Drummond and Monzie

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Drummond Gardens

The garden at Drummond Castle in Perthshire is said to be one of the finest formal gardens in Europe according to its website (source not provided!) First laid out in the 17th century, it was restructured in Victorian times and again in the 20th century. Queen Victoria herself visited in 1842 and expressed approval.

The original castle was built around 1490 by John, 1st Lord Drummond. The keep still stands, but the rest of the castle was remodelled in 1890. It’s not possible to visit either part, but you get excellent and varied views from the gardens.

Courtyard
Castle from gardens
Castle from gardens
Castle from Woodland Walk
Castle from gardens

The free map provided at the entrance details all the plants, many of which were not yet in bloom (our previous visit was at a later time of year when the roses were beautiful). I could have done with a guide to the statuary as my knowledge of mythology is not up to identifying the various gods and goddesses on show. Perhaps you had to shell out for the guide book to get that.

Dog
Statue
Statue
Statue
Carved head
Carved head
Goddess
Goddess
Shell fountain
Carved head

As well as the formal gardens, there is also a Woodland Walk which leads through the trees and criss-crosses the central avenue which is graced by the chap below.

Main statue
Main statue

The walk is enlivened by a dozen chain-saw carvings.

Santa’s Chair
Woodland Walk: Mouse Bench
Woodland Walk: Chain of Life
Woodland Walk: Otter
Woodland Walk: Gunman and Dog
Woodland Walk: Owl and Mouse

I wouldn’t say the carver was the best-ever. Just look at the poor wooden deer compared to the real one we spotted! Even allowing for its broken antlers, the carving is a bit weird looking.

Woodland Walk: Deer
Deer

Drummond is just south of the small town of Crieff, so when we’d exhausted the garden we headed there for lunch. New since our last visit were these “leafy” Highland cattle installed in 2018 by community group Crieff in Leaf. They celebrate Crieff’s history as the cattle-droving crossroads of Scotland.

Leafy coos
Leafy coos

After lunch we headed for the most important visit of the day. Monzie Castle is only open for a few weeks each year – 18th May to 16th June in 2019, so my tardiness in writing this post means you’ve missed it!

Monzie Castle

Monzie (pronounced Mun-ee) is a Gaelic word meaning field of corn. The oldest part of the castle is a 17th century tower house which was incorporated into a large, castellated mansion in the late 18th century. Owned by Grahams then Campbells, in 1856 it was bought by the Crichton family, who still live there today. In 1908 there was a serious fire which destroyed the interior leaving only the outside walls, after which it was restored by the leading Scottish architect of the day, Sir Robert Lorimer. He even furnished it.

We were given a tour by the elder Mrs Crichton, including to her private sitting room in the old part of the house, which was surprisingly cosy. At one time, you had to exit the main house and walk all the way round the back to get into the tower house, thus it fell into disuse: these days, there is a passage knocked through to the much more formal “new” house. No photography was allowed inside, but we were free to wander round the outside and the gardens.

Monzie Castle – “new” house
Monzie Castle crest
Monzie Castle old and new
Monzie Castle – old house
Monzie Castle gardens
Monzie Castle gardens
Monzie Castle gardens
Monzie Castle and gardens

Mrs Crichton’s son and his family also live on Monzie estate which, as well as the castle, includes holiday cottages, a B&B, a farm and a joinery business, all powered by their own hydro electric plant. Having never visited before, it’s now somewhere I’d seriously consider staying on holiday.

Finally, on our way home we stopped in the small village of Muthill which we had driven through many times but never explored. We visited the ruins of the Old Church (1400s) and Tower (1100s) as well as two present day churches (exterior only).

Muthill Old Church
Muthill Old Church
St James Episcopal Church
Muthill Parish Church

This is another place I would love to stay – Muthill boasts a fine-sounding “restaurant with rooms”, the Barley Bree. Some day! In the meantime, we had had an absolutely fabulous day out.

Scotland, UK , , , , , ,

66 Comments »

  4. I would be in heaven having all these castles to visit. It always makes me sad though when photography indoors isn’t allowed.

    From the photo of the Drummond gardens, I would have thought it was in France and their love of meticulously symmetrical landscaping.

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  5. i am late here but wow are the gardens beautiful! The one with the helmet is Hermes-gift for communication etc. I think the guy in the fountain is Poseidon and the goddess might be Athena…might be. I would have loved to see the interior of that castle and the other one you could go into. The town looks so sweet to just walk around in.

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  6. Goodness, whoever said Drummond Castle Gardens were the best wasn’t kidding. They look truly decadent with all those amazing statues and topiary. Did you go there for a birthday treat? Looks a lovely day out to both castles. Also love those Highland cows. And is that a real deer? Great pic. X

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  11. Always fancied visiting those castles/gardens but when you’re in a hill-walking club no-one else is interested in anything other than hill lists and summits. Did skirt past them on bike runs but when you’re in a cycling club… etc.. etc… Maybe one day. Looks great from the photos.

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  12. Hi Anabel – they do sound quite delightful visits … pity about not taking photos inside – but understand … while not being able to see inside Drummond at all is a little ‘sad’! Still again the gardens look magnificent – the carvings well yes – they are what they are … however the cattle in Crieff look amazing … fun and lovely day out with places to revisit and new ones to stay in and/or eat at … fun … cheers Hilary

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  14. I wonder if the Crichton family of Monzie is related to the Earl of Erne (Lord Erne) in who lives close to my birthplace in Co.Fermanagh, N Ireland. the latest earl (I think ) changed the family name from Creighton to Crichton. It would not surprise me if there was some connection perhaps even via the Plantation in the early 1600s. The name is certainly not common in Ireland , not sure re Scotland.

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  17. Looks like an amazing place to visit, especially Monzie Castle. It’s great that your tour was conducted by a member of the family as well. I bet that gives you more insight than one from a person who is basically an outsider.

    Cait @ Of Needles and Noodles

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  20. Anabel – What lovely places! I must admit, though, a bit of disappointment, because I thought that, from the title ‘Drummond and Monzie’, we were going to get a Scottish slang lesson 😉 – Cheers- Susan

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  21. Lovely day indeed. Quite a claim to be the finest formal gardens in Europe as there are so many beautiful gardens. You only have to think of Versailles. But it is indeed a fine garden. Thanks for the visit. (Suzanne)

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  23. I’m glad that you mentioned that it was a deer carving. Could be my eyesight, but I had to look twice. Thank you also for giving us the pronunciation for Monzie – I would never have gotten that either! 🙂

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  25. Sometimes I read that the Rhine Valley between Bingen and Koblenz has the most castles per square kilometer, but from your posts I doubt it. That prize must go to Scotland.

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  26. It is a lovely area, we missed out on Monzie, being there in September, but we did visit Drummond. I am not one for formal gardens, but this one is well worth a look. There is another pretty garden (much smaller) near Aberfeldy – Bolfracks. Not sure if you have been to that one.

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  28. Monzie looks like a very interesting place to stay for a holiday, and, of course, it could serve as a base for local and further afield adventures. The gardens are indeed lovely, although I have to say that we have had a little bit rain which was so much appreciated by the weeds, which have taken off everywhere. Oh well, more work for spring/ summer..

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