Gardens secure £1.3m investment

Some of the tallest trees in Britain are found at Dawyck Enlarge Image

A new £1.3m visitor centre is to be constructed at Dawyck Botanic Garden near Peebles.

Deputy Environment Minister Sarah Boyack has confirmed the Scottish Executive investment at the site.

The scheme is designed to enhance the experience for visitors to Dawyck's special collections and nature trails.

The garden is already among the Borders top paid-for attractions but the new centre should take visit numbers from 21,000 to over 30,000 by 2017.

Ms Boyack said the investment would improve an already attractive site.

I am sure that the new facilities will provide a boost to tourism in the Scottish Borders and be much appreciated by future visitors to Dawyck Prof Stephen Blackmore

"Dawyck has a wonderful collection of trees and plants and is well used by locals and tourists," she said.

"The new centre will give visitors a much better insight into the world around them.

"We can all learn from the way we interact with nature and a dedicated visitor centre will explain Scotland's unique nature and wildlife to people of all ages."

'Wonderful landscape'

The Dawyck Botanic Garden is part of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

It boasts one of the world's finest arboreta, including some of the tallest trees in Britain.

Prof Stephen Blackmore, Regius Keeper at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, welcomed the investment.

"Dawyck Botanic Garden offers a wonderful landscape with a superb collection of rare and historic plants set in one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland," he said.

"I am sure that the new facilities will provide a boost to tourism in the Scottish Borders and be much appreciated by future visitors to Dawyck."