Explorers Garden | Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Page Navigation

Jump to:

This event has passed

Scotland has produced some of the world’s most successful plant hunters and this truly unique Garden celebrates their contribution to the way our gardens look today.

Conceived as a Theatricum Botanicum, and built in conjunction with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the late 1990s, the Explorers Garden offers stunning spaces for art performance including the Pagoda, the Pavilion and the Amphitheatre.

The Explorers Garden is home to many rare varieties of Meconopsis which bloom in the month of May. We even have our own version that is unique to us, the Himalayan blue Poppy GSG Explorers.

This predominantly woodland garden is a rare opportunity to experience art in nature, in a stunning Highland location and definitely one for your theatre to-do list. The Garden is also available for private events and makes a breath-taking wedding venue.

RHS Partner Garden.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Opening hours: daily except Mondays, 10am – 5pm (last entry 4pm)

Closed on Mondays

Venue: from the car park to the left of the Theatre building

Tickets: Free for the remainder of 2026

Access: the majority of the Garden is wheelchair accessible. Some paths may be steep for those with a wheelchair, walker or buggy/pram.

Dogs: welcome on a lead

No smoking

New for 2026!

Forged by Rathobyres Forge

An Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition

We are delighted to welcome “Forged”, a stunning outdoor sculpture exhibition by Rathobyres Forge, to the Explorers Garden.

From the moment you enter through the garden gates, you’ll discover 19 beautifully handcrafted forged steel sculptures thoughtfully positioned throughout the garden, creating a unique journey where art and nature meet. Each piece has been carefully placed to complement the surrounding landscape, inviting visitors to pause, reflect and experience the garden from a new perspective.

The exhibition has been generously loaned for the season by P. Johnson & Company of Rathobyres Forge, Ratho, Edinburgh, helping to enhance the artistic profile of the garden and add another layer of interest for our visitors. We are incredibly grateful for their support and generosity.

Every sculpture in the exhibition is available to purchase, with sales made directly through the artist. If you fall in love with a piece, or wish a commission, enquiries can be made via enquiries@rathobyresforge.co.uk.

A free exhibition map and sculpture guide are available at the garden entrance, allowing you to follow the trail and learn more about each individual work as you explore.

Find out more →

Close up of a blue poppy with the tree tops and sky and sun in the background

Monthly Tour

Location: Explorers Garden

Dates: Last Thu, Apr – Sep

Time: 11am for 1 hour

Price: £14

Find out more →

Group Tour

Location: Explorers Garden

Price: £20 per person (min 15 people)

Duration: 2 to 2.5 hours

Book: call box office 01796 484626

Private Tour

Location: Explorers Garden

Complete the form or call box office 01796 484626

Amphitheatre

An outdoor space that makes the most of the spectacular setting, the Amphitheatre is nestled in the Explorers Garden. It has been designed to mimic both the shape and the dimensions of the Auditorium, and was conceived and built as part of the original design at the start of the 2000s.

We’ve shared opera and musicals, drama, comedy and some truly magical experiences under the sun and the stars, surrounded by stunning views of Ben-y-Vrackie.

With a maximum audience of 120, including wheelchair spaces, the space is fully accessible.

An audience watching an outdoor theatre performance

News

'Thyme' to re-open: waking up the Explorers Garden for Spring!

We chatted with Caroline Bavey, Landscape and Garden Manager, about all things Explorers Garden, and all the hard work the Gardens team have been doing over the winter months ahead of it’s 1 April reopening.

A vibrant green tree trunk with a snakeskin textured bark

The Year of the Wood Snake: The Snakebark Maple

We caught up with Caroline Bavey, our Garden and Landscape Manager to talk all about the connection between our Explorers Garden, the Snakebark Maple, and this year’s Spring Festival (春节) in China.

Plants surrounding the sculpture of a mushroom.

Cultivating the Art of Noticing

Made with waste materials donated by Scottish Civil engineers Balfour Beatty including dozens of steel rivets from their on-going North Bridge restoration in Edinburgh the sculptures made by ecological artist Russell Beard celebrate the resilience and resourcefulness of fungi as ‘natures recyclers’.