Sundial Garden, Edinburgh, Bezoekersgids & wat te doen in de buurt

The Sundial Garden in Inverleith Park, Edinburgh, is home to the Kinloch Anderson Sundial, a Victorian timepiece that has stood here since 1890. Its four dials face the points of the compass, so each one tells the time for a different part of the day. It is a quiet, characterful corner of one of the city's best-loved parks.

The story behind it

The sundial was given to the City of Edinburgh by Kinloch Anderson, a city councillor, ahead of the official opening of the new Inverleith Park in 1891. According to the account passed down, he bought it at the great International Exhibition of Electricity, Engineering, General Inventions and Industry, held in Edinburgh in 1890, where he served as a vice-chairman.

What sets it apart is the layout. Instead of a single dial, it has four facing the compass points. The east dial serves the morning, the south dial midday, and the west dial the afternoon, while the north dial only catches the sun in high summer, for early morning and evening. In 2018 the Kinloch Anderson family restored the sundial to mark 150 years since the founding of the family company in 1868, fitting four new gnomons set at correct mathematical positions.

What to look for

• Walk all the way round the sundial and compare the four dials, each set to face a different compass direction.
• Look at the gnomons, the blades that cast the shadow, which were renewed in the 2018 restoration.
• Notice how the shadow falls on each face, and check which dials are in sun and which are in shade at the moment you arrive.
• Take in the setting itself, a planted garden within the wide open spaces of Inverleith Park.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the sundial itself, longer if you want to stroll the park or sit for a while.
• Come on a bright day if you can, because a sundial is far more interesting when the sun is casting a clear shadow.
• The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh lies right next to the park, so the two combine well in one outing. Check current opening hours for the botanic garden.
• The garden is in a public park, so you can see the sundial from outside without a ticket. Wear shoes suited to grass and paths.

See it on a quest

Romantic Edinburgh: True Love Escape Game is a good way to see this spot. You reach the Sundial Garden on foot as one stop of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about the place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle right in front of what you are looking at. It suits couples or friends looking for a different kind of walk, and one ticket covers the whole group. Start whenever suits you, with no guide and no group to join.