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Home>Garden Holidays>HORTUS Goes to South West Scotland

HORTUS Goes to South West Scotland

19 September 2022

Join us for this Autumn tour as we will stray from the beaten track to the south western corner of Scotland to Dumfries and Galloway. Travel with Adam Wilkinson, chosen by David Wheeler to represent Hortus, and discover some of Scotland’s most remarkable gardens, restorations and nurseries.

Dumfries House images credit Nacho Rivera / The Garden of Cosmic Speculation/Portrack image credit John Jencks

The Dumfries & Galloway region lies in the south westerly corner of Scotland. It may well be off the beaten track but with its mild oceanic climate it is enriched by some of the loveliest gardens in the country including high profile contemporary gardens, award winning restorations and nationally renowned specialist plant nurseries. September is a great time to visit these gardens which grow a wide range of subtropical species and late summer perennials. For the first night we stay at Dumfries House Lodge and dine in privacy in the prestigious Dumfries House. For the following three nights we have exclusive use of The Knockinaam Lodge, located on the Rhins of Galloway, a five-star restaurant with rooms with breath-taking views out to the Irish Sea with its own private cove to explore. Adam Wilkinson joins us as the Tour Host, chosen by David Wheeler to be the Hortus representative. Adam is a seasoned traveller, passionate gardener and charming host.

Day 1:
The tour starts at Glasgow Paisley International Airport at 11:15 to coincide with flights from London Heathrow (and trains to Glasgow Central from London Euston). Travel together by coach to Dumfries House, one of Britain’s most beautiful stately homes saved in 2007 by the intervention of His Royal Highness, The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay. The house combines the neoclassical architecture of Robert Adam with the furniture of Thomas Chippendale and leading 18th-century Scottish cabinet makers. In addition, the Queen Elizabeth walled garden is the flagship project of the estate restoration. Following lunch and a visit to the gardens and house we check in at the Dumfries House Lodge and dine this evening in the privacy of the Dumfries House Library.

Dumfries House images credit Nacho Rivera
Day 2:
Dunesslin House is about as close to ‘the back of beyond’ as can be found in Dumfriesshire. Here we meet owner Zara Milligan who has created a romantic Anglo-Scottish Garden with the help of architect Charles Morris who introduced a strong structure to support Mrs Milligan’s intensive planting. On the hillside above are three pieces by the artist Andy Goldsworthy who lives locally. Lunch is included today at Drumlanrig Castle, the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry. Lastly a visit to The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, created by the late Charles Jencks and his wife Maggie Keswick. This is a garden of outstanding land-art, some inspired by cutting-edge science in the form of DNA, fractal geometry, wave forms and quantum theory. Continue to Knockinaam Lodge with time to settle in before dining together.

The Garden of Cosmic Speculation/Portrack image credit John Jencks
Day 3:
Logan Botanic Garden, a satellite to Edinburgh Botanic Garden, has been named Scotland’s most exotic garden as it enjoys an almost subtropical climate because of the Gulf Stream. A wide range of species from Australia, New Zealand, South and Central America and South Africa thrive and will be introduced to us by the Curator Richard Baines. Richard will also join us at the hotel this evening to give a pre-dinner talk. Following a light lunch in the gardens return to the hotel with time to wander on the beach or walk along the cliffs before dining together.
Day 4:
Cally Plants is a specialist perennial nursery & display garden that was established in an 18th-century walled garden by adventurer Michael Wickenden It is now run by Kevin Hughes who has an additional passion for wildlife. We then journey to the pretty town of Kirkcudbright to see Broughton House with its intricate garden next to the bustling River Dee. Created by one of the artists known as ‘The Glasgow Boys’, Edward Atkinson Hornel, the garden has strong Japanese influences. Free time to explore and have lunch in Kirkcudbright before visiting Elizabeth MacGregor’s garden and nursery that specializes in, amongst others, Japanese anemones and cottage garden plants.
Day 5:
The 18th century walled garden of Woodfall was a productive fruit and vegetable garden up to the first world war. In more recent years it has evolved into an atmospheric haven of scented plantings. Wigtown holds the title of Scotland’s National Book town - a book lover’s haven. Free time to find a book and some lunch before returning to Glasgow Paisley International Airport for 17:00 in time to catch the flight to London Heathrow or to transfer to Glasgow Central Railway station for the service to London.

Transfers from Glasgow Paisley International Airport
One night’s bed and breakfast in the four-star Dumfries House Lodge, Cumnock
Three nights’ bed and breakfast in the five-star Knockinaam Lodge, Stranraer
Four evening meals with wine and three lunches
Private coach transfers and excursions
Guided visits to sites listed in the programme
Services of the Tour Leader and Hosts
Detailed programme and garden notes
All entrance fees, taxes and gratuities for coach drivers and waiters

Adam Wilkinson

Adam has spent most of his life being interested in the relationship between people and place. An early influence was the study of the aesthetics of landscape at St. Andrews University as part of a joint MA Hons in Geography and Psychology. Gardening has long been a personal expression of this interest. He cut his teeth making a garden of passion and exuberance, in the Herefordshire borders. Now living on top of Exmoor he is seven years into a brand new garden and is starting another water garden in the Lot valley in France.

Sophie Piebenga

Trained with the National Trust and qualified at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Whilst working as head gardener of a private estate, she developed a particular interest in the conservation of historic gardens. This eventually led to a doctoral study at the University of York, researching the work of the early Victorian landscape gardener, William Sawrey Gilpin. She has since worked freelance, mostly in the field of historic landscape conservation. Born in The Netherlands, now based in the Cotswolds, Sophie has lived most of her life in the UK. For the last 25 years, Sophie has regularly led tours for Boxwood to Ireland, France, Spain, The Netherlands and within the UK.

Your Accommodation

Dumfries House Lodge, Cumnock

★★★★

Sitting on the edge of 2,000 acres of the Dumfries House Estate and only a few hundred metres from Dumfries House itself, Dumfries House Lodge is an exclusive five-star Country Guest House offering luxury accommodation. Built in 1750 and brought into use a few years prior to the completion of Dumfries House, the ‘Garden Cottage’ as it was known in the 18th-Century, became the Factor’s House and remained so for over 200 years.

Knockinaam Lodge, Stranraer

★★★★★

Knockinaam Lodge is an intimate 10-bedroom hotel and the only luxury boutique hotel in Dumfries and Galloway, with a great history to tell. This historic hunting lodge featured in John Buchan’s The 39 Steps, was the boyhood home of Royal Navy submarine ace, Lieutenant Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn VC, and the secret meeting place for Churchill and Eisenhower as they planned the D-Day landings.

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HORTUS Goes to South West Scotland

19 September 2022

Your Accommodation

Your Accommodation

Dumfries House Lodge, Cumnock

Knockinaam Lodge, Stranraer

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