Saughton Park & Gardens

Saughton Park & Gardens — the restored Edwardian showpiece on the Water of Leith

Saughton Park is the most complete piece of historic public gardening in west Edinburgh, and since a multi-million-pound restoration finished at the end of the 2010s it looks the part again. Inside a walled garden that began life as the private grounds of a mansion sit a formal rose garden, a physic garden laid out around the human body, herbaceous borders planted in their thousands and a glasshouse of subtropical collections; outside the walls are open lawns, a bandstand back on its plinth after decades away, a skate park, allotments and the Water of Leith running along the southern edge with otters in it. Almost uniquely for a British park, the lights and buildings are powered by the river itself, through a hydro turbine installed in the weir.

Highlights

• The Winter Garden glasshouse — opened in 1984 through a partnership between the city council and the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and renovated in the restoration; its displays draw on plants from the Americas, South Africa, the Himalayas and the Atlantic Islands.
• The Rose Garden — replanted as part of the works with thousands of new hedging and herbaceous plants alongside the roses; the herbaceous border alone carries around 6,000 plants, including some 350 purple alliums.
• The listed sundial — its dials and finial date from the seventeenth century, set into a nineteenth-century reworking, and it was given Category C listed status in 2007 for its special historic interest.
• The Physic Garden — central beds laid out to represent parts of the human body, each planted with species historically used to treat that part, a direct nod to the site’s medical past.
• The bandstand — cast by the Lion Foundry of Kirkintilloch in 1909, dismantled in 1987 when it had decayed beyond use, and reinstated during the restoration.
• The micro-hydro Archimedes screw — a bespoke reverse Archimedes screw, ten metres long and weighing ten tonnes, lowered into the weir on 1 October 2019 to generate power for the park.
• The skate park — built in 2010 and described at the time as the largest in Scotland, now integrated into the restored park as a wheeled-sports hub.

What you’ll find

The park divides cleanly into two moods. Within the old walls everything is horticultural and deliberate, arranged around the surviving seventeenth- and eighteenth-century garden walls and the restored stable courtyard. Beyond them the ground opens into playing fields, riverside walk and sports facilities, and the Water of Leith Walkway carries walkers straight through. It is a park to visit for the planting, but it works equally well as a place to spend an afternoon with children.

• The walled garden containing the rose garden, physic garden, winter garden glasshouse and demonstration beds.
• A restored stable and courtyard complex serving as community space and a base for council garden staff and the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, with a café and public toilets.
• An inclusive playground designed for use by children of different abilities, plus an outdoor gym.
• The skate park and space used for wheeled sports including roller hockey.
• Open lawns, mature trees, allotments and wildlife areas along the river corridor.
• Direct access to the Water of Leith Walkway and to the John Muir Way.

Things to do — and who it’s for

• Garden enthusiasts — the rose garden, physic garden and herbaceous borders reward a slow visit, and the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society connection means the planting is unusually well informed.
• Families — an inclusive playground, wide lawns, a café on site and toilets, which is more than most Edinburgh parks offer in one place.
• Skaters, scooter riders and BMX — one of the biggest skate facilities in the country, with roller hockey space alongside.
• Walkers and runners — the Water of Leith Walkway passes along the southern edge, linking the park to a riverside route that runs across the whole city.
• People interested in energy and engineering — the hydro scheme in the weir is visible and explained on site, an unusual piece of infrastructure to find in a public park.
• Wildlife watchers — otters have been recorded on this stretch of the Water of Leith, and the river corridor supports birds and invertebrates along its length.

Getting there & practical

The park lies about four kilometres west of the city centre, on the boundary between the Saughton, Balgreen and Stenhouse districts, with Gorgie immediately to the north-east. The tram is the simplest approach: from the Balgreen tram stop it is a walk of only a few minutes to the northern access point. Lothian services 3, 25, 30 and 33 stop on the Gorgie side of the park, the X27 and X28 also pass that way, and services 1, 2, 22 and 38 serve the Balgreen and Stenhouse approaches. Cyclists have several options, since the park connects to the Water of Leith Walkway, the John Muir Way, city Quiet Routes and two National Cycle Network routes. There is limited free parking at two small car parks. Entry to the whole park is free, including the Winter Garden glasshouse — nothing inside is ticketed. The open park is accessible at all hours, while the walled garden and glasshouse keep daytime hours; allow at least an hour and a half to do the gardens justice.

When to visit

Spring belongs to the bulbs and to the glasshouse, which is at its most useful when the weather outside is still hostile. Early summer is the peak: the roses come into flower, the herbaceous border runs at full height, the alliums throw their purple heads above everything else, and the bandstand comes into its own for outdoor events. Late summer and early autumn shift the interest to the border’s later performers and to the riverside trees turning colour, and the fruit and vegetable beds are at their fullest. Winter is the season the glasshouse was built for — a warm, planted room to walk through while the walled garden outside is cut back and bare — and the low sun on the restored stonework makes it a good time for photographs.

Good to know

The name goes back to a willow plantation recorded as Salotonia, granted by King David I to Holyrood Abbey in 1128. In the 1660s Robert Baird of Saughtonhall bought the estate, and the mansion later served as a private asylum whose gardens were used therapeutically — the pioneering horticultural work of Dr William Lowe here is credited with giving rise to the term “occupational therapy” more than a century ago. The City of Edinburgh bought the property from Sir William Baird in 1900, leased it in 1907 for the Scottish National Exhibition of 1908, which ran for six months and drew close to 3.5 million visitors, and opened the park to the public in 1910. Exhibition money paid for the entrances, paths, bandstand and first winter garden. The bandstand followed in 1909 from the Lion Foundry, and was removed in 1987. The restoration of 2017–2019, funded chiefly by the National Lottery heritage fund with support from Sustrans and costing around eight million pounds, brought back the walled garden, the bandstand and the glasshouse, added the stables restoration and the hydro scheme, and the park was awarded a Green Flag in 2020.

Visitor tips

• Start in the walled garden while the light is good, then walk out to the river; the reverse order tends to leave the gardens rushed.
• The glasshouse is the wet-weather insurance — plan the visit around it rather than cancelling if the forecast turns.
• Combine the park with the Water of Leith Walkway for a longer outing; the riverside path runs from here across the city and needs no navigation.

Questions & answers

Is there any admission charge at Saughton Park? No. The park, the walled garden and the Winter Garden glasshouse are all free to enter — nothing on the site is ticketed.

What was restored, and when? A restoration running from 2017 to 2019, funded mainly through the National Lottery heritage fund with support from Sustrans and costing in the region of eight million pounds, rebuilt the walled garden and rose garden, renovated the glasshouse, reinstated the bandstand, restored the stables and installed the hydro scheme.

Is the park really powered by the river? Substantially, yes. A bespoke reverse Archimedes screw ten metres long and weighing ten tonnes was installed in the weir on 1 October 2019 and generates enough electricity to serve the park’s lighting and buildings.

What is a physic garden? A garden of plants grown for medicinal use. At Saughton the central beds are laid out to represent parts of the human body, with each bed planted with species historically associated with treating that part.

What is the connection with occupational therapy? The mansion on this site operated as a private asylum, and Dr William Lowe’s pioneering use of gardening as treatment here is credited with producing the term “occupational therapy” over a hundred years ago.

Did an international exhibition really take place here? Yes. The Scottish National Exhibition of 1908 was held on these grounds over six months and attracted close to 3.5 million visitors, and its proceeds paid for the park’s original entrances, paths and bandstand.

Is the skate park open to everyone? Yes, it is a free public facility. Built in 2010 and described at the time as Scotland’s largest, it is used by skateboarders, scooter riders and BMX alike, with roller hockey space nearby.

Is there a café and are there toilets? Yes. Both were part of the restoration and sit in the restored courtyard buildings alongside the community and horticultural spaces.

Can you see otters? Otters have been recorded on the stretch of the Water of Leith that forms the park’s southern boundary. Sightings are a matter of luck and are most likely at dawn or dusk from the riverside path.