St Andrews Botanic Garden Reviews Summary

General Experience

Pros:

• "Absolutely beautiful park and arboretum not far from the city center."
• "Serene, beautiful, well kept, quiet."
• "So lovingly maintained..Generations of local care and interest."
• "The staff have never been anything other than very nice and willing to talk."
• "Great quiet place would bit have guessedbthsi much green space existed in st Andrews."
• "Wonderful botanical garden, even in winter. Glass houses were fantastic as were the rock and scree gardens."
• "Beautiful, peaceful space in the heart of St Andrews."

Cons:

• "Not kind place take older toddlers as they know difference from dead and alive."
• "It seems a strange decision to have the area partially open or visible to the public at all in its current state - it more closely resembles a derelict garden centre than a botanic gardens."
• "Unfortunately the whole of the glasshouses and herb garden area seems run down; most of the houses are closed and the plants are being moved away to other gardens, borders and paths are overgrown and many of the planted areas seem neglected."
• "An awful lot of weeds everywhere. Looking a tad neglected."
• "Weeds everywhere, neglected in the name of rewilding."
• "Very neglected - rock garden was a joke."
• "Disappointing garden in need of much TLC to bring it back to the glory days."

Facilities & Accessibility

Pros:

• "The single multi use (men's, women's, disabled, baby changing room) toilet was very clean with skate loo rolls to hand."
• "It was great to see the information boards about some of the birds that are around."
• "The whole place is very wheelchair friendly."
• "The place is child friendly and accessible by wheelchair."
• "The toilet facilities are very clean."
• "Wheelchair friendly for most of the garden just not down to the lower area where the pond is."
• "The children's play area is a superb location with a large 'Spiders Web' to climb up to a viewing platform, climbing frame, a large woodland glade seating area and many more items which will keep the children occupied."

Cons:

• "The greenhouses were closed to the public, not all of them, which was disappointing."
• "Most of greenhouses has been decommission, only 2 available to visit."
• "They no longer have the butterfly sanctuary and now charge entry to visit which is strange as no other botanic gardens in Glasgow or Edinburgh have the same policy."
• "Vandalism of the glasshouses! This is a park not a Botanic Garden anymore."
• "Some lovely plants and flowers however most of the glass houses were closed. Most were looking uncared for."
• "The greenhouses look like they have been abandoned and the main one has had the glass taken out."
• "Taking money from people to see derelict and neglected green houses seemed unreasonable."

Value

Pros:

• "Admission fees are ok."
• "Great value for money."
• "Free for children and students with ID proof, adult 5 pounds."
• "The price to get into the site is £6 for Adults which is more than reasonable and is an absolute bargain for what is a great place."
• "Lovely garden, with extensive greenhouses in particular. £5 entry fee but well worth it."
• "A lovely area with so much to see for the small cost."
• "Reasonably priced entry fee."

Cons:

• "This is the only Botanic Gardens that charge an entry fee."
• "Arrived to be charged £10.50 for an adult and child and told that we also had to purchase entry to the gardens on top."
• "Just a wee bit toooo expensive four people."
• "The cost of entry was a bit too high for what it was."
• "It's just too expensive for what you get."
• "To pay entry to visit the gardens and then having to pay to visit the butterfly house to me is just a rip off."
• "A bit pricy for walking round a park."

Attractions & Activities

Pros:

• "Went to the butterfly tent. Really lovely experience."
• "It was great to see the information boards about some of the birds that are around."
• "The small butterfly enclosure is worth visiting with very knowledgeable staff on hand to give information."
• "We loved the butterflys and the staff member looking after them was very informative."
• "The butterfly house is filled with different sizes and colours of butterflies and caterpillars."
• "Learn about the life cycle and also see up to 120 different species."
• "Butterfly exhibitions is well worth a visit."