Open air poetry

It's summer, a perfect time for outdoor poetry readings. Here are some of my favourite places to listen to or perform poetry, along with some potentially great venues for poetry, where previously I've only ever heard music:

Meadows Festival - this is probably the best known of Edinburgh's several community festivals, happening in June. I performed on the main music stage at this festival several years ago. The year after that I co-ordinated the book tent, where various storytellers and poets read and performed, but that only happened the once, due to a lack of funding. This years Meadows Festival had plenty of music but no poetry....

Traquair House, just outside Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders has a wonderfully beautiful ancient orchard, full of apple trees dripping with lichens. It is a venue for music during Traquair Fair, every August (but not this year!). They have a stage in one corner and a tent selling Traquair House ales in the other, and if its sunny, its the most wonderful place for a concert, potentially also for a poetry reading.

Edinburgh Botanic Gardens - is used as a venue for various poetry and storytelling events,

Glasgow Botanic Gardens has a dedicated poetry garden and hosts Bard in the Botanics

Edinburgh Tree Festival - another community festival, happening next weekend, this takes place in Inverleith Park, just near the Botanics. They have a stage for music and poetry.