Aberdeen, the Granite City, is also the perfect place to connect with nature. In the city center lies Duthie Park, an area of 180,000 square meters dedicated to the enjoyment and recreation of locals and visitors alike. It features guides who make the tour of the facilities easy and fun, and park rangers who develop workshops and activities of interest for groups of all ages.
Duthie Park is considered one of the best play spaces in Scotland. It is ideal for outdoor walking, playing on the grass, kayaking in the pond, hiking, bird watching, interacting with art (music and sculpture), enjoying the characteristic winter gardens, and discovering some of the world’s most exotic plants. At the Park Café, you can also taste drinks and typical dishes from the area.
From Duthie Park, it is possible to take a long journey along the old Deeside railway route, via the Deeside Way trail. Alternatively, take the wildlife trail that allows children and adults to learn about the life forms around the park.
Quality Green Space
Since 2013, the park has been recognized as a quality green space, with the Aberdeen Green Flag Park award given by Keep Scotland Beautiful. Moreover, since its inauguration in 1883, it has been awarded by various institutions and competitions.
The 44 acres of Duthie Park were donated to the city of Aberdeen by Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie of Ruthrieston in 1880. A year later, they were handed over to the Council, and in 1883, the natural complex opened its doors for the first time.
The Largest Indoor Garden in Europe
The David Welch Winter Gardens are the major attraction of Duthie Park. They were inaugurated in 1899. Their greenhouses were destroyed by storms in 1969 and rebuilt to achieve the structure known today.
It is now one of the most visited gardens in Scotland and the largest indoor garden in Europe. It includes the temperate house, fern house, tropical house, and arid house, the perfume corridor, Victorian corridor, and the Japanese garden.
Eternal Floral Paradise
The tropical house displays a wide collection of orchids, bromeliads, and araceae native to South America. The arid house hosts one of the largest collections of cacti and succulents in Great Britain and the world’s only talking cactus. The Japanese garden is an outdoor section of the winter gardens, dating from 1987, and pays tribute to the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was designed by the landscape architect Sawano.
This section of Duthie Park is a floral paradise throughout the year, used for weddings, festivals, carol concerts, and other events. The David Welch Winter Gardens also hold pieces of historical and cultural interest, such as the railings recovered from the main Union Street bridge, with their metal cats from the Aberdeen coat of arms. Railings were removed from the bridge in the mid-20th century for then commercial developments.
