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Gardens
in Aberdeenshire.

It’s 20:58 in Aberdeenshire.
Aberdeenshire

Walled gardens and granite parks.

Aberdeenshire's gardens reward a slow afternoon. Walk the clipped box parterres of a re-created seventeenth-century garden near Ellon, or the colourful borders of a walled garden laid out by a castle's family in the last century. Many of the great castles have grounds worth the visit on their own. In Aberdeen there are Victorian gardens in a green valley in the centre of the city, and a university botanic garden that's free to enter. Visit in June and July for the borders at their best.

Edzell Castle→
Pitmedden Garden→
Craigievar Castle→
Castle Fraser→
Fyvie Castle→
Johnston Gardens→
Bon Accord Terrace Gardens→
Gardenstown→
Crathes Castle Walled Garden→
Cruickshank Botanic Garden→
Garden of the day19 hours ago

Castle Fraser.

One of the largest tower houses in Scotland, near Kemnay, grown from a Fraser tower of the 1450s into a great castle of round towers and turrets, with a Raeburn,...

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From the magazine16 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 07Issue 07Autumn / Winter 2023-24

June Richard welcomed weightlifters from all over the world to her garden to lift the Inver stone, now at the Braemar Highland Games Centre.

Lifting stones are an old Scottish tradition, and in many places it is thought boys came of age when they were strong enough to lift the clan stone. The Inver stone once sat outside an inn for travellers to pass the time, and spent part of its life as an official weight for measuring grain, engraved with 265lb. It was then left beside Creagan Ruadh Cottage for anyone brave enough to try, and June Richard welcomed lifters from all over the world to her garden there. Today the stone is kept at the Braemar Highland Games Centre with a plaque in memory of June, and it can be attempted by appointment.

Read the full story in Issue 07
From our guide15 hours ago

Pitmedden Garden & Museum of Farming Life.

You’ll find two attractions in one at this stunning Renaissance walled garden 15 miles north of Aberdeen. As well as no less than 30,000 bedding plants and some hugely impressive topiary, the site also plays home to the Museum of Farming Life, exploring the region’s agricultural past.

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In Aberdeenshire14 hours ago

At Gamrie Gardens near Banff, a pig called Winnie is sealing a new pond by rooting in the soil.

The old technique, gleying, means the community allotment needs no plastic liner, and a rescued duck called Kevin keeps the snails down.

Photograph: Gamrie Gardens on Google MapsRead about it
Gardens12 hours ago

Edzell Castle.

The red sandstone ruin of the Lindsays' castle near Edzell, with its famous walled garden of 1604 and the summer house where the family took the evening air.

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Gardens11 hours ago

Craigievar Castle.

A pink-harled tower house on a hillside south of Alford, finished by William Forbes about 1626 and barely changed since, said to have inspired Disney's Cinderella Castle.

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Gardens9 hours ago

Fyvie Castle.

An 800-year-old castle in the Ythan valley near Turriff, grown into one of the grandest Baronial houses in Scotland, hung with Raeburns and other portraits, with a loch and a walled garden of Scottish fruit.

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From the magazine8 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 01Issue 01Autumn / Winter 2020

Legend says the Green Lady of Fyvie Castle, near Turriff in Aberdeenshire, scratched her name into a stone window sill that can still be seen today.

Fyvie, an 800-year-old fortress with 109 rooms, is ranked among the most haunted castles in Britain, and nine different ghosts have been recorded there. The best known is the Green Lady, said to have been Lilias Drummond, the wife of Alexander Seton. The story goes that when Seton married again, ghostly screams and scratching were heard outside the newlyweds' window on their wedding night. In the morning they found 'Lilias Drummond' scratched into the stone sill. She is even known as the 'head ghost', who keeps the others in check, and another, a little girl called Annie, is said to love playing on the stairs.

See Fyvie Castle · Aberdeenshire
Gardens7 hours ago

Johnston Gardens.

A small, hidden garden in the west end of Aberdeen, with streams, waterfalls, ponds and rockeries, a Japanese garden and little arched bridges.

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Gardens5 hours ago

Bon Accord Terrace Gardens.

One of Aberdeen’s beautiful green spaces, Bon Accord Terrace Gardens are located just to the west of the city centre, making a quiet escape from the busy streets.

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Gardens4 hours ago

Gardenstown.

A fishing village founded in 1720, climbing the terraced cliffs of Gamrie Bay above a busy little harbour, with the ruined church of St John of 1513 on the hill and a shore path to Crovie.

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New at Fettercairn Distillery3 hours ago

Fettercairn Distillery has rebuilt its Chelsea Flower Show garden, The Angels' Share, in its own grounds.

It won a Silver-Gilt medal at Chelsea this year and now stands at the distillery for visitors to walk through.

Photograph: Sujata Rana on Google MapsSee Fettercairn Distillery · Aberdeenshire