Gordon Castle Walled Garden – Eight Acres Behind the Walls
A few hours.
The route
Gordon Castle Walled Garden fills almost eight acres between the River Spey and the Moray coast, a working kitchen garden of herbs, cut flowers, fruit and vegetables behind old stone walls.
The gardeners work among the beds, and the restaurant looks out over them. There's a play area for children, and dogs are welcome on a lead.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book Gordon Castle Walled Garden
Book a table at the Walled Garden Restaurant on Gordon Castle's website for a weekend lunch (Wednesday to Saturday noon to 2.30pm, Sunday noon to 3.30pm; shut Mondays and Tuesdays); garden tickets and coffee and cake need no booking.
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The day
Fochabers
A slow wander round the beds and glasshouses inside the walls, then coffee or lunch in the restaurant overlooking them.
About three hours
Gordon Castle Walled Garden
The way in to Gordon Castle Walled Garden is at the western end of Fochabers, right on the A96 under the castle arches. The drive leads to the garden's own car park, with disabled spaces by the entrance and pay-as-you-go car chargers. The garden is open every day, 10am to 4pm, all year. Entry until 31 October is £10.50 an adult, £8.50 for over-60s and £5.50 a child; from 1 November it's £5.50, £4.50 and £3.50, and a family of two adults and two children pays £29. Inside the walls are herbs, cut flowers, fruit and vegetables, laid out afresh by the garden designer Arne Maynard, with long glasshouses and the gardeners at work among the beds. Children have a natural play area and seasonal trails. It's all on one level, with a wheelchair to borrow, and dogs are welcome on a lead. The castle itself is not open to visitors. The Walled Garden Restaurant, just inside, opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm: brunch from 10.30 to 11.30am, then lunch from noon to 2.30pm (3.30pm on Sundays), with Cullen skink and the garden's own produce, and a part of it for dogs. Book a table at weekends; coffee and cake need no booking. It's shut on Mondays and Tuesdays. Over Christmas and New Year, check before going.
If it rains
The garden is outdoors, but the paths are level and firm; on a wet day the glasshouses and the restaurant are under a roof.
Photograph by Gordon Castle Walled Garden via Google