Overview

This review is only for the Physic Garden, a new public garden that is free to access. I went to visit the garden after listening to a talk from staff at Holyroodhouse. When I visited the garden the Palace itself was still closed to the public but the garden was open from 9:30am to 4:30pm.

Transport & Parking

The Palace is situated at the bottom of the Royal Mile and across from the Scottish Parliament. Bus tours usually pass here and so does the number 35. There is a car park but it can get busy. There are also a few accessible parking bays on Horse Wynd.

Access

There are three entrance to the garden, two with gravel underfoot and one with paving slabs (the entrance from Watergate). The garden itself is a mixture of paving slabs, gravel and grass. There are raised plant beds which is good for seeing the different plants in the garden. I also appreciate the fact that there were quite a few benches around the garden. I've not given it 5 stars as I know gravel is not the easiest for everyone to navigate.

Toilets

I've not rated the toilets as I believe they were all shut when I visited. Usually there are accessible toilets in the cafe (which can be visited without purchasing an admission ticket for the Palace) and there is a Changing Places toilet across the road in the Scottish Parliament building.

Staff

While I never saw any staff on the day as the Palace is still closed to visitors I've rated them 5 starts for opening the gardens during the pandemic and for the great online session they held about the Palace and the gardens.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

It was very quiet when I visited so I felt safe. The gates to the garden were open so it was a hands free visit (I didn't need to touch anything).

Photos