Lauriston Castle
Location:
Lauriston Castle, Cramond Road South (NT 202 762)
Species: Various conifers and broadleaves.
Access: Lauriston Castle grounds are open to the public during daylight
hours and access is free.
Lauriston Castle is important because it retains its historic policy, or enclosed
park, which was formed during the mid-19th Century from a portion of the original
estate (first recorded in
the Exchequer Rolls of 1290). The trend at the time for planting exotic species is
reflected in the diverse tree coverage. The following trees are worthy of note but
the grounds contain many
impressive parkland trees such as Beech (Fagus sylvatica). There are five
Monkey Puzzles (Araucaria araucana) and two Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria
japonica) next to the Rose Garden. They are
all mature specimens of good size. The Monkey Puzzles are natives of Chile and
were
first introduced to the UK in 1795 by Archibald Menzies and were a popular choice
of Victorian gardeners. The first large-scale plantings of Monkey Puzzles took place
in 1843, so the trees at Lauriston could be amongst the first in Great Britain.
Photo Donald Rodger
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Norton House
Location:
Norton House Hotel, Ingliston. (NT 135 722)
Species: Variety of exotic conifers.
Access: Public access is limited. Permission from hotel management is
required.
Car parking and other facilities are available through the hotel.
This grove of large, exotic conifers comprise of four Giant Redwoods (
Sequoiadendron giganteum), four Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara),
a single Oriental Spruce (Picea orientalis) plus a number of Cypress and Yew trees.
They have grown as a close group and have a 'drawn up' appearance. There are also
several open-grown, mature broadleaf trees growing in the adjacent parkland.
Photo Donald Rodger
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