Written on the 22nd September 2026.

We visited Dr Neil's garden in Edinburgh.

It was a wonderfully peaceful place and I can't believe that I took this photo so near to the middle of the city of Edinburgh. We are so lucky to have so many green spaces nearby: the photo feels as though it could be a countryside painting from two hundred years ago.

PXL_20260922_152201374.jpg A view of a garden with people sitting with Duddingston Loch in the background

We recently also visited the new Drakkar's Drift garden in Victoria Park in the north of the city:

PXL_20260920_153347971.jpg

This was designed by Luke Coleman and apparently won four RHS Flower Show awards. Disused bowling greens have been converted into the garden, some allotments and a cafe. Children were playing and parents were walking and talking. People were tending to their allotments and dogs were chasing each other - it was invigorating to see so much life. We didn't visit the cafe, but I'm sure as autumn progresses and the temperatures lower a hot drink will taste wonderful: Somewhere to revisit later in the year.

It is possible to walk from the park along one of the disused railway lines of Edinburgh, which are now walking and cycling paths.

PXL_20260920_161135266.jpg Walking along the converted railway paths

We walked towards Powderhall and were met with the sight of a heron hiding in the trees, waiting intently for fish. I have never seen a heron look so cat-like in concentration.

PXL_20260920_160057097.jpg A heron on the Water of Leith

I'm unsure what this weir on the Water of Leith was for. The National Library of Scotland have a side by side map viewer which helps: Following the mill lade looks as though perhaps it was to power the Bonnington Corn Mills, and powered this water wheel?

I'm now going down a rabbit hole of exploring the NLS old maps: What (or who!) was the Powderhall Destructor? How tasty were the biscuits at the Biscuit Factory? Where were the boilers made at the boilerworks used? Do estate agents advertise "Built on the site of a former skinnery" as a feature? So many interesting things I don't know about!

I'm off to investigate some history now, so I hope you have enjoyed my little post about places we have been in the last few days. There is so much to explore!

Further reading/listening:

I found out about the garden from the Edinburgh Outdoors podcast (which is enjoyable to listen to), which I might have heard about through the wonderful Edinburgh Minute (which is worth reading).

I'd assumed that the paths were "always there" but Andy Arthur wrote a piece " Rails to trails - the thread about how North Edinburgh got its cycle paths" and I hadn't realised how much campaigning (and controversy) there was. Anyone interested in Edinburgh's history should definitely read Threadinburgh. I liked reading about where the sewers go because I'm like that.