Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GARDENS & PARKS
The Meadows
This expansive public park south of Old Town separates the
city center from the leafy neighborhoods that popped up in the 18th and 19th cen-
turies. Tree-lined paths crisscross playing fields, whether soccer, rugby, or cricket,
with plenty of additional space for
having a picnic or flying a kite. The
park dates to the 1700s, when a loch
here was drained. At the far western
end of the Meadows is Bruntsfield
Links, a short-hole golf course which
has a hallowed place in the history of
the sport and can still be played today
during the summer.
Melville Dr. Free admission. Daily dawn-dusk.
Bus: 24 or 41.
Princes Street Gardens
By
draining the then-fetid Nor' Loch
below the Royal Mile, between Old
and New Towns, the city created its most magnificent outdoor public space: The
Princes Street Gardens. The banks are steep but grassy and great for a quick bit of
sun, should it shine. In wintertime, there is usually an ice rink set up and often part
of the park is used for various food and gift markets. With Edinburgh Castle above,
this has to be one of the most photographed parks in Europe.
Princes St. Bus: 3, 10, 12, 17, 25, or 44. Free admission. Daily dawn-dusk.
Royal Botanic Garden
This is one of the grandest botanic gardens in all
of Great Britain, rivaling the better known Kew Gardens near London. Sprawling
across 28 hectares (70 acres), it dates from the late 17th century, when it was origi-
nally used for medical studies of useful herbs. Even today, when it comes to plant
research in the U.K., only Kew does more. In spring, the various rhododendrons,
from low ground cover to towering shrubs, are reason alone to visit the Royal Botanic
Garden in Edinburgh. But the planting in various areas assures year-round interest,
whether in the rock garden or the wide and long “herbaceous” borders elsewhere.
The grounds include numerous glass houses: The Palm House (Britain's tallest)
being foremost among them. Inverleith House is a venue for art exhibitions and has
the Terrace Cafe, too.
20A Inverleith Row.
&
0131/552-7171.
www.rbge.org.uk. Free admission to garden; glasshouses £3.50
adults, £3 children. Daily Apr-Sept 10am-7pm; Oct 10am-6pm; Nov-Feb 10am-4pm; Mar 10am-6pm
(glasshouses close 30 min. earlier). Bus: 8, 17, 23, or 27.
Hume in Nor' Loch
When Princes Street Gardens were still
a stinking bog, the great secular
thinker David Hume accidently slipped
into the banks of the mire. He couldn't
get out and called for help from a pass-
ing woman. Recognizing the philoso-
pher, she instead denounced Hume as
an atheist and offered assistance only if
he recited the Lord's Prayer. He pre-
sumably did so.
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ORGANIZED TOURS
Edinburgh Bus Tours
For an entertaining and informative overview of and intro-
duction to the principal attractions of Edinburgh, consider the tour buses that leave
every 20 minutes or so from Waverley Bridge (near Waverley railway station). The
