Dalkeith Country Park
Dalkeith Country Park
4
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
About
Dalkeith Country Park is a stunning destination just a few miles from Edinburgh's city centre. Home to the award-winning Restoration Yard Store, restaurant and Wellbeing space plus Fort Douglas Adventure play park and Go Ape. There is something for all ages to enjoy a truly special day out. Our seasonal summer campsite is open from 1st June 2024 until 1st September 2024. Visitors can enjoy brunch and lunch in The Kitchen, a play in Fort Douglas or shop Restoration Yard's beautiful collections. Pick up a map and head out on one of our many waymarked walking trails along the river and in ancient woodlands. Please remember to book online before visiting Fort Douglas or The Kitchen.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Dalkeith Country Park and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
122 within 5 kms
Attractions
283 within 10 kms
See what travellers are saying
- JennieC1357Edinburgh, United Kingdom7 contributionsDefinitely the real Santa!We bought tickets to Santa’s grotto after hearing brilliant reviews and we weren’t disappointed! Santa was absolutely amazing. He was the nicest person and spent loads of time with our 2 kids. Our oldest is 9 and somewhat skeptical, but left convinced that he is the real Santa. It was such a magical experience and really made our kids Christmas (and ours!!). A wee tip I was given is that Santa asks the children if they have any questions. It’s worth them having a think about this before visiting so they don’t get stage fright and can’t think of anything! Our 2 both asked a question each which was answered brilliantly. Included in the ticket is access to Fort Douglas, so it’s really worth the money. Unfortunately it was pouring with rain on the day we saw Santa and so we couldn’t go, however we were told to email and explain and we would be able to go on another date that suited us. I did this and it ran like clockwork when we returned. We actually bumped into Santa outside his grotto when we did this, and he was kind enough to take the time to speak to the children and have a photo taken. Such a lovely, genuine person. Couldn’t recommend this experience enough and hope we are lucky enough to get tickets in 2024 to see the real Santa again!Visited December 2023Travelled with familyWritten 18 February 2024
- Navigator161013330261 contributionThey removed the best things from the menuI’ve been there quite a few times now and everytime they had macaroni cheese and other things I enjoyed. But today on mothering sunday me and my family went there. When we got to the restaurant i was very disappointed to find that they had removed a lot of me and my family’s family items. It was extremely disappointing.Visited March 2024Travelled with familyWritten 10 March 2024
- Megan DCarlisle, United Kingdom82 contributionsIt was that good we went TWICE! ❤️We bloody loved this place. What a treat. For our little boy (18 months) and us big kids too! £3 parking. Beautiful colour coded walks (colours could maybe be slightly more prominent), amd we got to see the gorgeous bluebells. The courtyard is done beautifully to a very high standard with a beautiful store, food shop, larder, kitchen and coffee shop. Our biggest highlight of our whole trip was Fort Douglas. What a TREAT! So much to do for toddlers and older. We've never experienced anywhere as good. What a laugh we had on the jumping pillows, zip wire for toddlers and double swing. The forts, slides etc were thought out to a tea, very clever. Our only criticism is the coffee shop is lovely and we did eat here however with how many children the park attracts the facilities for food/warming bottles etc could be much more enhanced and friendly for parents. Or even a seperate area. Thank you for making our trip ❤️Hello Megan, thank you for taking the time to leave a review following your visits. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed exploring all that The Park has to offer. Our park rangers are currently working on new waymarkers to enhance the wonderful array of walks, we look forward to sharing their work soon. Fort Douglas adventure playground is definitely an adventure for all ages, we're glad to hear you had fun as a family. We will pass on your feedback regarding bottle warming to our team and look forward to welcoming you again in the future.Written 6 May 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited May 2024Travelled with familyWritten 3 May 2024
- JessMatlock, United Kingdom180 contributionsLunch in the SunCame for a walk, stayed for lunch as it was a beautiful sunny day! Lovely kept grounds and a great place to explore, though initially couldn't find the beginning of the footpaths, thought I was going the right way and ended up in the middle of Go Ape. Lunch at the coffee shop was lovely, seemed freshly made and it was the best potato salad I've ever had. There was a small issue with my lunch but the manager lady dealt with it very well and she was great, so friendly to everyone, her friendliness was infectious. Great coffee and lovely relaxing time sitting outside. Not cheap but nice for a treat, it is a tourist attraction after all so it's not going to be cheap! Thanks again.Visited June 2024Travelled soloWritten 8 June 2024
- GrahamRugby, United Kingdom1,535 contributionsA great day out, just outside Edinburgh.What an amazing place. The is so much to do for young and old alike. It costs £3 to park her for the day, and there is lots of space. The courtyard area is called the Restoration Yard. Here you will fond toilets, food, drink and various shops. We walked the grounds and forests as you can see in our pictures. In the forest you can her the sounds of people in the trees in the GoApe area. There are plenty of activities and play areas here to keep any child happy. There is also the stately home which is now dedicated to art. They always have exhibitions on with varied content. A great day out, just outside Edinburgh.Visited August 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 19 August 2024
- RebeccaWinschoten, The Netherlands64 contributionsLovely Country Park to walk aroundWent here to enjoy a nice walk around the park. Lovely area to walk around in nature. Beautiful. Also enjoyed a nice coffee from the cafe as well as a cupcake. Didn't go to the restaurant, but they also had plenty of options to choose from if you decided to eat there as well. If you enjoy to walk, I would 100% recommend visiting Dalkeith Country Park!Visited August 2024Travelled soloWritten 29 August 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
451 reviews
Excellent
214
Very good
108
Average
50
Poor
43
Terrible
36
Dan G
North West England, UK133 contributions
Feb 2022 • Family
We have been on holiday to Lauder a number of times over the past 10 years and have been surprised to only just find this wonderful place!
A lovely country park with numerous easy to follow walks for varying abilities and with varying distances. We took the purple route with kids aged 7 and 4 and they both managed it in under an hour.
The shops and restaurants are relatively new but really great. We ate at The Kitchen and really enjoyed our meal. The food was good quality, the kids enjoyed the pizzas and both the full allday breakfast and vegetarian option were great too.
The best bit however was by far the play area that we enjoyed after lunch. You have to pay for it but there are online offers if you look so we only paid £10 for the 4 of us for the afternoon. What a great price for such an amazing play area. Stuff for all ages, the adults can enjoy it too and the kids didn't stop for 2hrs. Even in cold and wet weather, the spirits were not dampened so would highly recommend this.
We didn't pay for car parking but this may not be the case in peak times.
5* all round for this place!
A lovely country park with numerous easy to follow walks for varying abilities and with varying distances. We took the purple route with kids aged 7 and 4 and they both managed it in under an hour.
The shops and restaurants are relatively new but really great. We ate at The Kitchen and really enjoyed our meal. The food was good quality, the kids enjoyed the pizzas and both the full allday breakfast and vegetarian option were great too.
The best bit however was by far the play area that we enjoyed after lunch. You have to pay for it but there are online offers if you look so we only paid £10 for the 4 of us for the afternoon. What a great price for such an amazing play area. Stuff for all ages, the adults can enjoy it too and the kids didn't stop for 2hrs. Even in cold and wet weather, the spirits were not dampened so would highly recommend this.
We didn't pay for car parking but this may not be the case in peak times.
5* all round for this place!
Written 17 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SunbathersSheffield
Sheffield32 contributions
Sept 2020 • Family
We visited here the beginning of September, we had 4 x 18 month olds & 1 x 6 year old (plus 6 adults)
Hands down the best play area I’ve ever been to and sooooo cheap to get in. We booked the 10-1pm slot and could have stayed there all day. Our twins loved the baby zip wire, all of the climbing frames, slides, round abouts..... I could go on and on. Also a really lovely picnic area.
The grounds itself are beautiful and massive, we had a lovely sandwich from the reclamation hard.
All play area’s will now be judged against Fort Douglas. If only we didn’t leave 5 hours away we’d be here every weekend.
Hands down the best play area I’ve ever been to and sooooo cheap to get in. We booked the 10-1pm slot and could have stayed there all day. Our twins loved the baby zip wire, all of the climbing frames, slides, round abouts..... I could go on and on. Also a really lovely picnic area.
The grounds itself are beautiful and massive, we had a lovely sandwich from the reclamation hard.
All play area’s will now be judged against Fort Douglas. If only we didn’t leave 5 hours away we’d be here every weekend.
Written 4 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wow, thank you so much for your amazing review! The team will love to read this - thanks for visiting and taking the time out to share your kind comments. It's brilliant to hear how much your little ones loved Mini Maze too - there is so much to do in the playpark across the age groups. And with the trails at Dalkeith Country Park and Restoration Yard on hand for food and shopping, you can really make a day of it. We hope to welcome you back in the future.
Written 11 September 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Waywardwanderer
Glasgow, UK82 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Visited Fort Douglas with my 11, 7 and 4 year old on a Friday afternoon in Scottish term time; please note that peak prices are charged when English schools are still on holiday but Scottish schools are back.
The park is well laid out, and for the most part was clean. However there was at least one area that wasn’t accessible due to it being broken, which isn’t great given the price of admission to Fort Douglas, and the tractors in the toddler area were pretty worn out and there weren’t enough to go round. None of the catering facilities at the play park were open either, being open on weekend days only. If people are paying the same on a Friday in peak times as they would on a Saturday in peak times, are they not entitled to the same level of service? This made it impossible for me to grab a coffee, as rounding up three kids mid-play and walking back to the Restoration Yard was not an attractive option. I overheard another two parents complaining to each other that there was nowhere to buy coffee etc. I wonder how much revenue is lost by parents not bothering to leave the park to buy snacks and coffee?
We visited on a lovely summer day, which was fortunate as there are no areas for shelter should it be raining or you get a shower or two. This is particularly tricky given that you book in advance and cannot change the date of your booking if the weather is inclement, and living in Scotland means that the likelihood of rain is high! Bookings can only be changed if Dalkeith Country Park consider the conditions to be a Force Majeur Event. I also think that there should be some kind of gate at the entrance to the park, where the bridge is, as there was nothing really stopping kids from leaving the park unattended.
Once it was time to leave, we walked back to the car via the Restoration Yard, to buy some ice cream, but we were left disappointed that when we got there are 4:54pm, they had closed, despite being advertised as open until 5pm. So there were two occasions when we were willing to spend more money (coffee and ice cream) but it seemed that Dalkeith Country Park weren’t too interested in being able to facilitate that.
My three enjoyed playing here, but no more than they would at any other parks we’ve been to. I’m not 100% sure that we’d return, and if we were to it wouldn’t be in peak times to reduce the cost a little. We also paid £3 car parking charge which seems pretty steep.
The park is well laid out, and for the most part was clean. However there was at least one area that wasn’t accessible due to it being broken, which isn’t great given the price of admission to Fort Douglas, and the tractors in the toddler area were pretty worn out and there weren’t enough to go round. None of the catering facilities at the play park were open either, being open on weekend days only. If people are paying the same on a Friday in peak times as they would on a Saturday in peak times, are they not entitled to the same level of service? This made it impossible for me to grab a coffee, as rounding up three kids mid-play and walking back to the Restoration Yard was not an attractive option. I overheard another two parents complaining to each other that there was nowhere to buy coffee etc. I wonder how much revenue is lost by parents not bothering to leave the park to buy snacks and coffee?
We visited on a lovely summer day, which was fortunate as there are no areas for shelter should it be raining or you get a shower or two. This is particularly tricky given that you book in advance and cannot change the date of your booking if the weather is inclement, and living in Scotland means that the likelihood of rain is high! Bookings can only be changed if Dalkeith Country Park consider the conditions to be a Force Majeur Event. I also think that there should be some kind of gate at the entrance to the park, where the bridge is, as there was nothing really stopping kids from leaving the park unattended.
Once it was time to leave, we walked back to the car via the Restoration Yard, to buy some ice cream, but we were left disappointed that when we got there are 4:54pm, they had closed, despite being advertised as open until 5pm. So there were two occasions when we were willing to spend more money (coffee and ice cream) but it seemed that Dalkeith Country Park weren’t too interested in being able to facilitate that.
My three enjoyed playing here, but no more than they would at any other parks we’ve been to. I’m not 100% sure that we’d return, and if we were to it wouldn’t be in peak times to reduce the cost a little. We also paid £3 car parking charge which seems pretty steep.
Written 28 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gorvamp
Glasgow, UK17 contributions
May 2021
Scrap the £3 parking charge.Absolutely ridiculous to be charging £3 to park your car in a park with literally nothing to do or see .Luckily it was a dry day (19th May) when we visited as we could not even sit indoors for a coffee. The Kitchen restaurant was reservations only so we were left with a takeaway coffee (expensive) and had to sit outside to drink it. Also, no wonder the streets in Dalkeith around the entrance to the park are littered with cars- perhaps a nominal charge of £1 if they are so desperate for money but people should not have to pay £3 to visit this park. Won’t be back.
Written 20 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lordoftheisles
144 contributions
Sept 2021 • Friends
£3 parking is a disgrace.. especially when the pay hut shut a few mins after we arrived! Car parking area does not justify the cost.
Was booked to restaurant but cancelled due to feeling miffed off. Tried to buy an overpriced bottle of water to be left in a queue for 10 min whilst staff chatted to other customers, aware the queue was building.
Really rated this place before. Won’t go back.
Was booked to restaurant but cancelled due to feeling miffed off. Tried to buy an overpriced bottle of water to be left in a queue for 10 min whilst staff chatted to other customers, aware the queue was building.
Really rated this place before. Won’t go back.
Written 8 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah W
5 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
We booked a trip to Edinburgh for the bank holiday weekend and realised the children (6&8) would need to let off some steam after a 4 hour car journey. We paid for afternoon slots (2-5pm) at fort Douglas and the children played continually and were never bored. My husband and I sat at a picnic table with coffee from the refreshment hut, and a good time was had by all. We were very lucky with the weather after days of rain and a good job we brought the children’s wellies as they were definitely needed. I understand some reviewers frustration at not being able to reschedule due to illness or bad weather but I think this is the same everywhere you book under current covid restrictions.
Written 1 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks so much for your kind five-star review, Sarah! It's brilliant to hear how much fun you all had at Fort Douglas and you could relax too while your wee ones played. There is so much for the kids to do (and adults if they're feeling up to it!) from finding your way round Sky Maze to the Zip Wires, magical Fort Treehouse, spooky secret tunnels and more. Hope you had a great weekend in Edinburgh for the bank holiday.
Written 3 September 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
CharleyBear
Edinburgh, UK310 contributions
Sept 2021
Disappointing to find out that Dalkeith Country Park has introduced parking charges. I totally understand that there is maintenance costs to pay etc, however, we went for lunch so contributed in some way to the upkeep of the property.
£3 is a lot when a few of you are meeting and coming from different areas where you cannot car share. It is also expensive for pensioners / people out of work - so perhaps a thought might be to refund the £3 if you are eating in the restaurant.
Unfortunately my husband has suggested that we won't go back as we can meet friends for a coffee or for lunch somewhere that doesn't charge for parking.
Disappointing really.
£3 is a lot when a few of you are meeting and coming from different areas where you cannot car share. It is also expensive for pensioners / people out of work - so perhaps a thought might be to refund the £3 if you are eating in the restaurant.
Unfortunately my husband has suggested that we won't go back as we can meet friends for a coffee or for lunch somewhere that doesn't charge for parking.
Disappointing really.
Written 10 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alan S
1 contribution
July 2020
My wife bought tickets for the park that we regularly take the kids to and it’s great place for them to play outdoors and enjoy themselves and the cafe is really good to.
Today we called up as my boy who is only five can barely move and is really unwell. My wife called up to get a refund or to just simply change the date from today to another day. They declined both and stated she must take my son today because of “t&c”
What an utter disgrace and horrible way to treat customers who have regularly visited the park. We don’t know why he is so unwell, we are in the middle of a pandemic and you treat customers this way. You should be ashamed of yourself as a business.
Thanks
Alan
Today we called up as my boy who is only five can barely move and is really unwell. My wife called up to get a refund or to just simply change the date from today to another day. They declined both and stated she must take my son today because of “t&c”
What an utter disgrace and horrible way to treat customers who have regularly visited the park. We don’t know why he is so unwell, we are in the middle of a pandemic and you treat customers this way. You should be ashamed of yourself as a business.
Thanks
Alan
Written 23 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for your post and I can only apologise for what happened with a member of our team on the phone. I’ll get in touch with you via messenger to discuss. I really hope your little boy feels better soon.
Written 28 July 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Stephen B
Aberdeen, UK218 contributions
July 2021 • Family
The pay to enter kids play area is bags of fun. Something for all ages. All very well made and sturdy too. Had to book for a specific timeslot which you could only stay for the allocated time which made it a little less flexible for us. With a 20 month old, flexibility is key! I'm not sure if this is a covid thing or normal practice.
Overall a fun experience. Would have given 5 stars but their kiosk selling food was quite expensive. They should also have free water fountains instead of offering small bottles of water for £1.
Overall a fun experience. Would have given 5 stars but their kiosk selling food was quite expensive. They should also have free water fountains instead of offering small bottles of water for £1.
Written 16 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
claire7632
Newcastle, UK22 contributions
June 2021 • Family
Such a fantastic day for the two of us and our three year old. We visited Fort Douglas play area for the afternoon and the cost was £11.50 in total including parking. For a whole afternoon in the best play park we’ve ever visited and a lovely area to picnic in first, it was well worth it.
The play area has a lovely under 4s section but our recently turned three year old could manage most of the larger park well with us in tow (a few big drops meant we needed to be closely beside her as she has no fear yet).
We didn’t visit the restaurant but did visit the takeaway cafe for coffee and soft drinks which was busy around 1pm when the morning session finished but okay a little later on.
The cafe/shop on the play area side wasn’t open so worth taking snacks and drinks over with you.
The play area has a lovely under 4s section but our recently turned three year old could manage most of the larger park well with us in tow (a few big drops meant we needed to be closely beside her as she has no fear yet).
We didn’t visit the restaurant but did visit the takeaway cafe for coffee and soft drinks which was busy around 1pm when the morning session finished but okay a little later on.
The cafe/shop on the play area side wasn’t open so worth taking snacks and drinks over with you.
Written 4 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can I use a mobilty scooter to get along the Christmas event thanks
Written 9 December 2022
Hi
Hoping to visit next year for the lets Rock Scotland festival. Can anyone recommend nearby accommodation?
Much appreciated 👍
Written 23 September 2019
There are no specific hotels in the park but within 2 miles there are 3 hotels that are good quality,and reasonably priced. Edinburgh city is 6 miles away and buses are frequent and cheap. These stop about 400 yards away from the park gates.
Written 9 October 2019
grazie per la disponibilità.
c'è possibilità di parcheggiare il camper e pernottare li ?mi potete dare informazioni riguardo la visita del parco ?
grazie
Written 17 July 2019
Shelley Gibson
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Hi there - unfortunately we don't have parking for campervans. However we do have a lovely restaurant, coffee bar, store, adventure playground and beautiful walking trails.
Written 23 July 2019
Howard C
Castres, France
Is there an area of the park where I can release my dogs without fear that they will chase or harm the animals / livestock?
Written 18 August 2016
As far as I'm aware, yes. I quite often go with my sisters in laws and their dog and we let him off the lead. New fences have been put up which clearly mark off where live stock graze. If you're concerned, double check at the gate house but as far as I know it's a dog friendly place. Lots of dog walkers go there at least.
I hope that helps.
Written 28 August 2016
Hi, entrance to the park is £1 per person, but this is refundable against any purchase in Restoration Yard or Fort Douglas. Thanks.
Written 19 August 2016
Showing results 1-6 of 6
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing