Queen Anne Gardens,
Stirling Castle
Castle Wynd, Stirling, FK8 1EJ
Why Should We Visit
The Queen Anne Gardens at Stirling Castle occupy one of the most impressive sites in Scotland, set high above the Medieval wynds of the town, with the Highlands rising to the north and the River Forth curling like a ribbon as it makes its way downstream from Ben Lomond to the three bridges that guard its eastern approach.
Look over the ramparts in one direction and you can see Bannockburn; look in the other direction and Stirling Bridge is set below, both of them sites of battles that have defined Scottish identity.
It is impossible to stand here and not feel the forces that have shaped a nation, from the ghosts of Mary Queen of Scots and James VI to the conflicts of the 20th century, with the names of fallen Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders commemorated in the regimental museum in the King’s Old Building.
Story of the Garden
There has been a garden on this sunny, south-facing spot since at least the 17th century, when regents and courtiers would play bowls beneath the castle’s high walls.
Queen Ann herself never actually visited, but this part of the enclave took her name after she ordered the castle to double up on its fortifications in anticipation of trouble from Jacobites who had the backing of the French.
By the 1860s the lawn was quartered by paths lined with small trees and with a central ornamental feature.
Highlights
When you are put in charge on an historic garden you have two choices, either you stick rigidly to its original format or you bring it up to date. Gardener Brian Sinclair has chosen the later course, choosing plants that reflect the heritage of the castle but in ways that make them relevant to visitors today.
Amongst the plantings are fragrant white Alyssum and Lobelia ‘Cambridge Blue’ that reflect the chequering on the Stewart coat of arms. The main rose borders are made up of blocks of bright red Rosa ‘Trumpeter’ and R. ‘Honeymoon’, which is yellow, with more colour added by the marigolds that are planted beneath them.
The layout is designed to be seen from above and so the beds and lawns reflect the shape of the castle’s structures. To keep these forms sharp the grass is mown twice a week using a cylinder mower and the edges are regularly trimmed.
Don’t Miss
Look over the battlements to the west and you’ll see the outlines of an even older garden. All that remains today of the King’s Knot Garden in the field below the castle is a series of mounds and earthworks.
This was thought to have been created in the 16th century for James V and his French wife, Mary of Guise, but within 200 years it had disappeared.
Anything Else To Look Out For
The castle may once have been a forbidding fortification but now it is a welcoming place for local school children from Allan Park Primary for whom staff have created raised beds for growing vegetables. Visitors can find their plots at the entrance to the Queen Anne Gardens.
Best Time To Visit
This summer as Historic Environment Scotland have included it in their #GetIntoSummer campaign, which allows all children under the age of 16 free access.
historicenvironment.scot/getintosummer.
Recommendation In The Area
Flanders Moss National Nature Reserve, 15k west of the Castle, is one of the largest raised bogs in the UK and this rich, peatland habitat, which is undergoing a programme of restoration, is home to many important species of wildflowers, birds and insects.
Directions:
Stirling Castle is easily accessible from the M80 heading north from Glasgow and from the M9 from Edinburgh or Perth.
Details:
Stirling Castle is open daily, 9.30 am - 6pm.
Tickets: £15/£12/children free.
Tel: 01786 450 000
The Japanese Garden
Upper Hillfoot Road
Cowden
Dollar
Clackmannanshire FK14 7PK
When Ella Christie of Cowden was waiting for a train at her local station in 1911, a fellow traveller asked if she was headed for Edinburgh.
“No, Samarkand,” was her matter-of-fact response.
That epic journey was one of many taken by this Victorian explorer, who became the first western woman to meet the Dali Lama and among the earliest to be admitted as a member by the Royal Geographical Society.
Over the years her travels took her to India, Kashmir, Tibet, Malaysia and Borneo but it was a visit to Japan in 1907 that had the greatest impact and when she returned she employed designer, Taki Handa, to create a Japanese garden at Cowden Castle, which was her family home.
Work involved damming a burn that ran through the swampy hollow in order to create a lake and a series of islands and the plantings included Japanese maples. Stones shrines and a wooden temple added to the sprit of the east and paths were carved through the landscape that was cultivated to look like a perfected form of nature.
This seven acre landscape became the first and only garden of its size and scale to be designed by a woman and today it remains a unique and authentic bridge between Scottish and Japanese culture.
Sadly the garden was vandalised in the 1960s and then as the years passed it was gradually lost beneath weeds and overgrown shrubs, but now the garden is being brought back to life by a team of experts including the renowned Japanese architect and garden designer Professor Masao Fukuhara who is best known for winning multiple Gold Medal at Chelsea Flower Show as well as for the restoration of The Japanese Gardens at Kew, London and Tatton Park, Cheshire.
Michael Innes, admired for his landscape designs at Attadale Gardens and Dumfries House, has recently designed several new borders for the eastern end of the garden and the site is maintained by head gardener, Robert Grindrod.
Today lanterns, rediscovered when the lake was dredged of mud and pond weeds, have been returned to their stone plinths. The bridges and shrines have also been replaced and the garden is once more open for visitors to explore.
Tickets priced £7 must be booked in advance.
Tel: 07876 117703
Sales@cowdengarden.com
Www.cowden-garden.myshopify.com/
In association with Discover Scottish Gardens. For more information, advice and day-out ideas, visit: discoverscottishgardens.org
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