We get a kick out of people constantly telling us..."oh you can't walk there. It is too far! (Or too difficult because of hills). Take bus number (?) to get there." And ,yet, each and every time, we do walk the route and find that it really is not that bad at all. It seems that people have become too reliant upon public transportation (which we will admit has been good in many places we have visited) and have forgotten how pleasant walking can be. It is not only good for your physical health, but it is amazing how many wonderful "hidden gems" we have discovered because we took the time to walk through an area.
Today's visit was one of those times folks told us it was too far/difficult to walk. The Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh's 70 acre site is just one mile from the city center. Originally founded in 1670 at St. Anne's Yard near Holyrood Palace to grow medicinal plants, the gardens were moved to its present location next to Inverleith Row in 1820. The Gardens now contain over 273,000 individual plants representing in excess of 13,000 plant species. It is a popular place to just go for a walk. Entrance to the Gardens themselves is free, although there is a small fee to visit the glass houses. While the walk back was a little taxing because we were walking up hill, it was not all that difficult for our 70 year old bodies. This was thoroughly delightful and well worth the trip.