Glasgow Botanical Gardens: Everything You Need To Know

In the heart of Glasgow’s leafy West End lies one of the city’s most enchanting green spaces: the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. Established in the early 19th century as a facility for botanical study, the gardens cover over 20 hectares of landscaped ground and integrate local Scottish flora with exotic plants in a collection that totals more than 9,000 species. Combining Victorian glasshouses – including the majestic Kibble Palace – woodland and riverside trails, and expansive lawns for summer picnics, they are free for the public to enjoy. Whether you’re looking for things to do in Glasgow as a couple, with kids or even just to clear your head in between meetings, this horticultural retreat offers a welcome respite from the often dizzying pace of life in Scotland’s most populous city.

Founded in 1817, the gardens were initially located on a 3.2-hectare plot at the west end of Sauchiehall Street and managed by the Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow. The institution’s founder, Thomas Hopkirk, was responsible not only for acquiring the Sauchiehall Street site but also for kickstarting the collection with 3,000 plants from his own garden. Funding for the project came partly from private benefactors, partly from the Crown and partly from the University of Glasgow, with which the gardens have enjoyed a close relationship ever since. By providing access to rare samples for study, they contribute significantly to education and conservation in the field of botany.

Other notable figures in the heritage site’s history include renowned botanist William Jackson Hooker (whose descriptions of the species being cultivated in the gardens helped raise it to international prominence within the first decade of its foundation), Sir Joseph Paxton and Stewart Murray. When the original site became too small, it was Paxton who designed the garden as it is today, in its sprawling location on the banks of the River Kelvin. And it was Murray who served as the curator of the new site, bringing Paxton’s vision exquisitely to life.

The easiest way to experience all that the gardens have to offer is to follow the Botanic Gardens Trail. This self-led route – which takes approximately 1.5 hours – begins at the Visitor Centre, a collection of interpretive displays and art exhibitions housed in the 19th-century Curator’s House, where you can also pick up a Glasgow Botanic Gardens map. The first stop is the Main Range of Glasshouses, a collection of Victorian greenhouses built in the early 19th century. Together these elegant buildings provide protection for a vast variety of tropical and temperate species including palms, succulents, cacti and orchids. Among them you’ll find the gardens’ National Collections of Dendrobium orchids, tree ferns and begonias.

The most famous of the greenhouses is Kibble Palace, a curvilinear masterpiece of glass and iron designed by John Kibble, initially as a conservatory for his private home. Installed in the gardens in 1873, the glasshouse underwent a major restoration in 2003 whereby each pane of glass was dismantled, cleaned and reassembled in a painstaking process that took three years to complete. One of the first sights that greets you is the Australian Soft Tree Fern perched on an island in the middle of a fish pond beneath the palace’s smaller dome. There’s also a wing dedicated to carnivorous plants, sections beneath the main dome for plant life from the biomes of Southern Africa, Australasia, temperate Asia and South America, and a magnificent collection of marble statuary.

Once you leave the greenhouses, the outdoor gardens await. These are themed with examples including the Herb Garden, the Herbaceous Border, the World Rose Garden and the Chronological Border, which gives a visual overview of when popular species were first introduced to British gardens. Beyond these tranquil beds, there’s the arboretum featuring tree specimens from around the world. Many of these were first introduced to the gardens after being brought back from expeditions by the 19th-century Scottish botanist David Douglas, after whom the Douglas fir is named.

Your adventures continue on the Kelvin Walkway, which links the Glasgow Botanic Gardens and Kelvingrove Park – another serene green space surrounding the iconic Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. This beautiful route, which eventually connects to the West Highland Way, is ideal for cycling, jogging, or strolling hand-in-hand along the banks of the River Kelvin. The gardens offer other self-led trails too, including a Tree Trail with detailed information on 20 key species and a Minibeasts, Birds and Trees of the Botanics Trail aimed specifically at families with younger children.

If you’re looking for a more in-depth experience, charitable organisation The Friends of Glasgow Botanic Gardens offer guided tours. These are volunteer-led and generally free to join with days, times and content varying depending on the season. They also host lectures throughout the year, with the annual Kibble Lecture being a particular highlight. Held every April, it’s free for non-members and features distinguished guest speakers from the world of botany. If you have plenty of time on your hands and are especially interested in gardening, you could also consider signing up for the RGBE Certificate in Practical Horticulture, a 10-day course for amateur horticulturalists hosted at the gardens.

Other Glasgow Botanic Gardens events range from concerts to plays held in the Kibble Palace. The most highly anticipated annual event is the autumnal light show known as GlasGLOW, a Glasgow Botanic Gardens Halloween spectacular featuring immersive sound and light displays. Each year, themed worlds are built within the grounds (past names include the BoneYard, Haunted Hoose and Marshmallowland), linked by illuminated walkways and interspersed with campfires and gourmet street food stalls. This event is suitable for all ages, with the option to bypass scarier sections if necessary.

• Address: 730 Great Western Rd, Glasgow G12 0UE
• Entry: Free. There's no need to book tickets beforehand.
• Opening hours: 7am to dusk daily. Glasshouses 10am-6pm from April to September, and to 4:15pm in winter.
• Getting there: Subway to Hillhead (a seven-minute walk away). Local buses 8, 90 and 190 all drop passengers directly outside at the Botanic Gardens stop.
• Parking: Parking is available on the street adjacent to the Queen Margaret Drive entrance. There are also limited disabled parking spaces within the grounds, although you’ll need a blue badge to be able to use them.
• Dining: The Botanic Gardens Tearoom (located in the Curator’s House) is a delightful place to restore energy levels in between explorations of the gardens, serving soup, sandwiches, cakes and coffee as well as a delicious Afternoon Tea. Open 10am-4:30pm daily.
• Accessibility: Kibble Palace, the main greenhouse and the tea room are all wheelchair-friendly, as are most of the paths around the gardens – making the attraction fairly accessible for families and individuals with mobility needs.

Now that you’ve added the gardens to your Glasgow itinerary, it’s time to look for accommodation. Choosing a hotel that puts you within equal distance of the West End and the city centre makes the highlights of both accessible. For family stays, consider Novotel Glasgow Centre, a welcoming base located seven minutes from the gardens by car. You’ll be conveniently close to other family-friendly attractions such as Kelvingrove Park and the Riverside Museum; while a choice of family rooms and a restaurant serving a cooked buffet breakfast make for a comfortable stay. In town on business? Mercure Glasgow City Hotel provides meeting facilities and a vibrant café bar within 10 minutes of the gardens.

Still seeking an escape into nature? Discover all our guides to the best parks and gardens around the world.