Secret Garden

[Bored Blue]

I keep hearing about a "secret garden" lately. Does this place exist in st andrews? If so, where is it and is it worth a visit?

[munchingfoo]

Yes it does exist, although I'm not entirely sure where it is. You can't just turn up anyway though. They have "Secret Garden" tours during some special events throughout the year. Just look out for them in the paper or local adverts. I've heard that it's well worth seeing.

This seems to be a likely candidate for it's location. Anyone know what it is?

map

[Frank]

Yep, there's at least one. Behind Regs. You've got to sneak round the back of the hall then climb through a hole in a fence, but it's a big open garden. You can see it from the driveway that bypasses the Bute to let vehicles into St Mary's.

Just chatting about it to another chappie and discovered that, more than anything, I'd like very much to sneak in there and have a long, mind-obliterating drink. Strange how things develop.

Where I think it is

[Fawksie]

St Andrews has plenty of gardens which could be considered secret. Lots of them between Market and South Street and Market Street and North Street. There's one in particular behind a tall wall at the east end of Market Street that I've heard mentioned before. And I remember reading about a University garden that was previously hidden behind a wooden door, which they replaced with an iron gate to allow people to see in, but I can't find the press release.

Edit: got it

[Pan]

There's some really pretty period gardens that can be got to through the preservation trust museum on north street (near the cathedral). Not sure if they are secret are not, but they are nice! I assume you can only get to them when the museum is open though.

[Timata]

There's a walled garden near that large house on the road into St. Andrews - kind of near the fake tree just along from Melville.

map

[Frank]

Better map of where I thought it was

But it seems there's oodles of secret ones.

[Timata]

Better map of where I thought it was

But it seems there's oodles of secret ones.

Your link refuses to work unless I use Internet Explorer - Microsoft may be trying to tell me to stop looking at maps and get back to studying

[Frank]

Live Maps do have better pictures, but it's of the same place as before: so not that interesting.

[orudge]

Your link refuses to work unless I use Internet Explorer - Microsoft may be trying to tell me to stop looking at maps and get back to studying

Should work on Firefox, too, and Safari. At least, it does for me.

I have to say, I didn't realise until I moved into a flat (which had a back garden) in the centre of town for my first summer after 1st year that there was such greenery hidden between the streets - it was only then when I looked up the MSN aerial maps that I discovered that St Andrews had a lot more greenery than I thought it did!

[Timata]

The LiveSearch maps still have DRH on, and lots of open field beside Morrisons...

and are these cooling towers, or some kind of weird tent?

[orudge]

And a lack of the Jack Cole building on the North Haugh, too! The car park on Doubledykes Road was also not a car park back then, it seems, and there seemed not to be a road from the bus station down to the main car park where all the taxis tend to wait.

[ojk6]

I think there's a walled garden that's known as the Principal's [of St Mary's College] "Secret Garden". St Mary's referred to it as such in some of its events emails last year. It's hidden behind the annex of St Mary's.

[Thackary]

The LiveSearch maps still have DRH on, and lots of open field beside Morrisons...

and are these cooling towers, or some kind of weird tent?

Those are the gasometers for St Andrews. Partially obscured by a wall, and just next to the otherwise picturesque B&B.
(and has anyone noticed the kick off just about to take place on the adjacent sports field?)

[Fawksie]

Indeed, they're the last vestiges of the old gasworks which was demolished in 1964. There was quite a lot of decontamination of the soil to be performed when the gasometers were eventually demolished, lots of lovely cyanide compounds and suchlike.

[RandomMusings]

I used the Careers Centre Garden for a play earlier in the semester, and people referred to that as 'the secret garden' - there are so many 'secret' gardens here that they, by definition, are no longer 'secret' - merely 'less-well-known-about-and-under-populated-areas-of-greenery'.

[Zanbato]

Yep, there's at least one. Behind Regs. You've got to sneak round the back of the hall then climb through a hole in a fence, but it's a big open garden. You can see it from the driveway that bypasses the Bute to let vehicles into St Mary's.

Just chatting about it to another chappie and discovered that, more than anything, I'd like very much to sneak in there and have a long, mind-obliterating drink. Strange how things develop.

Where I think it is

Thats the West garden of the Bute.

I was using that garden over the past 2 weeks to trap small mammals and investigte their population dynamics. When I first saw this I was worried that it would suddenly be inundated with students messing with the traps; now that i've finished I guess it doesnt matter. There's a nice semi-pond at the top of the garden and it's full of wildlife.

Its not really that big a secret; they use it for teaching Ecology and until very recently it was maintained by the University.

[munchingfoo]

Is a semi pond somewhere for men that is surrounded by pictures of sexy naked women interspaced with pictures of car crashes?

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Yep, there's at least one. Behind Regs. You've got to sneak round the back of the hall then climb through a hole in a fence, but it's a big open garden. You can see it from the driveway that bypasses the Bute to let vehicles into St Mary's.

Just chatting about it to another chappie and discovered that, more than anything, I'd like very much to sneak in there and have a long, mind-obliterating drink. Strange how things develop.

Where I think it is

Thats the West garden of the Bute.

I was using that garden over the past 2 weeks to trap small mammals and investigte their population dynamics. When I first saw this I was worried that it would suddenly be inundated with students messing with the traps; now that i've finished I guess it doesnt matter. There's a nice semi-pond at the top of the garden and it's full of wildlife.

Its not really that big a secret; they use it for teaching Ecology and until very recently it was maintained by the University.

Until about 5 years ago, it had fallen into disuse and became overgrown but since then it has been immensely smartened up so that the Bute can use it for garden parties, barbeques, etc on special occasions as well as teaching. Usually, the gate into it is locked, however, I seem to remember friends of mine from Regs telling me that it is accessible from climbing over the roofs of Regs - they'd sit there sometimes and smoke weed.