Heritage Trail
7. Velvet Walk & The Gibson Craig Cemetery
The Velvet Walk is a garden terrace leading to the Gibson-Craig family burial ground. Below the terrace were lawns, shrubberies and a stream which is now culverted. On the northern side is a formal evergreen edge of yew, holly and laurel, a traditional garden style of the time. This formed part of the gardens of Riccarton House which were initially created in the 17th century and added to in the 18th century.
Over the years the gardens have evolved, and this area of the garden is now home to a number of the world's most at risk conifer trees after a partnership with The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE) was forged in 2019. The International Conifer Conservation Programme was established at the RBGE in 1991 and Heriot-Watt University is delighted to host a wide variety of endangered species as a part of this vital research.
The Gibson Craig Cemetry
Gibson-Craig Burial Ground The iron railings and gate mark the entrance to the family burial ground which was laid out as an extension to the gardens in the middle of the last century. Please respect the privacy of the burial ground which still belongs to the descendants of the Gibson-Craig family.