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Discover the best day trips from Glasgow in Scotland including a trip to the iconic Kelpies in Falkirk and a visit to the country's capital city Edinburgh.
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Looking for the best things to do in Glasgow? This travel guide shows the best places to visit & must do activities in Glasgow, Scotland.
Best things to do in Glasgow in one day. Featuring suggested 1 day itinerary, map, practical tips for getting around, places to eat & more
I once heard someone say "You can't turn down a street in Edinburgh without seeing a patch of greenery" and I think that's so special to find in a city. Even Robert Louis Stevenson agrees by saying "Half a capital and half a country town, the whole city leads a double existence", and I couldn't agree more. Despite having numerous large open green spaces like Princes Street Gardens, the Meadows, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh also has a few secret gardens dotted around the city and I wanted to share them with you in case you're in Edinburgh and in need of a little peace and quiet. So without further ado, here are a few of my favourite Edinburgh's Secret Gardens! Exploring Edinburgh's Best Secret Gardens! 1. Dunbars Close Garden Open from 7am-7:30pm (depending on season), free to enter. Hidden at the foot of the Royal Mile is one of my favourite Edinburgh hidden gems, Dunbars Close Garden. As you're walking toward Holyrood Palace you'll spot a cobbled close (Scottish term from a little lane) called Dunbars Close and nestled within is a garden which has been laid out in the style and character of a 17th-century garden. As you walk around it, keep in mind that this is what the majority of gardens on Canongate would have looked like in the 17th century. As you enter the garden, cast your eyes upwards and you'll spot the Burns moment in the distance. I always find it a nice connection as Robert Burns, Scotland's National Bard, was rumoured to have spent time near this garden as it was once the location of a popular oyster cellar. Top tip: It’s a lovely spot to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet or a picnic on the odd warm summers day we get. 2. Dr. Neils' Garden Open from 10am-dusk, free to enter (donations welcome). To me, Dr. Neil’s Garden is the definition of an Edinburgh secret garden - many locals have not even heard of! I believe it's open forgotten about as it’s hidden away behind Arthur’s Seat in Duddingston. My favourite way to get there is to start at Holyrood Park Road (next to Pollock Halls) and follow Duddingston Low Road which veers off to the right and curves around Arthur's Seat. You'll pass many treasures along the way including, Duddingston Loch (the location of the famous Henry Raeburn painting of the Reverend ice skating) and one of the oldest buildings in Scotland – Duddingston Kirk. After you pass Duddingston Kirk, lookout for a set of iron gates on your right which will bring you to a small tea room and the garden. The garden itself looks out on to the picturesque Duddingston Loch, which is rich in wildlife. We have Drs. Andrew and Nancy Neil to thank for their imagination, dedication, and sheer hard work, plus the current volunteer gardeners who look after it, that we have this wonderful green oasis. 3. The Field Duddingston Always open and is free to visit. Dr. Neils' Garden might be the most beautiful garden in Duddingston, but if you leave behind Dr. Neils Garden and head toward the famous pub The Sheep Heid Inn (one of Edinburgh's oldest surviving watering holes), you'll spot an easily overlooked sign to Duddingston's community garden "The Field Duddingston". I only discovered this a few months ago and was completely won over by its charm. The green space is has a flock of chickens reared by locals, a herb-rich meadow community, orchard, and a vegetable garden. We felt as though we were trespassing but we met a lovely elderly lady who welcomed us into the garden and we ended up helping her guide one of the runaway chickens back into its fenced-off home. 4. Chessels Court Always open and is free to visit. Another one of Edinburgh's secret gardens to look out for is Chessels Court. Also located on the Royal Mile, this garden is located within the unassuming arches of Chessel’s Court. As you enter the courtyard you'll be met by a pleasant surprise, an outstanding and rare example of a traditional 18th century Edinburgh ‘mansion-style’ tenement, with a green space in front of it. It’s also the location where the infamous Deacon Brodie was caught! There’s lots to see in this beautiful courtyard, including a Top Tip: Look out for the Instagram-worthy heart-shaped ivy in the southeastern corner of the courtyard! 5. Sandeman House Garden Open during office hours and is free to visit. Yet another Royal Mile secret garden, Patrick Geddes would be proud! Speaking of Geddes, you'll find a lovely bust of Edinburgh's renowned town planner within Sandeman House Garden. Unlike Dunbars Close Garden and Chessels Court, Sandeman House Garden belongs to the Scottish Book Trust. It can be slightly tricky to spot as it's tucked away down Trunks Close. Just look out for John Knox's house and you'll discover Trunks Close to your left. This secluded spot is a brilliant spot to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet or enjoy a packed lunch. 6. Archivist’s Garden Open during office hours and is free to visit. You'd hardly expect to find one of Edinburgh's Secret Gardens just off one of the busiest streets in Edinburgh, Princes Street. I admit it took me a while to figure out where exactly it was as I'd seen photos online and not recognised the surroundings. Turns out, the courtyard garden is sandwiched between General Register House and New Register House. It's best to try and visit the Archivist’s Garden during spring or summer as the 57 plant species will be in bloom. The most interesting aspect of this garden is that the extensive plant collection is all connected to Scotland, its people, and its history. 7. Edinburgh's Private Gardens Lastly, I thought I'd include Edinburgh's New Town private gardens as they are all well worth a visit. Sadly, the gardens are closed to the public for most of the year but keep an eye out on Scotland's Garden Scheme and Doors Open Days Scotland as a few of them fling their doors open at least once or twice a year. A few to look out for: Dean Gardens - My personal favourite. It overlooks the Water of Leith and St Bernard's Well. Moray Place and Bank Gardens - Directly opposite Dean Gardens, well worth a visit too! Regent, Royal and Calton Terrace Gardens - A vast private garden behind Calton Hill! (Open this September!)
Are you planning a trip to Edinburgh, Scotland but are limited on time? This itinerary for one day in Edinburgh is perfect for solo travelers!
One of the prettiest museums in Edinburgh has to be the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. It’s a 19th-century neo-gothic museum that champions Scottish heroes through art. Here, you can marvel at their Great Hall with
If you haven’t seen the first part of my Doors Open Day posts, check that out here. Or, to summarise, last weekend Edinburgh opened up a bunch of buildings that you can’t normally access for free. Some were only open for one day or the other, so we went to places on both days, to make the most of the weekend, focussing on ones that we couldn’t see at any other time (some of them are open the rest of the year, but with an entry fee). Our first stops for the Sunday were buildings I have actually been to before, since they’re part of the University of Edinburgh, but I only really went for exams and therefore couldn’t take photos or explore much of the buildings. The first one was McEwan Hall, which is normally where graduation ceremonies take place, but it was being refurbished the year I graduated, so mine was in the Usher Hall instead. I wanted to check it out since the renovations were completed though, which cost a whopping £33 million. The hall was first built in 1897, by a donation by the brewer William McEwan, and is located in Bristo Square, part of the university’s most central campus. The renovations included the addition of an entrance hall in front of the main building (which kind of ruins the view in my opinion), so you have to go in there and through an underground passage to reemerge in the main building. The main hall is the star of the show of course, a huge circular room, with balconies of seating over three levels, and benches along the back of the stage area where the academic procession sits during ceremonies. Graduates would normally sit in the floor area (where the exam tables were too!), but it was empty that day so people could wander freely around. The building is absolutely breathtaking, with a huge central chandelier set inside a dome ceiling with paintings of the traditional academic disciplines around it. There are several more large paintings around the room, as well as friezes and other ornamentation, and the balconies have their own painted, domed ceilings as well. The back wall is occupied by a large organ, and you could go up close on the stage, even sitting in the large central chairs, typically reserved for the Principal of the University and other such guests at the ceremonies or other events happening there. We were also able to explore a couple of the other parts of the building, by passing through the door beside the stage, where there is the long corridor circling the building, and a stone spiral staircase which took us up into another hallway. Even these areas are impeccably designed, with more chandeliers and domed ceilings, as well as a mosaic tiled floor and other sculptures dotted around. We were able to climb upstairs to where you would normally enter the balconies, but these were sealed off that day, which was a shame as I’d been hoping to admire the room from above as well. Still, it doesn’t lessen how stunning the whole place is! We then headed over to Old College, which I did have class in for one semester (a social anthropology tutorial), but in a tiny back room that was fairly nondescript. It houses the School of Law, hence my not spending much time there while a student, but there are much more impressive areas than that classroom I used to go to, so I was curious to see more. We entered on the left of the quad, where the main reception is, and immediately followed the stairs up into a long hallway, which I instantly recognised from sitting an exam here once. It’s the Playfair Library – designed by William Playfair, who is responsible for many of Edinburgh’s most impressive buildings – though all the books are in locked cases, since it’s not a lending library for students, like the Main Library. It’s now mostly used as a venue for special events! We were more interested in admiring the beauty of the room though anyways, wandering up and down the length of it, and checking out the names on the busts around the room, of famous alumni over the centuries. At the far end, we inadvertently entered the Talbot Rice Gallery, which is open year round, and we took a brief wander through it to see what was on display, but quickly concluded that it was some fairly modern art that just wasn’t to my tastes, and I didn’t understand in the slightest. We headed back through the library and downstairs again, where we were able to see a few other rooms in the building, which look to be used for meetings, or possibly seminars and similar smaller gatherings. It almost felt like walking through a house at times, with the rich carpets, large fireplaces, and splendid furnishings throughout – far fancier than any room I had classes in! Only the big wooden tables, and the computer in the corner of each room give away their real functions. It was an area I would have never seen while a student, so it was interesting to see some of these more formal academic venues. After that, we headed over to the New Town, specifically towards the Water of Leith, where the Dean Gardens were open for the afternoon. There’s a public walkway that’s always accessible on the south side of the river, but on the north side, stretching between the Dean Bridge and Stockbridge, there’s a private garden, which is normally exclusive to people who live in the nearby catchment area and who pay an annual subscription for their access. It was a pleasant area to wander through (although not worth the annual fee in my opinion), especially on a dry day with the autumn colours starting to appear. The waterfall viewpoint was a nice place to discover, and there’s a play area for children as well. It also offers a wonderful view of St Bernard’s Wall, which you can only see side-on from the public walkway since it’s on the south bank as well, whereas from the Gardens you can see it from directly opposite. We actually headed around to the Well afterwards, since it was also open for the day. Normally you can only see the outside, but they open the gate to the upper section, and open up the room below where the actual well is on Sunday afternoons. You can go any Sunday during the year, but since we hadn’t been before, we figured we may as well take this chance. The well is thought to have healing properties, which is why the structure was built around the spring. The lower room houses the well, where you can pump the handle to extract some of the special water, and the room itself is also worth admiring, with its tiled ceiling design. The upper portion houses a statue of Hygeia, the Greek goddess of health, which is also why the whole things has a Grecian design to it. From there, we wandered along to the Stockbridge market, to finish our day up with a late lunch from there. It was interesting to see all these places that you can’t normally access, although there were too many to see all in one weekend – there are so many others we had to skip, but which I would either pay to see at other times of year, or will have to be quicker to book tickets for next time around!
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Your quick city guide to Glasgow, Scotland written by a local with the best things to do in Glasgow, Scotland.
Welcome to Edinburgh!! Scotland’s capital is a city where history meets vibrant Scottish culture. Whether you're into tales of the past, unique architecture from various eras, or just looking for a new adventure, Edinburgh has something for every type of traveler. Here’s a quick guide to the 15 mus
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Hunterian Museum The Hunterian Museum is built based on the collection donated by William Hunter, a Scottish physician and anatomist, upon his death in 1783. These Roman artefacts were collected fr…
