Scone Palace – the Pinetum, the Star Maze and Lunch
A few hours.
The route
Scone Palace stands in 100 acres of woodland gardens just north of Perth, with giant firs in its Victorian pinetum, a beech maze in the shape of a star and peacocks wandering the lawns.
Lunch is in the palace's own coffee shop in the Old Servants' Hall, with hot food at lunchtime and a scone at Scone. It's a gentle, unhurried day out that's lovely for grandparents, with paths that suit a wheelchair for much of the way round.
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 Murrayshall, 3 miles away.
Then The Cabin at Fairygreen, 5 miles away. Sleeps 2.
Book Gardens-only tickets, Scone Palace
Book a gardens-only ticket for Scone Palace online before you go, for any day from April to October: it's £14 for an adult online and £15 at the gate at the time of writing, and last entry is at 4pm.
The day
Scone
A slow wander under giant old firs, a turn through the maze, then a warm lunch and a scone.
About three hours
Scone Palace
An attraction
Scone Palace is two miles north of Perth on the A93, and its car park is free from April to October. A gardens-only ticket is £14 online or £15 at the gate for an adult at the time of writing, and booking online is cheaper. The gardens are informal: 100 acres of woodland garden, borders and flowering shrubs. In the Victorian pinetum, giant firs, hemlocks and sequoias tower over the paths, and the great Douglas fir was raised from the first seed David Douglas, a son of Scone, sent home from North America in 1826. The Murray Star Maze is planted in copper and green beech in the shape of a five-pointed star, and peacocks roam the lawns round the palace. Allow a couple of hours. Many of the garden paths suit a wheelchair, but some don't, and the site map, online or from the code at the ticket hut, marks the suitable routes. Dogs are welcome on a lead in the gardens, though not in the maze. The palace and gardens open every day from April to October, 10am to 5.30pm, with last entry at 4pm.
The Old Servants' Hall Coffee Shop
Lunch
Lunch is in the Old Servants' Hall Coffee Shop, in the palace itself, where the garden wander ends. It serves hot food until 3pm and closes at 4.30pm. Dogs aren't allowed in the coffee shop. Disabled toilets are inside the palace on the ground floor, through the Estate Office entrance.
If it rains
In rain, take a shorter turn round the gardens and let lunch in the Old Servants' Hall run long; a full palace ticket adds the state rooms indoors.