Leith Hall
Kennethmont
Huntly AB54 4NQ
The rolling countryside of Aberdeenshire stretches from the wide, sandy beaches of the North Sea to some of the highest peaks in the Cairngorms. This vast, rural landscape includes rich pastures and wheatfields and some of the finest grouse moors in the country.
At Kennethmont, where these moors encroach on upland hill farms, sits Leith Hall, a 17th century mansion surrounded by pleasure grounds and parkland.
At 186m above sea level, Leith Hall has the highest elevation of all the gardens in the care of the National Trust for Scotland and although winters here are not as fierce as they were half a century ago, this area still receives some of the most challenging weather in the country.
The growing season here may be short, but long daylight hours in summer ensure it is also intense and the result is a garden that reaches a high point in August when everything seems to blaze at once.
At the moment the vegetable garden is full of ripening produce, including heritage varieties of beans, potatoes and onions, which visitors can buy freshly picked. The long herbaceous borders are packed with brilliantly coloured flowers while spirals, mown into long grass, make a feature of the lawns and the unusual zigzag paths help to slow the speed of progress, encouraging visitors to linger while they admire the flowers.
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The garden dates to 1750 and was remodelled during the Edwardian era and the layers of design have contributed to its Arts and Crafts appeal. In one part of the garden a beautiful moon gate provides views out to the wider landscape, while a giant turtle shell from the Ascension Islands is flotsam from a time when the world was opening up and ships would return to harbour in Aberdeen and other ports with their holds filled with goods from exotic locations.
There are other totems at Leith Hall however, that speak of an even earlier age. Two carved Pictish stones stand within the garden, one bearing the image of a salmon, a testament to the salmon-rich rivers for which Aberdeenshire is famous, and the other featuring a wolf.
Wolves would once have roamed these slopes and although these are now long gone, another ancient creature, the Scottish wildcat, is still a presence in this area. This summer kittens from the first wildcats to be released as part of a captive breeding programme were spotted higher up in the Cairngorms, giving a glimmer of hope that this critically endangered species may just be clawing its way back from the edge of extinction.
Other wild creatures that live in the area include otters, badgers, teal and kingfishers and these can sometimes be spotted from the three waymarked trails that cross the wider estate.
This estate is open year-round, dawn to dusk and it is worth getting up early or staying late in order to increase the chance of catching sight of some of the area’s wild residents.
Despite its altitude Leith Hall contains many microclimates where the gardeners have taken advantage of free-draining soil and sheltered areas to grow a wide range of plants, including salvias, that would seem too tender for the local conditions and recently, a huge Victorian rockery, that was once a major feature within the garden, has been completely restored and is once again filled with Alpines and herbaceous perennials.
Leith Hall is 34 miles north west of Aberdeen and one mile from Kennethmont off the B9002. The gardens are open daily, 10am - 4pm and the estate is open from dawn to dusk. Entry: £3.50. www.nts.org.uk
In association with Discover Scottish Gardens www.discoverscottishgardens.org.is
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