Hidden Edinburgh Women’s Nature Tour & Botanical Workshop
Discover Edinburgh’s greener, quieter and more magical side on this women-led walking tour with Martina, a Croatian guide who made the city her home.
Following riverside paths, healing wells, gardens and hidden stories, you’ll uncover the knowledge hidden in plain sight: in water, plants, folklore, food, medicine and the women who passed it down through generations. Along the way, hear surprising links between Scottish and Croatian traditions before ending with a hands-on botanical workshop where you’ll create your own personalised blend to take home.
Tour Highlights
- Explore Edinburgh’s hidden green spaces, riverside paths and peaceful corners away from the usual tourist trail
- Discover women’s knowledge hidden in plants, folklore, healing traditions and everyday life
- Hear surprising stories connecting Scottish and Croatian myths, customs and beliefs
- Visit atmospheric places including the Water of Leith, St Bernard’s Well, Dean Village and the Archivists’ Garden
- Create your own personalised botanical blend using essential oils to take home
Detailed Itinerary:
Your experience begins beside the Water of Leith, one of Edinburgh’s most peaceful waterways. Under a sycamore tree, Martina introduces the idea at the heart of the tour: knowledge hidden in plain sight. Through her own story of moving from Croatia to Edinburgh, she shares how rivers, trees and old beliefs helped her feel at home in a new city.
From there, follow the river to St Bernard’s Well, a beautiful hidden landmark once known for its healing waters. Here, you’ll discover stories of natural remedies, health and women’s everyday knowledge, and how generations of people understood the power of water long before it was written into books or controlled by institutions.
The walk continues into Dean Village, where the Water of Leith once powered the mills that fed the city. Beside an old millstone, Martina brings to life the women who worked with grain, flour and bread, as well as the river spirits and folklore mothers used to keep children safe. You’ll also hear the powerful story of Edinburgh’s mill girls, whose courage and protest became a piece of history hidden in plain sight.
Climbing back towards the city, you’ll visit St Cuthbert’s Church, where Agatha Christie quietly married Max Mallowan in 1930. Through Christie’s story, Martina connects literature, plants and medicine, showing how women’s expertise has often been overlooked, underestimated and yet still shaped the world in extraordinary ways.
Next, pause at the Floral Clock in West Princes Street Gardens, a beautiful reminder that life often continues beneath the surface. From there, step into the Archivists’ Garden, one of Edinburgh’s lesser-known treasures. Surrounded by plants connected to Scottish history, folklore and healing, you’ll discover the stories carried by rosemary, dog rose, violets, almonds and thistles, and the memories they hold across cultures.
The walking part of the tour concludes near Picardy Place, birthplace of Arthur Conan Doyle. But Martina brings the focus to his mother, Mary Foley, whose storytelling, imagination and resilience helped shape one of the world’s most famous writers. Her influence, like so much of women’s knowledge, was always there — hidden in plain sight.
To bring the experience together, the tour ends with an immersive hands-on workshop at Wizadrops, a local Edinburgh business specialising in plant-based cosmetics and remedies. Inspired by the stories, plants and traditions explored during the walk, you’ll create your own personalised botanical blend using essential oils chosen for their healing and aromatic properties. The exact format is kept as a small surprise to discover on the day, but everyone leaves with a unique memento of the experience to take home.
By the end of the tour, you’ll see Edinburgh differently: not only as a city of monuments and famous names, but as a place shaped by rivers, plants, mothers, storytellers and women’s wisdom hidden in plain sight.
Additional Information
Cancellation policy: Cancellations more than 2 days before departure will receive a full refund. Cancellations within this period attract a 100% cancellation fee.
Accessibility: This tour is mostly flat and step-free, but some venues may have narrow entrances or limited space inside.
Dietary restrictions: We can accommodate vegetarians and other dietary restrictions. Please notify us in advance if you have any dietary requests.
Dress code: Wear whatever feels comfortable for the day. We recommend supportive shoes and weather-appropriate layers.
Related Tours:
