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The canal at Castle Kennedy Gardens in summer, lined with cordylines, with flowering trees in red on the bank and a path alongside.
Dumfries and Galloway

Castle Kennedy Gardens

Eighteenth-century gardens round the ruin of Castle Kennedy, on the neck of land between two lochs east of Stranraer.

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Welcome

Fire gutted Castle Kennedy in 1716, and its roofless walls now stand at the heart of 75 acres of gardens.

The 2nd Earl of Stair soon set about turning the grounds into a garden, and soldiers and horses from his regiment raised the terraces, mounds and avenues you walk today. Look for the avenue of monkey puzzles planted in 1856, the canal with cordylines at one end, and the two-acre Round Pond. Come in late May or June for the rhododendrons, among them a Himalayan species that the plant hunter Joseph Hooker introduced here himself in 1851. Bring binoculars, or hire a pair in the shop, for the bird hides on the White Loch and the Black Loch, and finish with something baked that day in the tea room.

A short drive awayFig and OliveA bright cafe on George Street in Stranraer, with brunch, hot dishes, fresh cakes and a welcome for dogs and children.12 min by roadSee itFig & Olive shopfront with turquoise trim on a quiet street corner
Before you go

Tickets online or at the gift shop, paid by card or phone.

Getting there
Signed from the A75 at Castle Kennedy village; use DG9 8SJ for a sat-nav.
Open
Every day from 1 April to 1 November 2026, 10am to 5pm: the gardens, tea room, gift shop, plant centre and toilets. The gardens may close in extreme wind and weather conditions.
Price
Adults £10, over-60s and full-time students £8, children 10 and under free, a family of two adults and up to three children £24.
Parking
Shaded car and bus parking beside the entrance.
Dogs
Welcome on a lead at all times.
Underfoot
The ground can be wet underfoot at times. A map from the shop shows the routes and how long each takes.
Food
The tea room, with soups, toasted sandwiches and baking, high chairs and changing facilities.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
10am–5pm
Tuesday
10am–5pm
Wednesday
10am–5pm
Thursday
10am–5pm
Friday
10am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
10am–5pm

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Where it is

At Castle Kennedy, five miles east of Stranraer on the A75.

Close byStranraer, Portpatrick and the Rhins of Galloway.
  1. Castle of St JohnCastle of St JohnA tower house in the middle of Stranraer that has been nearly everything.4 miles 12 min by road
  2. Stranraer MuseumStranraer MuseumThe museum of Wigtownshire in Stranraer's Old Town Hall of 1776, free to visit, with refurbished displays and children's trails.5 miles 12 min by road
  3. Small wooden hut atop layered coastal cliffs above the seaRhins of GallowayThe peninsula at Scotland's south-west tip, circled by an 83-mile waymarked coast path from Stranraer to the Mull of Galloway and back.10 miles 21 min by road
  4. PortpatrickPortpatrickA painted harbour on the Rhins, and mile nought of the Southern Upland Way.12 miles 22 min by road
  5. Dunskey CastleDunskey CastleA roofless tower on the cliff edge, half an hour along the path from Portpatrick.12 miles 26 min by road
  6. Waves rolling onto a curved sandy beach beneath grassy cliffsKillantringan Lighthouse and BayA white lighthouse of 1900 on the cliffs north of Portpatrick, above a sandy bay.14 miles 29 min by road
  7. Palm trees and colourful flowerbeds line a gravel path in a coastal gardenLogan Botanic GardenTree ferns and cabbage palms on the Rhins, kept alive by the Gulf Stream.16 miles 30 min by road
Directions
Glenwhan Botanic Garden from the top of the slope: flowering shrubs and rhododendrons round the lochans, with Luce Bay and the Mull of Galloway on the horizon.AttractionsGlenwhan Botanic Garden3.0 miles
The boating lake at Agnew Park under a blue sky, a little island of palm trees on the right and green hills across the water beyond.AttractionsAgnew Park3.4 miles
Fig & Olive shopfront with turquoise trim on a quiet street cornerCafeFig and Olive4.6 miles
The boardwalk at Aldouran Wetland Garden running out over the reedy pond towards the wooden bird hide among the trees.WalksAldouran Wetland Garden and Glen6.1 miles
The Agnew Monument, a square castellated stone tower, on the green top of the Tor of Craigoch under a deep blue sky, a walker climbing through the long summer grass towards it.WalksAgnew Monument6.7 miles
From above, Dunskey House, the castle, its grey gables and chimneys, fields and woods running to the sea behind.PortpatrickThe Velvet UppergroundSleeps 4 · 7.5 miles
Kirkmadrine's small stone church on its rise among the fields, the red sandstone porch at its west end where the early Christian stones stand behind glass, old gravestones in the grass beside it.AttractionsKirkmadrine Stones8.0 miles
The Crown Hotel's white frontage on North Crescent in Portpatrick, its name over the door, window boxes of flowers and picnic tables out front under furled blue umbrellas.RestaurantsThe Crown Hotel, Portpatrick8.1 miles
The restaurant at The Waterfront in Portpatrick, its tables laid under a pine-boarded ceiling with roof lights, and windows on the far wall.RestaurantsThe Waterfront, Portpatrick8.1 miles

Recommend to a friend

The Daily for 23 October, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a concrete road bridge with angled supports spanning a sea loch, twin cloud-wrapped mountain peaks rising behind autumn-coloured hills.

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the gardens, and when each is next free.

Rose Blair Lodge in the sun, a gabled cottage with a wooden door in a porch, trees behind and a table on the terrace.Rose Blair Lodge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Portpatrick
  • 7 miles from Castle Kennedy Gardens
Free 31 Oct – 3 NovHeritage Coachman Lodge's pale blue door in the cobbled stable courtyard, a table and a wooden bench in the sun outside.Heritage Coachman Lodge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Portpatrick
  • 7 miles from Castle Kennedy Gardens
Free 30 Oct – 2 NovFern Forest House, a grey stone house with ivy on its gable and a pale blue door, under a blue sky.Fern Forest House
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Portpatrick
  • 7 miles from Castle Kennedy Gardens
Check datesFawn's Velvet Lodge in the sun, a stone cottage with a pale blue door, daisies on the lawn in front.Fawn's Velvet Lodge
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Portpatrick
  • 7 miles from Castle Kennedy Gardens
Free 29 Oct – 1 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in Dumfries and GallowayAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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