Saughton Park is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

in Edinburgh, Scotland. It includes formal gardens, specimen trees, exotic plant greenhouses, a cafe, a bandstand, playing fields, an athletics track, a skateboard park and a creative play area. The skatepark was constructed in 2010 and is the largest in Scotland.

Facilities

The park benefitted from an £8m restoration with funding from the

National Lottery National Lottery may refer to: *National Lottery (Ireland), the state lottery of Ireland *National Lottery (United Kingdom), the lottery franchise in the United Kingdom *South African National Lottery, established in 2000 *A number of countries con ...

, and cycling lobby group

Sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

amongst others. The park was awarded

Green Flag Green Flag Limited is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used a network of ...

in 2020. The redevelopment work was developed to include the restoration of key historic features, enhance accessibility and provide visitor facilities. Conservation, sustainability and biodiversity formed an integral part of the masterplan. Garden and building restoration work was done to give an understanding of the heritage, context, place quality and future use the Park. Local community groups were involved in consultation and co-design. The park is well known for its rose gardens and provision of new facilities including community teaching areas, a café and toilets. The new facilities are of a modern design. The restoration of heritage assets included repairs to the walled garden, reinstatement of the wrought iron bandstand and the renovation of the winter gardens glasshouse. The bandstand which had been removed in 1987 due to its condition was made in the Lion Foundry in

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; ; ) is a town and a Burgh of Barony (The Baron of Kirkintilloch) in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. Historically ...

in 1909. The glasshouse features a bust of

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

, tropical plants and a statue of the

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

Sakthi. The replanting of the restored gardens required more than 5,000 hedging plants, 8,000 herbaceous plants, roses worth more than £40,000 for the rose garden. 5,000 plants were added around the bandstand. The herbaceous border has 6,000 plants, including 350 purple allium. In addition, several species of bird nest in the park and otters have been seen in the river and the skatepark.

History

The park has been managed by

City Of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

since 1900 when it was purchased from Sir William Baird and it opened to the public in 1910. It previously included a nine-hole golf course, nursery and playing fields. Saughton Skatepark BMXer - geograph

Saughton park was formerly the Saughton Hall Estate, bought in the 1660s by Robert Baird of Saughtonhall, an Edinburgh merchant, from Janet Mudie or Moodie. The park was the site of the 1908 great Scottish National Exhibition and the grounds were specially adapted for the purpose. Large buildings were constructed, a railway station was built to transport thousands of visitors from

Waverley Station Edinburgh Waverley (also known simply as Edinburgh; ) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East C ...

, and a new bridge was built for the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The ...

. The exhibition included industrial and machinery exhibits along with halls featuring Canadian, Russian and Irish showcases. It also featured a Senegalese village "where the inhabitants may be seen carrying on their daily life much as they would do under their own tropical skies". The exhibition followed a previous similar one in the Meadows and was open for six months, attracting nearly 3.5 million visitors.

References

External links

{{coord, 55, 56, 05, N, 3, 14, 59, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Areas of Edinburgh Parks in Scotland Skateparks in the United Kingdom Parks and commons in Edinburgh World's fair sites in Scotland