Newhailes and Inveresk
Newhailes, then called Whitehill, was built around 1686 and extended in the 18th century by the Dalrymple family who added a library wing and the ‘Great Apartment’. In 1997, it passed into the care of the National Trust for Scotland. I can report that the interiors are magnificent (you can imagine me swooning over a whole library wing) but access is by guided tour and no photography is allowed, so I can’t show you. However, before our tour we followed the very pleasant trail round the grounds, and I can certainly show you that.
The Trust is busy restoring the landscape, but even in its current state you can still get an impression of how it might have looked to 18th-century visitors. The first curiosities we came across were the Shell Grotto and the remains of a Tea House, both dating from the mid-1700s.
We skirted the Cow Park (where I am standing) and the Sheep Park (where John is standing) which are divided by the Ladies’ Walk. This is the artificially raised path to the right of the other picture. It’s very overgrown now so you walk alongside it, but its original purpose was to elevate ladies in both body and mind, with views back to the house one way and out to the skyline of Arthur’s Seat and the Pentland Hills the other.
This is the view of the house from the back:
From here, we moved round to the front to meet the guide for our tour.
Our day wasn’t finished yet, because close to Newhailes is another NTS site, Inveresk Lodge Garden. We had another lovely stroll here, although by this time it was raining. That’s a day out in Scotland for you! Beautiful sunshine in the morning and cold and wet in the afternoon. Musn’t grumble – it accounts for the lush greenness. Enjoy!
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
Lovely gardens, but what my mind is still focused on is that library wing! What an amazing thing! I’d love to see it in person. I’m always sad when I’m not allowed to take photos somewhere, but the benefit is focusing on it without thinking about the camera. (Sorry about my delayed response – it’s been a very busy couple of weeks at school, and I’m now getting caught up on all my blog reading.)
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No problem! I am falling well behind at the moment too. I feel if I had my own library wing to sit in quietly I would be able to catch up…..
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That garden is beautiful!
I don’t really mind the rain, don’t know why. But I tell to everyone: I lived for a year in Ireland and I never once used an umbrella 😉
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Really? You must have a) been very wet b) had a good rain jacket!
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Architecture, history, gardens – what a fabulous place to actually visit and roam about ( and yes – that library must be a wonder)
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Yes, it had it all!
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The garden is so pretty! I would love to see Newhailes’s library, though! I bet it’s fabulous!!
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It was – would love to have had time for a good nose about in it.
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