Edinburgh Outdoors is a podcast exploring the city’s green spaces and the people in them. From community gardens to wild or secret spaces, getting outside brin...
Dunbars Close and plant explorers with Hetty's History Walks
Dunbars Close on the Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town is a reimagined seventeeth century garden and is well worth a visit. Containing eight distinct areas, the garden combines formal shapes with more informal planting and features over 190 plants which were within Scotland around that time. Many have medicinal properties and were brought to Scotland by adventurous plant explores. The garden was created by a charity called The Mushroom Trust.
I explored the garden with regular contributor and local historian, Hetty Lancaster of Hetty's History Walks. She brought fascinating insight into the creation of the garden, as well as the plant explorers who brought plants back to Scotland and were instrumental in building our reputation in horticulture and the stories behind their adventures. We toured the garden and chatted about the properties of the some of the plants, as well as hearing stories of some of the characters who travelled the globe to source what were then the new and exotic - but many of which are now our commonplace garden plants.
In the seventeenth century the Canongate was a suburb of the city and we also learn more about who lived here at the time and Edinburgh suburban living.
To find the James Gordon 1647 map you can search the archives of the National Library of Scotland:
https://maps.nls.uk/view/102190447
The John Slezer picture from Calton Hill, part of an encylopedia of Scottish images - 'The Queen Anne View' - can be found here:
https://maps.nls.uk/view/74419503
The Mushroom Trust created and maintains the garden:
https://mushroomtrust.com/
Books discussed include:
Seeds of Blood and Beauty by Anne Lindsay:
https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/collections/author-books-by-ann-lindsay
The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan:
https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/collections/author-books-by-sara-sheridan
And finally, here is the location of Dunbar's Close:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7zbj1aBb6FKKxzrV7
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34:11
Geology, James Hutton and Holyrood Park
The final podcast of Season 1 discovers Edinburgh's fascinating geology and the role played in the eighteenth century by the father of modern geology: James Hutton.
I met up with geologist Angus Miller of Geowalks in the James Hutton Memorial Garden and he filled me in on how Hutton's thinking was so groundbreaking and influential, even in the modern day. We looked at some significant rocks within the garden, which have been brought from all over Scotland, and then walked on Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, spotting huge rocks which have fallen from the Crags and checking out the Hutton Section: the point where much of Hutton's thinking was inspired. As always, there is also some chat about the outdoors and how it has inspired and supported Angus through his life.
If you would like to know more about Angus Miller and joining one of his Geowalks you can check out his website:
https://geowalks.scot/
Find out more about James Hutton here: https://james-hutton.org/
And visit the locations yourself:
Hutton Memorial Garden: https://maps.app.goo.gl/f5hkMwb9c4nSiWYq5
Hutton Section in Holyrood Park (currently behind a fence, but you can get pretty close and hopefully the fence is going to be removed soon ...):
https://maps.app.goo.gl/f5hkMwb9c4nSiWYq5
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25:10
Forest bathing with Anna Neubert Wood
Anna Neubert Wood runs her own business, Wander Women. She created it to take women initially - but now everyone including individuals and groups - into the wilds to find peace, tranquility and childlike fun.
After a childhood in East Germany and flexi-schooling her children, Anna has created experiences that bring escape in the outdoors in and around Edinburgh. Her offering includes wild swimming, picnicking, firelighting and forest bathing, amongst others - all to help us find mindfulness in outdoor spaces. She also runs weekend retreats, which look exhilarating, and works with organisations like Womens Aid and her own Karma Women, to help those who need her help most.
We spent an afternoon in the peaceful woods of Craigmillar Castle Park and we talked, drank tea and swung in a hammock. Listen in to hear how Anna's childhood experiences informed her career change and how much she enjoys swimming in the outdoors.
https://wander-women.co.uk/
You can find our location here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Svwnwfe5BBfJBEXh9
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25:49
Exploring new paths with Charlie Ellis
Charlie Ellis is a writer and walker with a keen interest in Edinburgh's former railways that are now footpaths and cycle routes. He enjoys heading off to explore old paths and to find new, or potential, ones. When we met up he took me off to find some existing and potential paths, including the Powderhall Line which was only closed in 2016 and is the subject of a campaign to have it joined into the North Edinburgh path network.
After viewing some paths we talked writing, memories and discovering new places.
Charlie writes for a number of Edinburgh based publications and you can read some of his articles here:
https://www.leithermagazine.com/leither152/the-path
https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2023/11/21/the-world-reveals-itself-to-those-who-travel-on-foot/
https://www.leithermagazine.com/leither153/circles
https://www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/powderhalls-path-potential
You can find Saughton Park here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/aHtjQe2vruFSSXNG8
And St Mark's Park and the Powderhall Line here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/sCkBdgrL5kncNHpVA
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21:57
Beekeeping: West Linton and District Beekeepers Association
Learning all about bees: on a driech day in Edinburgh I went to visit the West Linton & District Beekeepers group in an equally driech Carlops, in the Pentland Hills. There weren't many bees buzzing around on the day I dropped by to the apiary as it was a bit cold, but I still spent a brilliant hour with a great group of enthusiasts.
We talked all things bees, cold summers, swarms and the benefits of an absorbing hobby in the outdoors. They were a fascinating group of bee experts and enterprising member, Jane, managed to get my microphone right inside a hive to hear what it sounds like inside!
You can find out more about the group online:https://westlintonbka.wixsite.com/website - and on Instagram.
Google maps location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/T9FPTpoHBKc7KUsQ6
Edinburgh Outdoors is a podcast exploring the city’s green spaces and the people in them. From community gardens to wild or secret spaces, getting outside brings benefit to everyone whether it’s through volunteering, taking part in an activity or just taking it slow.
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