Herbal Tourism Destination: Edinburgh
If you are lucky enough to spend some time in Edinburgh, Scotland, and you love herbs, prepare to be amazed. Scotland is an herbalist’s haven! I was able to spend a couple of days in this amazing city and I found a few herbal gems.
Napiers Apothecary
You can visit the oldest apothecary in Edinburgh, Napiers, which dates back to 1860. You can find a huge selection of tinctures, teas, and body care here. You can even schedule a visit with an herbalist to help you develop a plan of care. It’s definitely worth spending some time in this historic shop.
Greyfriars Kirkyard
You can find medicinal and culinary herbs in some garden beds in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh. I visited the kirkyard in October, and some herbs were still hanging on, despite being so late in the season. I imagine it’s just beautiful in the summer. Greyfriars Kirkyard can be a popular place, but it’s always open, so going early or later is probably key to a peaceful stroll among the plants…and headstones.
The Witches Well
The Witches Well is a plaque that honors those who were killed in Scotland in the name of witchcraft. It’s at the bottom of Edinburgh Castle and can be easy to miss. It features a foxglove plant on the front and the words “hands of healing” on the side. Many people, mostly women , who used plant medicine were wrongfully accused and killed in this area.
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a plant lover’s paradise. There are over 13,000 different species of plants in this garden. That’s a lot of plants! This garden was founded in 1670 as a Physic Garden. The medicinal herbs grown here were used to teach students about medicinal botany. Over the years, a beautiful glasshouse was built to grow plants from all over the world. When I visited last fall, 2024, the massive glasshouse was closed due to reconstruction and restoration. As of January 2025, it’s still closed. I was pretty bummed, but that means I’ll have to make another visit in the future. The rest of the gardens are stunning, and you can stroll around the modern Physic Garden. It made me wish to go back in time and see what a Physic Garden medical botany class would have been like!
The Secret Garden Distillery
A place on my list that I sadly did not get to visit (next time!!) is The Secret Garden Distillery. This small, family-owned gin distillery grows 600 varieties of plants and herbs for its unique gins. They offer tours of their garden and distillery, with a gin tasting. A nice spring day spent in the garden ending with herbal-infused gin sounds like a great time to me!
Edinburgh is a fairytale city that I just couldn’t get enough of. All of the herbal history makes it a top herbal travel destination! I can’t wait to “haste ya back” to Edinburgh to see how much more herbal goodness I can find. Let me know if you have any Edinburgh herbal travel tips below!
