dalkeith country park

The best place to go for a bit of countryside in a town location. Super for walking, cycling or just loving nature. There are deer in the park but you only see them in the distance. They are rebuilding the play area and picnic area. And of course it's now quite famous for TheTough Mudder. Held every year. Look it up. If your into adventure and mud you would love it.

There is a sign that says " Take only Photographs, leave only Foot prints" Which is the Ideal of many Urban and Nature photographers. There is much to see in the Park, Deer, Squirrels birds of every kind and almost everything else that flies, crawls or walks in the park. As well as the Orangery or Summer House there is also the caves, outside Theatre so much more to attract both amature and proffessional photographers. If you follow the path, you will find a cafe in season, plus more to photograph. The full park covers a huge area that could take Days to fully explore. Near the Dalkeith entrance there are churches and the main house.

Lovely space for a walk/run/cycle. Great view of the house, trail through forests, riverside walk or along the quiet road through fields. Historic amphitheater and cafe in courtyard. £1 entrance fee if there is someone on the gate is not much.

Dalkeith Country Park is undergoing major changes at the moment. Café and Adventure Playground have temporarily gone. Last week we visited,and paid £1 each at a kiosk. Walking through we park,there was signs that work was being done,views have opened up where clearing work has been done. The chap cutting grass on his new mower was helpful,explaining to us,the major work which will be happening soon. The toilets were still open,with hot water,which was appreciated.Local folk seem to still be using the park for dog walking,but patience is needed,while the alterations and updating is done. I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

I have lived near the park my whole life, and although I am sad that the adventure playground is not there at the moment - it is being relocated and will hopefully be amazing when it is back. The park have been doing a lot of festivals and public events which is great.Perfect for walking, running, dog walking, photography, picnics and cycling.

Visited here to have a picnic and then a wander around the park. The adventure playground is no longer there but has been removed to make way for a new one next summer. Under 5s were free and everyone else a pound. After the picnic we took a walk around and then headed to the courtyard for the toilets. The toilets were clean. The cafe, located in the courtyard is closed. Overall a nice park for a walk, kick about, and a picnic.

Visited today having looked up opening times etc on their own website (under construction), Visit Scotland's site and their Facebook page. Visit Scotland goes on at length about the fantastic adventure playground, tree top walks and zip wires. This is why we went. So we were disappointed that when we got there, these have all gone completely. This happened over a year ago, yet there is no mention of it on their own web page or the Facebook page. Work does not even start to replace it until the end of the summer.Having travelled for 40 minutes, we thought we'd look around anyway and were charged £1 each to do so. This gave us access to a field. We kicked a ball for a bit but found quite a lot of dog poo around. We thought we'd go for a walk but the woodland bridge was shut so that was very short.So we thought we'd go home and write this review instead. I hope it saves a few other people from wasting their time.

I live local and have seen the park change a lot over the years and I, like most was saddened to see the old chute go, but all good things must come to an end. Saying that I think buccleuch estates are taking the park in the right direction by hosting events and investing in a new park. Times are tight and the entry fee is a little steep but just now its only a pound due to the fact there is no park for the kids, however this is a bargain for nature lovers like myself and its a wee bit quieter. I have been fortunate enough to see kingfishers, otter, fox and lots more but it really is down to perseverance or good ol lady luck. This park is probably one of the most important for birds as there is no other big estate with this much biodiversity as you travel towards Edinburgh and to the south is a lot of farmland and bleak moors and hills of the borders. Of course there are architectural delights as well including the palace, the caves, amphitheatre and my favourite the orangery ( I wish they would restore it). One blight I have noticed is the presence of himylayan balsam and japanese knotweed which are both increasing their presence and hope that there are some clean up operations on the way soon. This is my local patch so to speak and love it to bits and will continue visiting often whenever I can. P.s.- if you go after October and before April there is no one on the gate so you dont have to pay, sorry Lord Buccleuch.

We visited the park because we wanted a good walk - and were not disappointed.The entry fee was only £1 per person which we were happy to pay. These places don't maintain themselves!We chose the blue walk which was the longest option. Parts of the path were a bit difficult due to weathering and slippage of slopes, awkward gates - plus lots of nettles. We coped fine but it would not be suitable for anyone pushing a buggy. There did seem to be easier routes though. Labelling and signage of routes wasn't entirely clear but for us it didn't matter because it added to the adventure. We didn't see another soul on our walk but did manage to spot a wren and plenty of different wild flowers and trees. We visited the cafe only to buy some water. It didn't seem to have much on offer apart from drinks, iced biscuits and ice-cream but we understand its only open at weekends now. Toilet was clean. The stable yard area is a very pleasant wee area with a loose bunny hopping around - and some penned chickens and geese.

Was here today with the wife and son. Its OK but don't know why they charge £1 to get in. I know its not a lot £3 for the whole family, but other country parks are free and better. This place offers nothing unique that warrants a £1 per person charge. I'm not even sure they can enforce this charge as we have right to roam and no trespass laws here in Scotland, but that's a different topic. They have taken the only thing that made this place worth a visit away, the playpark. There are promises or a new one in the summer, but don't hold your breath as there is no signs of it even being started anytime soon. My advice, use the entrance fee towards petrol and try BeeCraig's/polkemet , hell even Almond dell at east calder is on par with here and that's free!!!!!

Thank you for your review - I am not sure when you visited as it wasn't recently – its only £1 per person. We demolished our play area of 47 years in over 6 weeks ago and are currently going through the planning process to provide a new adventure play area along with new cafe, retailing and outdoor pursuit area - all of this is will be in place for next year.In-between time we are inviting visitors to come and see our wonderful estate and its wildlife both wild and captive which includes otters in the river Esk, foxes, badger, birds of prey and in our managed areas horses, donkey, llamas, rabbits, geese etc etc - all for the price of £1 per visitor!! As well as all of this we offer great play spaces and barbeques slots in anticipation of fine weather. It would be interesting to know when you actually visited as it must have been last year and hopefully you will visit us during our build up for opening the new adventure here at Dalkeith Country Estate.

I visited DCP when I was a child and loved it. My own children loved it as well however over the last few years it has gone downhill. The supposed improvements have actually made it less interesting and its actually boring now for the older kids. However I would recommend for younger kids. The walks around the grounds are varied and the cafe is good although basic. The cost is a bit much for just doing this however.

Great big park fun for the kids and the amimals are cute and fun if u can find them lol! Definitely recommend this park

I have been to a lot of different parks around the world, but this is definitely my favourite place to visit. It's a been far outside of the citycenter of Edinburgh, but it is well worth the trip. I've visited during all times of year and it is beautiful at any time. During spring/summer, it is well worth a visit to see Bluebell trail, a gorgeous walking trail that is so lined with bluebell flowers, you see nothing but an ocean of lavender and white. Even in winter, when it can get a bit rainy and soddy, there is plenty to see on the hours and hours of walking paths. The adventure playground in my most recent visit has gone under construction and, as I was told, should be rebuilt by early summer again. But, there are many other things to do in the park besides the playground. There are tons of animals, wild and domestic, that can be seen. I suggest bringing carrots for the horses Te'Tankha and Suki whom reside near the stables! Aside from the horses, I've seen foxes, deer, birds, and a variety of wildllife.The park is host to a variety of historical and scientific sites including the Dalkeith Palace and the Old Oaks. The Old Oaks is a great path that will lead you through some of the oldest oak trees in the UK. Finally, if you visit during summer, the Stables Bistro restaurant is open and offers a variety of courses and snacks from ice-cream to soups to meals. It's a great day out!

Visited the Dalkeith Country Estate today with the kids, (6 & 3yrs) We visit Edinburgh frequently for family breaks, but wanted to do something new, so found this via google. The autumn weather was lovely; misty, damp and cool, but was perfect against the breathtaking backdrop of the Dalkeith Estate. We were greeted with a welcoming smile on our arrival by the lady in the booth and were thankful that the ranger let us park so close to the start of our walk as our 3yr old would have got too tired, too soon otherwise! The estate was basically empty, so we didn't see many other folk, but what a lovely time we had! We attempted the short (red route, 1.8km) walk, but got a little lost as the signage was worn and confusing on the maps and we ended up following the longer blue route, by turned back when little legs got tired! The toilet facilities were available and clean, as was the tea room. We had lunch in the tea room, it was excellent! The lady that worked there was welcoming and very helpful. Everything was fresh and delicious. The lentil soup was perfect and the coffee was fresh, plus we got free refills! I've read other reviews unhappy with the park and zip slide, but we didn't come purely for this, so was not disappointed or notice if it wasn't up to scratch? We did go on the swings and slide, but found the wood very slippy as it was wet. We will most certainly return and next time venture onto a longer walk and perhaps look at the tunnels and caves. With such beautiful countryside, you'd be daft to miss this out on a trip to these parts, we had a lovely family day, thank you.