A Secret 17th-Century Green Sanctuary on the Royal Mile
Passing down the stone-flagged slope of the Canongate, thousands of travelers walk directly past the narrow opening of Dunbar’s Close every single day without realizing what lies beyond. Framed by an unassuming iron gate between centuries-old tenements, this shaded pend opens suddenly into one of the most tranquil, beautifully composed parterre gardens in northern Europe.
The layout reproduces the authentic geometry of a 17th-century burgage plot. Meticulously clipped boxwood hedges, crushed stone walkways, and formal herbal borders create discrete outdoor rooms. Lavender, rosemary, feverfew, and thyme scent the air, while climbing ivy drapes the weathered sandstone rubble walls that protect the enclosure from city sounds.
During the chaotic weeks of the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe, Dunbar’s Close serves as an almost mystical refuge. Stepping through the archway feels like crossing a threshold in time, providing a quiet space to collect your thoughts while gazing toward the green slopes of Calton Hill framed by old chimney pots.
"Bring a book and seek out the weathered timber bench tucked into the rear terrace corner beneath the ancient sycamore tree. You will hear songbirds rather than traffic, despite being fifty paces from the Royal Mile."
Reconstructed in the 1970s by the Mushroom Trust in the spirit of town-planner Sir Patrick Geddes, who championed pocket green sanctuaries for tenement dwellers in the overcrowded historic Old Town.
