On a warm sunny day thirteen Strollers met at
the entrance to Oriam in Riccarton Campus for a walk round the grounds of
Heriot Watt University.
Oriam is Scotland's
national performance centre for sport. Opened in 2016, it is used by the Scottish Rugby Union, the Scottish Football Association
as well as Heart of Midlothian F.C. for
first team training and to run their academy. It has also been used by several
English Premiership clubs. The indoor pitch is the same size as the football
pitch at Hampden and is open to other sports teams as well as students and
members of the public.
The walk took us round the forest track past
Lovers Loan on the way to the Millennium Garden, which was created using reclaimed
project construction spoil.
From there, the walk continued on past the
research area and looped back to the old gardens of Riccarton House. The front
lawn, where the Henry Prais building now, stands, was used for croquet and once
echoed to the cries of strutting peacocks. The present lawn was known as the
Flower Garden, with flower beds designed and planted by the mid-18th century.
It was extensively modelled during the 19th century by the Gibson-Craigs to include
a summer house. The Velvet Walk is a garden terrace leading to the private
burial ground of the Gibson-Craig family who owned the estate before it passed
into the hands of the University.
The fire pond was constructed as a convenient
source of water for use in the event of fire in the mansion-house, whilst the
ornamental loch supported wildfowl and fish for use in the house kitchens.
From the gardens the walk continued back to Oriam
and the end of the walk.
Our thanks to Alistair for arranging a very
accessible and enjoyable walk.
Let’s hope the weather hold out for the November walk.
