Floors Castle Walled Garden – A Playground and a Café
A few hours.
The route
Floors Castle's walled garden, on the edge of Kelso, has a playground, with a flying fox, swings and monkey bars on a lawn ringed by benches.
The paths are flat, fine gravel, so it's an easy morning with a buggy.
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 House in the Hill, 10 miles away. Sleeps 4; next free Thu 29 Oct to Sat 31 Oct.
The day
Kelso
A morning in the walled garden's playground, then something warm at the Terrace Café beside it.
About two hours
Floors Castle Walled Garden
Floors Castle Walled Garden has its own car park off the B6397, separate from the castle's. From October to Easter the castle itself is shut, but the walled garden, the Terrace Café and the estate walks open every day from 10.30am to 4pm. The playground is inside the walled garden, with a flying fox, swings and monkey bars, and benches round the lawn for the grown-ups. A Gardens and Grounds ticket is £10 an adult at the time of writing and lasts seven days, and children under 16 go free with an adult. The garden is entered up a ramp through the main gates and is flat, on fine gravel paths that suit a buggy, though the glasshouses have steps in places. The Terrace Café keeps the garden's hours and is nearest the playground, with toilets and baby changing; inside it's a squeeze for a big buggy, so there are outdoor tables too. Dogs are welcome on leads in the garden and grounds, with water bowls at the café, and livestock roam the estate walks. The garden closes at 3pm on Christmas Eve and shuts on Christmas Day and from 1 to 8 January.
If it rains
Only the Terrace Café is under a roof: on a wet day it's a short visit, or one for a drier morning.
Where to stay
Photograph by Steve Hurst via Google