Christmas at The Botanics - Edinburgh
The winter festivities are well and truly upon us, and I’m a sucker for some twinkly lights and music, so when I saw Christmas at The Botanics advertised I just knew I had to go. The website mentioned good wheelchair access, and wheelchair accessible parking, plus free carer’s tickets - it was already sounding good! But how was it in reality?
Booking Tickets & Quieter Access
I booked tickets for the Quieter Access session, something I don’t normally do, but I was intending on meeting up with a friend who has a better experience if things are quieter and not too busy. There was only one Quieter Access session this year, but I hope they introduce more as I had a brilliant experience. It was nice not having to struggle to navigate through crowds (basically a sea of backsides if you’re a wheelchair user) to get a glimpse of the light installations! The music wasn’t overbearing so Kirsty and I could easily talk to each other as we wandered around. Tickets for this session had to be booked via a link I found in the Support Centre FAQ’s - personally I think it would be better if tickets for this session were made available in the general ticket booking section.
It was very easy to book a complimentary carer’s ticket, you just add it on as you’re booking and you don’t need to provide “proof” (if you’ve read my Enchanted Forest blog, you’ll know I’m very passionate about carer’s tickets!) If you need more than one carer’s ticket, you can contact customer services to add more on.
Arriving, Parking & Toilets
As it was dark when we arrived, I felt the disabled parking bays could’ve been better signposted. There are six blue badge parking spaces just left of the West Gate entrance and a further three spaces opposite to the left of the Inverleith Park Gate. If you have a blue badge you can use it to park for free in the metered bays.
There’s also a circular parking area for wheelchair accessible vehicles outside the Botanics' West Gate.
From there we headed in through the West Gate, showed our tickets, got a quick photo taken by a dedicated steward which was a nice touch, and headed into the Botanics’ building. There are two accessible toilets here, along with non-accessible toilets. The accessible toilets are reasonably sized. Toilets are also available at the East Gate entrance and Terrace Café, though I didn’t use these.
The Trail
The illuminated trail ventures through the garden, meeting several ‘zones’ with different themes. The first ‘wow!’ moment came when we saw the tunnel of light - a tall, arched tunnel, draped with thousands and thousands of warm, twinkling fairy lights. Yes, it’s incredibly instagrammable, so make sure you stop for a few photos!
Most of the route is solid, smooth paving. An absolute dream! Some areas have a fake-grass type covering which is definitely better than wheeling through mud, but it did make self-propelling a bit tough on my weedy arms. The path is up and down with mostly gentle slopes, but I did need assistance from Kirsty in a few areas. All of the stewards we encountered were really friendly and approachable, too, offering assistance with any particularly tricky bits like the one I’m about to mention. Be warned! There is a stunning installation called Aurora that ‘recreates the visual tones of the stunning Northern Lights’, suspended up in the trees, but the slope beneath them is incredibly steep. I was in my manual wheelchair, gripping my push-rims tightly while Kirsty gripped onto my wheelchair handles, but it was still a challenge. This would definitely be easier in a power chair or with an attachment that can control speed. However you make your way to the bottom of the hill, make sure you stop and gaze up at the lights for a while. The colours and formations are mesmerising!
For those walking, I noticed the occasional bench along the way, and places to sit around the eating areas (more on those later).
The displays are varied, from laser light shows, to animations on buildings, to trees buzzing with neon lights - you will ooh and ahh your way around with eyes lit up like kids on Christmas morning. It encompasses all that is magical and festive, without being cheesy, and will appeal to kids and big-kids alike. The route is about a mile long, but we spent almost two hours there. Some of that time was taken up enjoying tasty festive treats, though!
For those with photosensitive epilepsy, I’ve taken this directly from the FAQ’s on the Christmas at The Botanics Support Centre page: ‘…all the lighting effects in the garden work to guidelines on photosensitive epilepsy and adhere to the industry standard of synchronising effects and locking sequences, to ensure that none of the lights operate at more than 5 flashes per second.’
Food and Drink
No festive evening would be complete without a mulled wine or a hot chocolate, so we took the opportunity to grab something from one of the stalls before heading to the seating area. I could wheel up to some of the benches and get my knees under. Food was available, including a 100% plant-based truck at the second eating area where we stopped again for ridiculously indulgent Oreo Melts, doused in chocolate sauce. Savoury offerings were available too, but the power of my sweet-tooth should never be underestimated! The second eating area was mostly bark which was very difficult to wheel on, and would benefit from some of the rubber matting I saw at The Enchanted Forest. I didn’t see any seating at that point either, but luckily I brought my own chair (wheelchair perks, am I right?)
A Magical Evening
All in all, it was a magical evening, and brilliant to see the Royal Botanic Garden in, quite literally, a new light. It’s definitely an event I needed assistance at, but as long as I keep Kirsty well fed with Oreo Melts, she doesn’t seem to mind! Apparently it can get very busy later in the evening, and at any time outwith the Quieter Access session, so I’m glad I chose that time to go (and thanks to my friend, Lucas, who recommended it).
Thanks for reading! Whatever you get up to this festive season, I hope you have a brilliant time.
