Botanic Gardens

A beautiful park with a very relaxed and family friendly atmosphere.
Things to do at the Botanics:
Grab a coffee from «the tardis» at the park gates
Check out the Kibble Palace
Find the train tunnel which runs right through the park
Follow the path down to the Kelvin Walkway
Visit the Children’s Garden
Have a picnic
Have afternoon tea at the Tea Room
Take in a Shakespeare play during the summer at Bard in the Botanics
Pretend you’re in the rainforest in the greenhouses
Explore the night sky at Stars Over the Botanics

So this evening my family and my husbands family decided to have a night out in Glasgow.
So we decided to take ourselves to the light show at the Botanic Gardens.
Well — if you haven’t bought tickets yet — DONT BOTHER. Really all it was, was some colored lights in the trees — nothing fancy nothing different just lights.
No up beat and fun music — just droning noise at some points throughout the park. My son & my niece — aged 11 were bored out their face. Myself and my husband were just looking forward to going home as was my sister and brother in law.
This is a park in Glasgow that should have lights like this all year round and not a paid event.

Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens is my favourite of Glasgow’s wonderful parks. Not the biggest by any means, but perfectly formed with something for everyone at any time of the year.
Entering from the top of Byres Road, the fine gatehouses which flank the entrance are wonderfully grand. Continuing into the park the path curves round revealing the beautifully restored Kibble Palace glasshouse. Here are a collection of statues, plants, art, and fish — perfect for relaxing and reading a book, people watching, or just strolling round. Interesting factoid: the goldfish moved here from Edinburgh’s Royal Museum when it closed for refurbishment and they faced an uncertain future!
Continuing through the park is the tearoom, main lawn and main glasshouses — full of fascinating flora from around the world — my highlights being the Orchid collection and hot, humid jungle.
There’s a great kids playground, with climbing wall, lots of spinny things, psychedelic things, noisy things. My niece loved it, despite being a bit too young for most things. For older kids, there’s a children’s’ garden too. Herb gardens, woodland, ice cream and coffee kiosks, the gardens Arboretum, and hidden subterranean railway station will also keep you occupied.
In summer the main lawn is bustling with people enjoying the sunshine and picnics, while the winter sees wrapped-​up walks and a warm-​up in the glasshouses. Winter also features the Electric Gardens (started 2014, repeated again in 2015) where the gardens are illuminated with lightscapes, light and sound installations, performers and interactive exhibits (ticketed event).
My favourite autumn or spring Sunday afternoon starts with a wander through the park and glasshouses, a coffee, then descend the steps (near the tearoom) to the river Kelvin. A stroll along the Kelvin walkway to Kelvingrove Park, perhaps stopping off at Inn Deep enroute winds up the afternoon nicely!

I love the botanic gardens, I live near one of the entrances and often use it as a short cut to get to Byres road.
There is the main bit of the gardens where the glass houses are. It’s great if you have a day to just wander about and investigate. There is an old underground train station near great western road that you world easily miss. There’s also a route that take you all the way down to the old big Blu and then if you keep going you’ll arrive at Kelvingrove park.
I love going all through the year as its changes so much with the seasons.
There is also a lovely little children’s play area and childrens garden to.

Visited April 2015: «A walk in the park»
We walked around the premises, and went into both of the glassed gardens. We went through Kibble Palace first. In the map, there’s a color coded legend with the areas of the world the plants originate from. It was nice to walk through a warm area on a cold Glasgow Morning. We then walked to the Main Range where my friend has some issues with her allergies over the blooming flowers. We saw cacti from where I reside, along with a rain forest. Most of the beds on the grounds were not in bloom yet but we were able to see some herb, veggies, chronological gardens. We were worried about our parking, so we did not get to the ⁹⁄₁₁ memorial. While walking back to the car, we noticed a woman and her 2 children whom were trying to pet the squirrels. The Squirrels were coming up to the children that they were practically stepping on the childrens’ shoes. After they left, I checked my purse for any provisions. I located a nutria-​grain bar, and sat down on the pavement. The moment the bar came out of my bag, and as I proceeded to open it — I had one squirrel in front of me «assisting» with gaining entry to the enclosed item. He took a piece from my hand, as well as one of his other friends. One of the friends was shy, but came close to pick up the food nearby me. My friend took pictures of the event, and a video.

How have I not reviewed this place?!!
The Botanics sit off two of the busiest streets in Glasgow, yet as soon as you move past the old gates, it feels like you’ve walked into tranquil oasis. I always used to think of the Botanics as the posh park of the west end (it is) and a bit boring, but having lived (almost) opposite it for the last 6 months, I’ve begun to see it in a completely different light.
Walk away from the kibble palace, main grass bank & the greenhouses and it really does feels quite secluded the farther away you go. The rose garden at the top of the slope is a tranquil little spot, with specimens from across the globe. It’s great for catching the sun away from marauding kids & chatting parents.
In addition to the rose garden, there’s a kids playground, the old Botanics underground station, the amazing tropical greenhouses (my favourite part), the beautiful Kibble palace to keep you wandering, as well as access to the Kelvin Walkway.
If you’ve spent all day in the sun, there’s a wee trailer selling drinks and food, or if you’re out to treat your grannie, there’s even a tearoom. There are regular events on in the palace & the park, from book/​craft sales to Yoga and walking groups.
I love the tranquility of this beautiful Victorian oasis, for a small park so close to a main road, it’s remarkably easy to find a spot to tune out the world & catch up with friends or read your book. Due to its location on the hillside, you get great views of the setting sun, making it an ideal place for a few pictures or a romantic walk with your s/​o (or just your dog). For such a small park, there’re a lot of attractions meaning that whether you’re in Glasgow for a day or a wegie 4 life, there’s no reason not to visit this magical place

Me encantó el lugar! Es tan bonito y agradable, sobre todo cuando el clima horrible de Escocia te da un respiro grande. A nosotros nos hizo sol y un poco de nubes pero se estaba realmente bien.
Está en la zona del West End así que viene fenomenal para ir temprano a las tiendas de discos, ropa, etc y luego irte a comer allí. Nosotros pillamos cosas de nuestro querido Mark&Spencer. Es increíble las cosas ricas que tienen, siempre que vamos de viaje a estas zonas solemos pillar mucho de supermercado para abaratar y disfrutar de las zonas verdes. En este caso unos cuantos bagels, bebida y postre y allí que nos fuimos.
Estaba lleno de padres con niños corriendo como locos, para ellos hacía tiempo veraniego y no sabes cómo se ponen. Estaba muy bonito con sus flores, los dos palacios de cristal con sus plantas dentro, que hacía un calor horrible, pero que era bien bonitas y muy bien cuidado. Luego es enorme, hay muchas más zonas, un río con puentes y un parque súper molón con niños.
No pudimos quedar muchísimo porque teníamos el concierto de Belle&Sebastian rollo las 6, y claro queríamos ir andando desde donde estábamos para seguir descubriendo joyas escondidas :)

What’s not to love about the Botanic Gardens? An oasis of greenery in the West End since 1842, the Botanics houses an internationally-​acclaimed collection of plants and trees. It was originally set up to provide a teaching collection for Glasgow University, to provide plants for botanical and medical courses.
The magnificent Kibble Palace glasshouse was relocated from a private garden at Coulport on Loch Long in 1873, and was completely restored with millennium funding. Its collection of tropical tree ferns is a wonderful place to hang out on a cold winter day, and they have frequent exhibitions and events inside.
The main conservatory is a veritable maze of glasshouses, each with different habitats showcasing different areas of the world — again, it’s great to wander through here on cold days.
There are lots of different areas to explore in the rest of the gardens, there’s even an old railway running underneath the gardens and you can gaze down into the platforms.
The gardens extend over the hilltop to give access to the River Kelvin Walkway at the rear, and if you go out the Kirklee gate and follow the signs you will find the ‘extension’ garden that is the Arboretum. This tends to be a lot quieter than the main part.

What a fantastic place!
A proper old Victorian glasshouse complex with different plant zones to explore — warm rain forest, desert, temperate and all that stuff.
Of course, being free is a big bonus too.
A great place to spend a rainy, haily, snowy day in Glasgow… like we did!

I love the Botanics. Trudie M and I had our wedding pics taken here so it always brings back great memories when we go for a walk through it like we did tonight. There is no better way to celebrate the start of spring. (Hopefully — Fingers crossed)
It is a beautiful spot when the sun is out, it’s great for walking the dog or sitting on a bench and watching the world go by. It’s always rammed during summer as people look to soak up the rare Glasgow Rays.
Looking forward to summer already!

Bonito lugar para disfrutar solo o en compañía. Gran espectáculo con la iluminación de luces y sonidos.

I love this place! It’s perfect for me to chill out in my lunch hour in the sun.
If I want to do more then there’s paths to wander, a children’s play park if you have kids, there’s an indoor fish pond, lots of outdoor flower and plant displays & a big indoor flower building (no idea what you call these!). There are toilets and a van selling food & drinks.
A must do if you are visiting the west end.

My nearest park and what a lovely lovely place on a summer’s day. For such a small space there are plenty of corners to hide away in if you want some peace and quiet, plenty of places to wander round, indoor and out and as it’s on my route down to Byres Rd I often pause here on one of the benches to take in the view.
It’s always busy at the weekends (weather dependant of course) but never crowded. If you are lucky you’ll find the hidden Subway station, or the ‘scent’ gardens, you might even get to hand feed a local, friendly, squirrel! There is a great wee coffee stall too and if the rain does come on, just duck into one of the ‘greenhouses’ for some amazing exotic foliage and flowers.

When the sun comes out in Glasgow, there’s only a handful of places worth heading to, the botanics is one of those places.
With an amazing display of green fingered prowess and some international flavour on my doorstep, the botanics is where I head to get some space or catch up with friends over lunch.
With access to the Kelvin Walkway closeby its definitely one of the nicest gateways to some of the places that make Glasgow a dear green place.

When the sun actually peaks its way out, there’s nothing nicer than a day at Botanic Gardens. It’s a great place to lounge about on the grass alone or with friends or to take a walk and look at the flowers. It’s a popular location when the weather’s nice, but even then it’s easy to find a nice spot for yourself on the grass.

The Botanical gardens can be found at the corner of Great Western and Byres Road, entry is free of charge. There is a glass house with marbled Italian statues and tropical plants and flowers. Outside there are well manicured gardens with seating there is a ice cream stall and a tea room there. An ideal day out in the summer with the family.

Glasgow certainly isn’t lacking in parks, but the Botanic Gardens has a serious advantage over all the rest – two enormous greenhouses where you can find all manner of living, blooming fauna year-​round. What could be better in a city renowned for its perpetual rain and chilly temperatures? Not only that, but one of the greenhouses – the Kibble Palace – is a bright white monument to Victorian aesthetics at their best.
Both greenhouses are warm and smell fantastic – all those flowers in bloom can’t help but win over your senses and lift your spirits. The park itself is a lovely little meander, with plenty of interesting plant life of its own being cultivated. Plus kiddies – it’s all free!

I’m not sure if i can speak any higher of this place. Its by far one of the best free things to do with your time in Sunny or if the case may be un Sunny Glasgow.
Well, what to say. First of all the Sunny stuff. Sunny days in Glasgow are a bit like nice conservatives, hard to find and too suprising to your being for you to actually enjoy them. If however your able keep yourself from reeeling in suprise enough to enjoy the bright fiery balls annual display in these parts, then the Botanics is one of the best places to enjoy it.
The crowd at the Botanics is more familly orientated than that of Kelvin Grove, whichh is nice when you have a little one and want to avoid the slightly drunken mob feel which has been known to raise its head in the latter. Beutiful lawns are interspersed with shady wooded areas, benches, a recently added pond and an outdoor garden area (for a kids group mostly but open to all us big folk as well). It truly is a an excellent area to just relax and enjoy the fresh air.
If however the Glasgow weather is behaving itself and not acting all nice in front of company, you know like the dog who humps everything until you take him to the vet, and by behaving i mean pissing it down, then the green houses and the Kibble palace (the big white old one near the front) really come into there own. Inside you’ll find a wide array of exotic plants, trees etc, as well as benches (in the kibble) a pond with fishy fishy fishes and some cool nudie statues (old school porn).
This is a god send for those with kids looking for a place to let them roam for free on a crappy Scottish day. Its warm, safe and such a cool envirenment to be in.
So yeah. A real jewl in Glasgow’s crown and a must visit for Glasgowites and visitors alike, and hey, its only a 5 min walk form the Hillhead Subway so no excuses ok?

I remember going here when I was a kid with School. We got lost, and we got into loads of trouble.
With hindsight, I can only imagine we went there with School because it was free.
Now though, I still go every now and then when I am over on the West End. It is in a good location, near Hillhead tube station and loads of local shops to pick up some munchies and go on a wee adventure.
It’s hard to miss, with the huge glass dome and once inside, there are a lot of different flowers, in areas with different temperatures. It is well maintained and a nice way to disappear for an hour if its raining outside. It’s also a lovely place to go when it is NOT raining, lazing around outside on a lazy summer day.
I doubt if I would go if it wasn’t free, but that is not to fault the place.
Well worth a look.

As a fan of long, lonely walks, I often start at The Botanics when I fancy a stroll down the Kelvin. The grounds are large enough to get lost in, and there is a herb garden and an underground railway station, now abandoned and relatively inaccessible, unless you are happy clambering over fences.
It is also the home of the annual Shakespeare festival. Here, you can see straightforward productions of the Bard at cheap prices, in something like site specific spaces. It is conventional enough in production– don’t expect a post modern Macbeth, but last year’s Richard III was a god run through of the murderous Tudor propaganda piece.
I also saw Belle and Sebastian do a huge free gig here a few summers ago. There was something about this show that captured the best of Glasgow– a tipsy crowd, peaceful and chilled, listening to a local band who had hit the headlines without loosing their Glasgow touch. I had a picnic in the same place this summer… without even mentioning the extensive conservatories, I have realised how much I enjoy lazing around in this delightful park.

Why can’t entry to all Botanic Gardens be free like this one? The Botanic Gardens at Benmore, near my home town of Dunoon, ain’t free.
But the Glasgow Botanic Gardens are just as lovely, if not better. The fact that anyone can get in for free is a credit to Glasgow City Council. I do criticise the council a lot, but you can’t take that away from them, nor the massive amount of work which no doubt goes into the upkeep of a place like this.
The huge lawn near the main entrance is a very popular spot for young, student sunbathers in the summer, with a very relaxing vibe in the air. The impressive Kibble Palace, as well as having lots of tropical orchids and plants, has a pond containing abslolutely HUGE koi carp — I haven’t seen fish this big since my grandpa’s last goldfish.
There are plenty of walking routes in the gardens; it is particularly nice to have a stroll through the woods or along the River Kelvin. And better still, it seems to be quiet most of the time, the way beautiful places like this should be.

The Botanical gardens are far classier than Kelvingrove Park. The warden’s make sure of that.
A lovely garden just off Great Western and Byres Road, this place has the classic botanical greenhouses (Victorian style), children’s play area, and of course, plants! It’s a great place to go and chill out — buy an ice cream and take a stroll around the gardens — they even have paths which lead down to the river Kelvin, and beyond.
The greenhouses themselves are mighty impressive. With plants from all over the world, a koi-​carp pond (these fish are HUGE!) and graceful statues adorning the edges, they are beautiful.
The Botanics are popular with familys, and locals alike, as they also hold cute little events — story reading for the kids, and sometimes even puppet shows, or Shakespeare readings for the adults. Fantastic. The West End festival parade also travels through here…
So, to sum up? It’s a great place to get lost in for a few hours…