Lochend Park

Lochend Park is a public park in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is situated in the Lochend / Restalrig area, next to Lochend Castle and near Meadowbank Stadium. The loch with its wide range of waterfowl is the main attraction, but there are also historical buildings, a children's play area, and sports areas. The park was awarded a Green Flag in 2012 in recognition of it being a quality greenspace. Within the park there is a 16th-century doocot which is Category B listed.

History
The Doocot was built in the 16th century to supply pigeons to Lochend Castle. In 1564 it was used as a "plague kiln" to burn clothes and bedding of infected people during an outbreak of plague. In the 19th century it served as a boat house for the Royal Humane Society who were set up to save people from drowning. The boat was also used in winter to check if the ice on the loch was thick enough for games of curling. There is also an old pump station, which was used to pump water to supply the Leith area.

Wildlife
There are a range of habitats to be found in the park. The loch is home to a wide variety of wildfowl, including swans, geese, coots, moorhens, mallards and herons. A viewing platform and planting beds, funded by the City of Edinburgh Council and WREN, were created around the pond in the spring of 2011. The viewing platform gives people greater access to see the wildlife and allows local schools the chance to take part in pond dipping activities. The new planting, including yellow flag iris and water mint, will enhance the biodiversity of the pond by providing more habitats and food for the local wildlife.

Friends of Lochend Park
The Friends of Lochend Park is a group of local volunteers who help to administer and improve the park resources. In 2014 they bought the old police telephone box ("Tardis") at the north-east entrance to the park, to be refurbished as a store for visitor materials.