The Japanese Garden at Cowden Upper, Hillfoot Road, Dollar, Clackmannanshire FK14 7PL
When Sara Stewart inherited seven acres of overgrown shrubbery and silted-up lakes on the slopes of the Ochils, she could simply have closed the gate and let nature take over. However, Sara knew that beneath the brambles and self-seeded sycamores lay something of an enigma, one of the most outstanding examples of a Japanese garden outside of Japan itself, so she set about rescuing it.
Today the Japanese Garden at Cowden attracts visitors from around the world who come to surround themselves with the beauty and tranquillity of a place that its creator named ‘Sha Raku En’ - The Place of Pleasure and Delight.
The creator was Ella Christie, Sara’s great aunt, an Edwardian traveller and explorer who, when she wasn’t trekking across Samarkand or having audiences with the Dalai Lama, devoted herself to turning a part of the family estate near Dollar into a version of the gardens that she had visited in Japan.
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She entrusted the project to Taki Handa, the only woman whose design work has been officially recognised in Japan, and when Professor Jiji Suzuki, 18th hereditary head of the Soami School of Imperial Design visited in 1925, he described it as “the most important Japanese garden in the western world.”
Cowden is a ‘stroll garden’ and paths wind around a lake that is crossed by a zigzag bridge, past a thatched garden pavilion to reach a dry garden, with gravel that is raked daily.
Gravel, moss and acer trees are essential Japanese elements and original stone lanterns, discovered when the lake was dredged, have now been restored.
The garden is at its most beautiful in autumn, when the trees that surround it begin to turn and their vivid colours are reflected on the calm surface of the water. Koi carp swim in the lake and red squirrels are amongst the many different species of wildlife that live around it.
For fifty years after its creation, the garden was a source of joy for Ella’s family and was also open regularly to the public, but gradually it fell into disrepair and was abandoned and it took almost a decade of work and fundraising to restore it to its original condition. During that time, teams of specialists arrived from Japan to advise on the work and the garden still attracts many Japanese visitors today, many of whom have long been aware of the garden and of its cultural significance.
In order to preserve the tranquil atmosphere, visitor numbers are restricted to 40,000 a year and an adventure playground has been created where children can burn off steam without disturbing the peace.
The garden is surrounded by woodland, with walks and trails, some of which are wheelchair-accessible and several have also been designed with children in mind.
Throughout the year the garden hosts craft workshops, many of them with a Japanese theme, including paper folding and Ikebana flower arranging.
Details: The garden is open daily, 10.30am-5pm. Tickets-£9.25 (Visitors are advised to book in advance as tickets frequently sell out.) Tel: 07876 117703 info@cowdengarden.com www.cowdengarden.com. The garden sits off the A91, half a mile west of Muckhart.
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