The gates opened this morning to allow a flood of families to come in and meet the animals at LOVE Gorgie Farm.

All day there was a huge celebration and range of family-friendly activities.

Families queued up outside until the gates were opened

Depute Lord Provost, Cllr Joan Griffiths, and a number of local celebrities including radio presenter Grant Stott, Hearts CEO Ann Budge and Hibs footballer Ryan Porteous, as well as Edinburgh and Scotland rugby players, politicians and council representatives were all there for the photo call.

Children (and even adults!) got the chance to feed the animals on the farm, which included pigs, sheep and goats, and took some newly arrived alpacas for a stroll.

There was also face-painting and a henna tattooist on hand, as well as entertainment for all, including tombola,Ā music, and a photo booth.

Education and social care charity, LOVE Learning, took over the site of the former Gorgie City Farm in January after it went into liquidation in November 2019.

Ann Budge of Hearts FC and Lynn Bell CEO of LOVE Learning

LOVE Learning also organised a community consultation event, where visitors had the opportunity to tell the new operators about their hopes for the future of the urban farm. 

The farm is open earlier than expected thanks to the assistance of hundreds of volunteers who assisted in the two weeks running up to the reopening.

The farm remains open seven days a week and will be free for visitors. LOVE Learning will keep using the site as an urban farm as part of its portfolio of environmental projects.

In addition, LOVE Gorgie Farm provides educational services to children through animal and forest therapy. It also provides a range of professional apprenticeships and Scottish Qualifications Authority awarded qualifications, as well as looking to be involved in organising social prescribing and wellbeing therapies in partnership with the NHS in the future.

Pictured Rory Adams (2) with Mum Kelly Celebrations as LOVE Gorgie Farm opens its doors PHOTO Ian Georgeson
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.