Parks: Princes Street Gardens
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By Contributor Debbie Adams
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By City of Edinburgh Council
By Contributor Paul
- Background
- Princes Street Gardens lies at centre of Edinburgh's World Heritage Site, within New Town and Old Town Outstanding Conservation Areas. It is listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscape in Scotland and has geological and botanical scientific interest. The Gardens are set in the valley between the old and new towns with Edinburgh Castle on its rock towering above the western end. The park has been awarded a Green Flag since 2011 and its central location make it a popular choice with residents and visitors.The world renowned Floral clock was first planted in 1903 and each year the planting scheme commemorates a special anniversary. The planting schemes are designed by the Technical team in the Parks and Greenspace Service. The colourful displays take 30,000 plants, and a variety of flower and foliage plants are used in the designs. All are of a dwarf nature, suitable for carpet bedding, including annuals such as Lobelia, Pyrethrum and Golden Moss and succulents such as Echeveria and Sedum.
- History and heritage
- There are a diverse and fascinating collection of public monuments and memorials in Princes Street Gardens dating mainly from the 1840s to 1990s. There are three types. The first commemorate influential Scottish men of the 18th and 19th centuries, including the Scott monument and the David Livingstone statue. The second group remember those who have died fighting in wars, including the Royal Scots Regimental Memorial and the Scots American War Memorial, and the third group include miscellaneous sculptures and monuments such as the Ross Fountain. The Ross Fountain is currently being repaired, the newly refurbished fountain will be unveiled in the spring of 2018.
- Wildlife
- The world renowned Floral clock was first planted in 1903 and each year the planting scheme commemorates a special anniversary. The planting schemes are designed by the Technical team in the Parks and Greenspace Service. The colourful displays take 30,000 plants, and a variety of flower and foliage plants are used in the designs. All are of a dwarf nature, suitable for carpet bedding, including annuals such as Lobelia, Pyrethrum and Golden Moss and succulents such as Echeveria and Sedum.
- Geology
- Princes Street Gardens, between the Old and New Towns, is in the very centre of Edinburgh's World Heritage Site. It has a landscape of outstanding refinement and cultural significance, with high geological and some botanical scientific interest. It is one of the New Town Gardens listed in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscape in Scotland, assessed as outstanding in terms of aesthetic, historical, architectural and scenic values. The Gardens lie within either the New Town or the Old Town Outstanding Conservation Areas, the boundary between the two areas being the north fence of the railway.
- Public Toilets
- East Princes Street Gardens (The Mound). 24hr access. Disabled only. All toilets for the disabled require a RADAR key for access.West Princes Street Gardens (The Mound). Opening times: 10am-10pm. Gents only. No disabled access.West Princes Street Gardens (Ross Band Stand). Opening times:10am-8pm (Summer only). Disabled access. All toilets for the disabled require a RADAR key for access.West Princes Street Gardens (West End). Opening times: 10am-10pm. Disabled access. All toilets for the disabled require a RADAR key for access.
- Visitor information
- Please ensure that dogs are kept on leads at all times while visiting the gardens. Please note that the entrance from Kings Stables Road is currently closed to both pedestrians and vehicles. Alternative access is available through St Cuthberts churchyard.
- Management Plan
- Facilities
- Play area with ramp access, Cafe, Kiosks, Toilets, Seating
- Opening hours
- Princes Street Gardens opening times - the gates will gradually be closed about 1 hour before in order to safely clear the gardens.
- Contact Details
- Princes Street
- EH2 2HG
- 0131 529 7921
- parks@edinburgh.gov.uk
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Trees of Historical Significance
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Original Elm tree
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Quercus ilex
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Robert Louis Stevenson memorial grove
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The Chinese Birch Tree
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The Dawyck beeches
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The Edinburgh Urban Forest woodland
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The Northern Ireland Peace Tree
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The United Nations 40th Anniversary Tree
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The Weeping ash - East Princes Street Gardens
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The Weeping Ashes - West Princes Street Gardens
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The Workers Memorial Tree
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Wheatley elms
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Monuments
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Adam Black Statue
This bronze statue on a sandstone plinth depicts Adam Black (1784-1874) in his robes as Lord Provost of Edinburgh. He was a liberal politician and reformer, at a time when...
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Allan Ramsay Statue
Allan Ramsay (1685 -1758) opened Britain's first circulating library on the Royal Mile, wrote ‘The Gentle Shepherd' and was involved in the revival of Scots vernacular poetry....
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David Livingstone Statue
David Livingstone was born in 1813 in Blantyre, Lanarkshire. In 1840, he was ordained as a missionary and sent to South Africa, where he discovered the Victoria Falls. He died...
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James Young Simpson Statue
James Young Simpson was born in Bathgate, West Lothian of humble origins and rose to become Professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh University in 1840, where he pioneered the use of...
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Memorial to the 'Spanish Brigade'
Below the Playfair Steps is a simple poignant rough hewn stone, erected by the International Brigade Association with the help of the Trades Council in 1988. It is inscribed,...
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Norwegian Memorial stone
This massive gneiss boulder was presented on the 18th September 1978, by the Norwegian Army and accepted by General Sir Roland Gibbs, who asked Lord Provost Borthwick to receive...
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Professor John Wilson Statue
Professor Wilson (1785-1854) was born to a wealthy family near Paisley, and studied at Glasgow and Oxford. He was an influential thinker who wrote for Blackwood’s Magazine, and...
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Ross Fountain
This fountain is a magnificent example of 19th century French cast-iron work, from the foundry of Antoine Durenne, with figures sculpted by Jean-Baptiste Jules Klagmann whose...
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Royal Scots War Memorial
This landscaped monument consists of stone monoliths with depictions of regimental uniforms through the ages. The main stone is incised with the battles from Tangier in 1680 to...
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Scott Monument
This is the biggest monument to any writer in the world and commemorates Sir Walter Scott (15th August 1771– 21st September 1832) who was a hugely successful and influential...
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Scottish-American War Memorial
The figure and relief were sculpted between 1924-27 by Robert Tait Mackenzie (1867- 1938), born in Ontario, Canada of Scots parentage and architect Reginald Fairlie (1883-1952)...
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St. Margarets Well
This historic spring well-head takes its name from Queen Margaret, wife of Malcolm Canmore. It provided water to Edinburgh Castle and was attached to the defensive gateway of...
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The Royal Scots Greys Monument
This equestrian bronze depicts a Royal Scots Dragoon Guard (Carabinier and Greys) in uniform with bearskin hat, sword and rifle, it is by William Birnie Rhind (1853 - 1933) and...
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The Thomas Guthrie Statue
D. Thomas Guthrie stands on a Peterhead granite pedestal, with his Bible looking down on a figure of a 'ragged boy'. Sculpted by Frederick W. Pomeroy ARA. (1856-1924). Guthrie...
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Floral Clock
This circular clock has been planted out since 1903 with up to 40,000 plants in an ornate design reflecting a different theme each summer. The idea came from James McHattie,...
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Genius of Architecture Statue
Statue by William Brodie (1815-81), entitled 'The Genius of Architecture Rewarding at Once the Science and the Practice of Art
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Play Areas
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Princes Street Gardens
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West Princes Street Gardens
