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A seven-year renovation project has been officially completed at Edinburgh's historic Saughton Park.
The £8 million scheme has seen many of the Park's original Edwardian features refurbished and reinstated.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal officially reopened the park yesterday, 06 June, unveiling a plaque to commemorate the milestone.
Commenting on the Royal Opening, the Lord Lieutenant of Edinburgh, Frank Ross, said: "It is incredible to see Saughton Park's restoration. The new walled gardens are blooming with thousands of flowers, the conservatories and community spaces are warm and inviting and the bandstand has been returned to its original beauty. It really is stunning.
"Everyone involved in the project, including dozens of volunteers from the local community, have worked incredibly hard over the last seven years to revitalise this historic and much-loved park. It feels fitting that the gardens are formally opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, the Patron of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. She follows in the footsteps of His Royal Highness Prince Arthur, the son of Queen Victoria, who toured the grounds and declared the Scottish National Exhibition as open, 111 years ago."
The Park, which will be powered by green energy, also boasts a new café and restored stables for use as a new community venue and base for the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society (The Caley).
The Walled Gardens are fully open, opening from 9am to 9pm every day. The Courtyard will open later in summer, where a new volunteer bothy and a new community space will be located. New cafe tenants Cost Effective Catering Ltd are in the process of fitting out the new cafe, which is called the Garden Bistro, and work is progressing well with the construction of the new micro-hydro scheme on the Water of Leith. It is anticipated that it will be generating all the electricity for the park by early 2020.
The restoration of Saughton Park has been a partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council, the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and the Friends of Saughton Park with £3.8m funding from the Heritage Fund.
(CM/JG)
