Drummond Castle Gardens – the Parterre and Lunch in Crieff
A few hours.
The route
Drummond Castle Gardens near Crieff is a vast formal garden, a great pattern of clipped box, yew, statues and bright beds laid out below the terrace of an old castle.
Look down on it from the terrace, best in autumn when the maples turn red, then have an Italian lunch in Crieff.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is The Old Farmhouse, 8 miles away. Sleeps 8.
Then Cromlix, 11 miles away.
Advised for a group, by phone on 01764 655665 or on its website.
The day
Drummond
A long, slow look at a famous garden in Strathearn, with a stroll among its paths and statues. Then a short hop into Crieff for lunch.
About three hours
Drummond Castle Gardens
An attraction
The way in to Drummond Castle Gardens is down a long beech avenue to the car park. The gardens open every day from May to October, and only the gardens, never the castle. In October they open from 11am, with last entry at 3pm. Tickets are from £12.50 for an adult at the time of writing. From the terrace, the whole parterre spreads out below you, with a sundial of 1630 at its heart. The main way down is by several flights of steep steps. For a wheelchair or anyone unsteady on stairs, there's signposted parking at the castle courtyard and a level way in at the foot of the garden: ask at the ticket office. Dogs are welcome on a lead, and there are toilets. Allow an hour and a half.
16 min by car
Delivino
Lunch
It's 16 minutes' drive on to Crieff, where lunch is at Delivino, an Italian deli and wine café at 6 King Street. It opens from noon until 10pm, Monday to Saturday, and is shut on Sundays. It's said to suit children, and a table for a group can be booked on 01764 655665 or on its website. On a Sunday, or if it's full, the Tower on East High Street opens at noon every day.
If it rains
The gardens are all outdoors, with little under a roof but the ticket office and Little Red's coffee in the courtyard. On a wet morning, look down on the parterre from the terrace, walk the main paths only, and let lunch in Crieff run long.