Two Galloway gardens
We arrived at Glenwhan Gardens just in time for morning coffee in the friendly tea room. This was Easter Sunday so I had expected it to be busy, but the weather was dull and damp and we seemed to be the first people there. Not so – apparently a woman had arrived earlier with a small girl in tow and enquired about their Easter Egg Hunt. When told she would have to pay the garden fee to participate, she stormed off saying it would be cheaper to go to Tesco to buy an egg. I would say 0/10 for parenting skills there! We spotted bags of mini-eggs hanging throughout the garden but, although it got a bit busier, we didn’t see many children. What a shame.
Anyway, after coffee we admired the peacock in the car park before heading through the entrance with its lovely stained glass panel.
Started in 1979, the 12 acre site was created from a hillside of bracken and gorse, with two lakes created by damming up bogs. The paths wander upwards to various viewpoints – it’s just beautiful.
There are many sculptures dotted around.
My favourite is the Peace Pinnacle, seen here from both sides.
The garden is surrounded by 17 more acres of wild land – it was even wetter under foot than the rest of the garden, but we enjoyed the moorland walk all the same.
As luck would have it, we passed the tea room again just in time for lunch (delicious) before returning to the car and setting off for our second garden of the day. However, we decided on another stop in between.
Glenluce Abbey was founded in 1191/2 by Roland, Lord of Galloway. The ruins are now in the care of Historic Scotland.
Finally, it was on to Castle Kennedy Gardens.
The castle ruins date to the 16th century, but the gardens are more recent being the inspiration of the second Earl of Stair in the early 19th century. I was struck by the terraces and landforms, very reminiscent of contemporary work by Charles Jencks (and we’d be visiting one of his creations the next day). However, they have been there since the beginning, created by men with carts and horse-drawn equipment. Amazing work!
Lastly, at the top end of the gardens we found Lochinch Castle, which was rather more comfortable looking than Castle Kennedy!
We got wet several times throughout the day and it was cold (spot that I’m wearing gloves, even though it was April) so it was good to head back to our cosy cottage to dry out and warm up. We were leaving the next morning and planned to go home via Crawick Multiverse. Coming next!
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
Two gardens plus castle ruins in a single day!? That’s a darn near perfect traveller day. Love the pics.
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Thanks – it’s a beautiful part of the country which is not so well known as, say, the Highlands.
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What a fantastic day! So many beautiful places. Who cares for a bit of cold? 😉
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Quite! Though we could do without the rain …..
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Fascinating photos, but the one that really jumps out at me is the peacock sitting on a fence gate! I have never ever seen one of these birds sitting like that! (There is an arts centre a few miles from where i live that has a peacock that struts around the place, I’ve never known if it belongs to the owner or just visits, but that’s the only one I’ve seen very close up. The rest were in parks. Nope. Never seen a peacock sitting on a gate!)
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Thank you, peacocks don’t often co-operate, but just occasionally they do! Thanks for reading and following.
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