Seventy acres of gardens a mile north of the city centre, begun as a physic garden in 1670 and now home to one of the richest plant collections in the world.
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, known as the Botanics, spreads over 70 acres a mile north of the city centre, with panoramic views of the skyline.
Visited and photographed by Simon Hird
You can come in by the West Gate and the John Hope Gateway visitor centre, or by the East Gate on Inverleith Row, and entry to the garden is free.
Begun as a physic garden in 1670, it holds one of the richest living plant collections in the world. Highlights include the Rock Garden, the Woodland Garden, the Pond, the Arboretum, the Chinese Hillside and the rhododendron collection. The restored Palm Houses have reopened with timed tickets, and the other glasshouses are closed while restoration continues. Cafés at the Gateway, on the Terrace and at the East Gate are open daily.
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Garden entry is free.
The restored Palm Houses have their own timed tickets, and the garden may close in extreme weather.
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The garden began in 1670 by the Palace of Holyroodhouse, founded by two doctors, Andrew Balfour and Robert Sibbald, to grow fresh plants for medicine and teach medical botany. It is the second oldest botanic garden in the United Kingdom.
Within five years it had outgrown Holyrood and moved to ground by Trinity Hospital. That site is now Waverley Station, and a plaque marks the spot.
During the siege of Edinburgh Castle in 1689 a dam at the east end of the loch was broken, and water flooded the whole of the garden at Trinity Hospital. All but the hardiest of the plants the founders had collected were lost.
Robert Sibbald, one of the founders, was the first to describe the blue whale scientifically; for a time it was called Sibbald's rorqual.
Daniel Rutherford, keeper of the garden from 1786, was Sir Walter Scott's uncle, and is credited with discovering nitrogen.
When John Hope moved the garden out to Leith Walk, away from the pollution of the Old Town, he grew bananas, tea and coffee in the conservatories. In a plot outside the Leith Walk garden he grew 3,000 rhubarb plants for medicine.
Arthur Conan Doyle studied medicine at Edinburgh University and botany at the garden, since botany was then compulsory for medical students. In the Holmes stories, Watson notes that Holmes knows poisons well but nothing of practical gardening.
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.
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What is on in EdinburghAt Inverleith, a mile north of the city centre, with gates on Arboretum Place and Inverleith Row.
Stockbridge MarketA Sunday market of food and makers in Saunders Street by the Water of Leith, every week of the year since 2011.1 mile 4 min by road
StockbridgeAn old village on the Water of Leith below the New Town, of Georgian terraces, a market arch of 1825 and a street of independent shops and cafés.1 mile 5 min by road
Circus LaneA curving cobbled mews of the early 1800s behind Royal Circus in Stockbridge, closed at one end by St Stephen's clock tower.1 mile 5 min by road
The Pastry SectionA bakery and cafe on Raeburn Place in Stockbridge, baking everything from scratch on site, from brownies and cinnamon buns to lemon meringue tarts.1 mile 5 min by road
The Scran & ScallieA gastropub on Comely Bank Road in Stockbridge, opened in 2013 by chefs Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack, in the Michelin Guide.1 mile 5 min by road
St Bernard's WellA little Greek temple of 1789 by the painter Alexander Nasmyth over a mineral spring on the Water of Leith, with Hygieia, goddess of health, inside.1 mile 5 min by roadPlaces to stay near the garden, and when each is next free.
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