3 Perthshire Gardens to Visit Before the Season Ends
Due to the nature of these attractions, many gardens in Perthshire close for the season in late October or early November. In this article, we’ve done a round up of three of our favourites to try and visit before then:
Drummond Castle Gardens
The entry into Drummond Castle Gardens is rightly a famous scene, and it’s practically mandatory to linger at the top balustrade and admire the beautiful formal layout. Once you’ve reached the garden level, the paths are mostly interlinked—some gravel, some grass—and there’s loads of points of interest. The statues are the most obvious, but you’ll also find partially hidden seats, ponds and other delights. At this time of year there won’t be quite as many flowers out of course, but the beautiful autumn colours more than make up for that, and there may also be apples lingering in the orchard.
For those happy to walk a bit further, the Woodland Walk takes about 15 minutes and is a fun addition to the day, being dotted with wooden sculptures all the way round. It takes a couple of hours to fully enjoy the gardens and is definitely a worthwhile trip before it closes for the season on the 31st October.
Blair Castle and Gardens
The white-towered presence of Blair Castle dominates the scenery around Blair Atholl, and seeing the beautiful gardens before the 30th October is not to be missed. Perhaps best known is the walled Hercules Garden. There’s loads to see here, but we especially enjoy the large lily pond running through the centre, abundance of fruit trees in the orchard and the charming little buildings, including the adorable ‘Apple House’. What’s more, ducks and moorhens roam at will and make use of the mini crannog-style houses out into the water.
Make sure you take the time to also explore the tranquil Diana’s Grove, home to huge conifer trees from all over the world, the ruins of St Bride’s Kirk, a short walk away, and if you have the energy after all that, the sculpture trail. When you’re ready for a coffee there is a pleasant cafe, although it is closed far a few days in October, so do check the website.
Branklyn Garden
A firm favourite local garden, a visit in the spring to see the Himalayan blue poppies is a must, but there’s something to enjoy all year round, or at least until 1 November, after which it closes until March, with the exception a few events, including February’s snowdrop festival. Speaking of events, a guided autumn tour is happening on the 14th of October for anyone interested.
The garden itself is laid out in one main loop, with lots of charming narrow paths threading back and forth between them. There’s something to see down each one of these, and so you end up spending sometime exploring and making sure you’ve got them all. There’s benches dotted throughout so you can sit and really take in the different areas. If the weather permits, tea on the terrace is highly recommended.
