During the week we stayed in Edinburgh we got seriously lucky with the weather, and it only rained one of the days we were there. We decided to take one of the bus tours around the city that day because it was cheap, and we wanted to get some ideas of anything that peaked our interest on the tour that we could go back to and visit. Natalie and I were also looking for something to do that would help us avoid walking around in the rain that day as much as we could.
Edinburgh as a city is made up of almost 50% green space making it the greenest city in the UK. There are various walking trails, parks, and even hikes that lead you to views of all of Edinburgh right inside the city. Riding around checking out the city you can see why Edinburgh is considered the greenest city in the UK. There are parks all around you with beautiful developed foliage growing almost everywhere.
One of the places that we drove past during the bus tour was the famous Edinburgh botanical gardens. The audio tour of the city mentioned that the botanical gardens were free to visit, so we thought that sounded right up our alley for this trip.
The next day, when the weather was better, we hopped on the bus and headed to the botanical gardens. Once you are in the gardens you realize how huge this place is, and I would definitely recommending spending a few hours here in order to see everything. Natalie and I stayed for a couple hours and we were not even able to see the whole place.
This garden includes a large array of plant species from all over the world. Their mission at the botanical gardens is to help ensure biodiversity. The gardens are free to come in and walk through, but there is one part of the botanical gardens that they do charge for, and we did not end up going inside. The glasshouses cost a few pounds to go in and walk through. They charge £7.00 for adults, £6.00 concession, and it is free for children 15 and under.
From the outside they are these massive greenhouses and they house thousands of different plant species within. I wish we had actually been able to walk through them from the photos I have seen online they look gorgeous on the inside, so I would definitely recommend not missing out on those.
As you walk through the gardens you’ll be surrounded by well developed trees, shrubs, and hedges decorating the landscape. The large looming trees cast down shade as you follow the path through the little piece of Wonderland discovering natural scenes each more beautiful than the last.
Natalie and I made our trip to Edinburgh in the beginning of June, which is a great time to see all the plants flourishing along with the blooming flowers of late spring. If you will be visiting Edinburgh during the Spring or Summer I would recommend stopping here.
In some parts of the garden you’ll find small greenhouses filled with tiny flowering plants and succulents, hedges as tall as a house, gardens you would likely find in a backyard growing vegetables and such, along with ponds and waterfalls in another part of the garden.
If you enjoy plants, flowers, outdoors, and nature I would definitely suggest visiting these lovely gardens in Edinburgh.
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