Garden by the Loch

Looking south east from Holyrood Park over Duddingston Loch and Duddingston village,on the left corner of the loch.The loch is within the boundary of the park and is a designated bird santuary and nature reserve.Otters have recently been spotted here for the first time in 100 years.


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In the 18th century a large hoard of Bronze Age artifacts,including bronze swords and spear heads dating from around 2000 BC, were dredged from the bottom of the loch. Evidence of crannogs,prehistoric stilt dwellings,has also been found here.

Duddingston Kirk is a fine example of Scoto-Norman architecture.The church was built around 1124 by a Norman knight named Dodin,on lands given to him for a settlement by King David I of Scotland. After the Norman conquest in 1066 David's father Malcolm III had offered land to Norman knights in return for their allegiance to the Scottish throne,a practice which appears to have been continued by his son.

                A girl piper leads a wedding party to the garden by the loch for a bridal photo session.

Dr Neil's garden,was begun in 1963 by Drs Andrew and Nancy Neil who had a medical practice close to the village. It was created on rocky ground between the church and the loch,on what has been described as the church rubbish dump.

Monkey puzzle tree

This sundial base appears to have been constructed with ecclesiastical "rubbish".

Seat with a view

A quiet corner

Looking towards Crow Hill. Ridges left by agricultural terracing can be seen on the hill above the trees.These were probably used from prehistoric times until the 17th century.

Outside the garden,the church field,the tower,loch and Pentland Hills in the distance.


Designed by the architect William Playfair in 1825,this octagonal two storey building on the loch side,known as Thomson's Tower,was built to store curling equipment. In these days the loch regularly froze over in winter. Nowadays only a thin ice covering is formed, barely enough to support wildfowl,and only in very cold winters.The building became known as Thomsons Tower after the Rev John Thomson who was minister at  Duddingston Kirk from 1805-1840. The minister was a notable landscape painter and used the upper floor of the tower as a studio,the curling equipment was stored below.