Visitors left 'outraged' as high winds shut Botanics

SCORES of people had to leave the city's Royal Botanic Garden after high winds forced the popular attraction to close.

The outdoor garden area, Terrace Cafe and ten glasshouses were closed just before 2pm yesterday, with visitors given a "20-minute warning" before they had to leave. The John Hope Gateway Centre remained open.

Head of visitor services at the Botanics, Alan Bennell, said there was the potential risk of trees being blown over by the blustery conditions and that visitor and staff safety had to come first.

It remained closed for the rest of the day and was expected to reopen as normal at 10am today. It marked the first closure of the year for the Botanics as a result of high winds.

Alice Andrews, 31, who lives in Tooting in London and was in Edinburgh yesterday visiting friends, was one of more than 100 people who was forced to change their plans after being asked to leave the attraction.

She said: "I was outraged. We had come to the gardens for the day and were having a very nice time until we were told that the gardens were to close because of the wind.

"I said it was ridiculous, but we were told it was because of health and safety.

"We were in the cafe at the time and were only given 20 minutes warning before we were thrown out. We got thrown out before we had finished our lunch.

"There was a woman with a young boy about two years old who was really angry and said she had just bought her lunch and wasn't given any notice."

However, Mr Bennell said when wind speeds went beyond force six on the Beaufort scale - which they did yesterday - the gardens had to close for health and safety reasons. He said wind speeds had reached "force seven and beyond" on the scale.

"We have a standard procedure that goes back for at least 20 years that when the wind speed has already began gusting force six or more, and if it's perceived by the senior member of garden staff present that there is a potential danger for visitors, then we close off the outdoor garden areas," he said.

"When the winds are gusting at that speed, you can't tell which trees are going to drop, so it's better not to take the risk. I do believe they noted one big limb hanging off one of the trees."

Mr Bennell, who said he was "frustrated" by the closure, said there were only two or three occasions each year when the Botanics was forced to close due to strong winds.