Pitmedden Gardens & Fyvie Castle

Depart Broad Street every Tuesday at 0930 hrs.
Returning to Broad Street for 1600 hrs.

Travelling north from Aberdeen, the Scotland Explorer makes its way to the village of Pitmedden and on to Pitmedden Gardens. It’s hard to imagine a garden today being planted on such an extravagant scale. The heart of the property is the formal walled garden originally laid out in 1675 by Sir Alexander Seton. In the 1950s, the Trust set about re-creating the gardens following designs dating from the 17th century. Today, Pitmedden features over five miles of box-hedging arranged in intricate patterns to form six parterres. These parterres are filled with some 40,000 plants bursting with colour in the summer months. Extensive herbaceous borders provide an abundance of colour and texture throughout the season and the spectacular lupin border is not to be missed. Two new borders were added in 2004. Honeysuckle, jasmine and roses create a succession of fragrances, while fountains, topiary, sundials, and a fascinating herb garden add to the sense of discovery around the walled garden. If you’re a keen gardener, Pitmedden is a great source of inspiration and ideas.

Over 80 varieties of apple trees adorn the high granite walls, offering a spectacular show of blossom and scent in spring. On the last Sunday in September there is a harvest celebration with musical entertainment, and you can buy fruits harvested from the gardens. The adjacent Museum of Farming Life boasts an extensive collection of domestic and agricultural artefacts of a bygone era. For the more adventurous, the woodland walk extends for a mile and a half round the estate and takes in ponds, rhododendrons, a lime kiln and a nature hut with information about the wider estate.

From Pitmedden, we travel north-west to Fyvie Castle. A magnificent Baronial fortress, Fyvie Castle was developed by five different families over its 800 year history. Art lovers will appreciate Fyvie’s rich portrait collection, including works by Batoni, Romney, Gainsborough, Opie, Lawrence and Hoppner. The castle also boasts one of the largest private collections of Raeburns in the world. There’s an equally impressive collection of fine furniture, tapestries, arms and armour throughout the castle’s vast chambers, and a great stone wheel-staircase – the finest of its kind in Scotland.

From Fyvie, we travel south west through beautiful countryside, passing the Loch of Skene, before returning to Aberdeen.

Please be aware that itineraries are subject to change without notice depending on seasonal opening times, weather, etc.

£30.00 per person (excludes admission charges, minimum of 4 persons)