which tells you the climate has limits, but for most of the year it is the least Scottish-looking place in Scotland.

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Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
Not farThe Crown Hotel, PortpatrickA seafood restaurant and bar on North Crescent, looking over the harbour at Portpatrick.9 milesSee itThe Crown Hotel's white frontage on North Crescent in Portpatrick, its name over the door, window boxes of flowers and picnic tables out front under furled blue umbrellas.
Before you go
How long
An hour and a half to three
Cost
By ticket
Getting there
Signed from the B7065 near Port Logan; car park at the garden.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–5pm
Tuesday
10am–5pm
Wednesday
10am–5pm
Thursday
10am–5pm
Friday
10am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
10am–5pm

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Where it is

At Port Logan on the Rhins of Galloway, fourteen miles south of Stranraer.

Close byThe rest of Dumfries and Galloway, near at hand.
  1. Port Logan's stone pier running out to its little round lighthouse tower, yachts moored in the calm bay and the village's houses on the far shore.Port LoganAn old stone pier with a little lighthouse tower at its end, on a sandy bay south of Logan Botanic Garden.1 mile as the crow flies
  2. Kirkmadrine's small stone church on its rise among the fields, the red sandstone porch at its west end where the early Christian stones stand behind glass, old gravestones in the grass beside it.Kirkmadrine StonesSome of the earliest Christian memorial stones in Scotland, behind glass in the porch of a small church near Sandhead.4 miles as the crow flies
  3. Knockinaam Lodge from the air, a grey stone country house in green lawns above its private cove and pebble beach, with cliffs and the Irish Sea beyond.Knockinaam Lodge8 miles as the crow flies
  4. Grassy clifftops at the Mull of Galloway dropping to rocks and a calm blue sea, in low sun.Mull of Galloway TrailA long-distance walk from Scotland's most southerly point up the Rhins of Galloway, then round Loch Ryan to Glenapp.8 miles as the crow flies
  5. Small wooden hut atop layered coastal cliffs above the seaRhins of GallowayThe peninsula at Scotland's south-west tip, circled by an 83-mile waymarked coast path from Stranraer to the Mull of Galloway and back.9 miles 17 min by road
Directions
The Crown Hotel's white frontage on North Crescent in Portpatrick, its name over the door, window boxes of flowers and picnic tables out front under furled blue umbrellas.RestaurantsThe Crown Hotel, Portpatrick9.4 miles
The restaurant at The Waterfront in Portpatrick, its tables laid under a pine-boarded ceiling with roof lights, and windows on the far wall.RestaurantsThe Waterfront, Portpatrick9.4 miles
CafeGallie Craig, Mull of Galloway10 miles
Small wooden hut on grassy clifftop above sea cliffs and wavesAttractionsMull of Galloway10 miles
Symphonica Lodge, a long single-storey stone building with a bench by the door, on a gravel drive.PortpatrickSymphonica LodgeSleeps 4 · 10 miles
Selkie's Haven Lodge, a white building of two wings with pointed slate roofs, a table and a palm on its terrace.PortpatrickSelkie's Haven LodgeSleeps 2 · 10 miles
White lighthouse and keeper's cottages atop a grassy headland, winding path leading upAttractionsMull of Galloway Lighthouse10 miles
Blue-trimmed shopfront reading "The Port Pantry, Coffee Shop, Eatery, Deli" with lifebuoys in the windowsCafeThe Port Pantry, Portpatrick16 miles
The Harbour House Hotel with white walls, dormer windows and outdoor tables shaded by parasolsRestaurantsHarbour House Hotel16 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

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

Dunskey House, the castle, in autumn, red and gold ivy over its walls, chimneys and gables.The Royal Apartment
  • Sleeps 10
  • In Portpatrick
  • 10 miles from the garden
Free 21–24 JunFrom above, Dunskey House, the castle, its grey gables and chimneys, fields and woods running to the sea behind.The Velvet Upperground
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Portpatrick
  • 10 miles from the garden
Free 1–4 NovThe front of Wren's Nest, a stone cottage with a pale blue door, a table and chairs and a timber planter on the lawn before it.Wren's Nest
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Portpatrick
  • 10 miles from the garden
Free 27–30 DecSymphonica Lodge, a long single-storey stone building with a bench by the door, on a gravel drive.Symphonica Lodge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Portpatrick
  • 10 miles from the garden
Free 17–20 DecPlaces to stayEvery stay in Dumfries and GallowayAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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