When your mother invites you to a garden tour in Scotland, the only proper response is to clear your whole schedule and go along with her! I spent a week in late June visiting several gardens in the Scottish lowlands, and I enjoyed interacting with the other people in our Garden Gate tour group. 🌷
We arrived in the beautiful medieval city of Edinburgh a couple days before our garden tour officially started. On Monday, I filmed a music video for my upcoming single "Violet's Library" near Rosslyn Castle with the help of Peter from Nexus Digital Media. Upon later discovery, we ended up filming at a couple Outlander locations (I love the themes of Scottish culture and time-travel in that show) which were Bakehouse Close and the Roslin Gunpowder Factory. I will be releasing the video on August 2, so mark your calendars now!
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| My videographer, Peter, from Nexus Digital Media |
On Tuesday, my mom signed us for a day-long tour of the Scottish highlands. We visited Doune Castle, Loch Lubnaig, Loch Lomond and the county of Argyll. The castle was another Outlander location, featured mostly in the first season of the show, so it was exciting to see it in-person. I stole a moment on our self-guided tour to sit on a stone staircase and look out a small glass window, contemplating what it might have been like to live in such a castle... but it wasn't long until I decided I'm better off living in the 21st century instead!
My mom and I agreed that Loch Lubnaig was our favorite stop. There was a cafe that offered vegan options for desserts and beverages so I ordered a vegan hot chocolate and a vegan millionaire bar. We enjoyed looking at a cute family of a mother duck and her ducklings as they waddled through the pristine water near the shore.
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| Loch Lubnaig |
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| "On the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond..." |
It was raining by the time we reached Argyll. At a local pub, I decided to try the famous Scottish dish, "haggis, neeps and tatties" (rather fun to say out loud!) which consists of a sheep's organs boiled within its stomach with potatoes and turnips in a whisky sauce on the side. I can confirm that my stomach turned into haggis later that day... 😅 Still, it's fun to try new things when you're traveling!
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| Those haggis, neeps and tatties were a "one and done" 😅 |
Our tour guide played feel-good songs with strings and bagpipes from the speakers of her little tour bus as she drove us through the rugged and lush mountains. One of the songs was "Mull of Kintyre," a song I was already familiar with and loved listening to. Another was the violin solo called "The Kiss" in the movie soundtrack "Last of the Mohicans." I recognized the song the moment the strings began to repeat the recurring melody. 🎶
There's an alluring sense of the unknown when you look out into the untamed landscapes of southwest Scotland. A part of me thought, why don't I get off this bus and hide away in that idyllic corner of the mountains? But then the logical part of me reasoned that I ought to return to the states where everything is more familiar and comfortable. The unknown may be tempting, but perhaps what gives it value is when you can only seize its essence for a day, like on our tour.
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| As I was taking this picture, there was a little lamb crying for its mother to come near it which was cute. 🐑 |
Shepherd House
Once we returned to Edinburgh, we acquainted ourselves with our garden tour group for dinner at the Raddison Blu hotel. The next morning, we left for Shepherd House in Mussleburgh. It was an underwhelming arrival, but an overwhelming display once we discovered the unique gardens behind the modest home. Our coach bus pulled up to a quiet street in Inveresk where we were greeted by an elderly Scottish couple whose appearance and power dynamic reminded me of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip. Sir Charles Fraser made us feel at home with his charismatic and colorful spirit, joking that any part of the gardens which didn’t look pleasing to the eye would be his wife Lady Ann’s fault, and any part that did look well he would claim as his “own idea.” 😏
Lady Ann was very reserved, but her passionate spirit spoke volumes in the thoughtful artistry of her gardens. The flower trees on the walls made of mussel shells were very intriguing and the pebbles depicting roses on some of the walkways were pleasant to look at. I loved when a few white doves flew down to one of the paths as if to join us on our nature walk. For any Outlander fans, they did have their Fraser clan motto painted onto one of their sheds which was exciting to look at. “Je suis prest!” 🇫🇷 meaning “I am ready!” 🗡️
Black Agnes
The next day, we traveled to Dunbar where we learned of the story of Black Agnes. In the 1300s, she once defended Dunbar Castle when her husband Patrick, the 9th Earl of Dunbar and March, was away. The Earl of Salisbury was an English commander who opened siege on the castle. After five months of no success, he finally gave up and retreated. As they were leaving, his men made up the following song:
"She makes a stir in tower and trench,
That brawling, boisterous, Scottish wench;
Came I early, came I late."
A woman is usually described in such a way when she stands her ground. The famous poet and historian Sir Walter Scott said, "From the record of Scottish heroes, none can presume to erase her." She was given the nickname Black Agnes because of her dark hair and complexion. We dined at a restaurant named after her, and the gammon steak and over-easy eggs were sooo good. I wish I could go back just to order that again!
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| Looking at this is making me so hungry... |
Tyninghame House
From Dunbar, we drove to East Lothian to visit the gardens at Tyninghame House. My mom has many pink rose campions planted around our home in New Jersey, so it was exciting to discover the white version of them at the gardens.
Broadwoodside
Another garden we visited was Broadwoodside, although I'd rather call it Broadwoodshire because it looked so idyllic and country-like. My favorite part of our visit was petting a gray, outdoor cat who was so warm and friendly. The moment I knelt down, it climbed onto my lap and playfully rolled over. I wanted to live in the moment so that's why I don't have any pictures of him. Enjoy this cat emoji instead: 🐱
On the outskirts of the garden, there was an Indian-looking hand sculpture. I looked into its symbolism online and discovered that it represents submitting to the divine. According to my Christian faith, the ultimate divine is YHWH who is worthy of all worship and praise. The thumb represents God and the index finger represents mankind. The individual bows down to the supreme, recognizing its power. The three extended fingers symbolize the different qualities of nature - purity and knowledge, activity and desire, darkness and destruction - which one must transcend from ignorance into consciousness in order to connect to the Supreme Consciousness. 🙏🏻 I found that very intriguing to learn about, so I wanted to share!
The glass globe in the center of the courtyard was fun to look into, everything it depicted was upside-down. One of the gardeners surprisingly remarked that it occasionally had to be checked for charring since the sun could concentrate its light into the curved glass and start a fire if they weren't careful. I overheard her conversation with our host, Linda Vater, a well-known gardener on YouTube who is as friendly in-person as she is on the screen, 🤗 and she agreed that glass was known to be a cause of fires. Who knew?!
The engraved sundial which was hung up by the entrance of their courtyard struck a chord with me. “Just think, this day will never dawn again,” was etched onto its stone. The year 1989 was engraved underneath the phrase. How true it is, that each day is special in part because it will never dawn again. ☀️
Carolside Gardens
I know that I've already referenced the late Elizabeth II in this blogpost, but I'd like to mention her name one more time. The owner who greeted us at Carolside had a grandmotherly British accent whose voice resembled the queen's high-pitched tone as she described her gardens in a sophisticated, but down-to-earth manner. She even commented that her voice was known to be too soft and that we should let her know if we couldn't hear what she saying, but we assured her to the contrary.
We would all watch in anticipation as our guide would open up several gates and doors which led into secret gardens closed in by tall hedges and brick walls. Once she showed us most of her creations, she left us to follow our heart's desire and explore the grounds on our own. I always enjoyed when we had free time to wander around each garden on our tour. It felt like we were little children again, observing everything with great wonder as if we were about to discover some new world or novel form of paradise that nobody else had seen before. I tried my best to keep my phone in my purse at all times, but the pictures that are on this blogpost reveal the times that I simply had to take it out and capture the beauty around me.
After an hour, our hosts welcomed us into their 18th century mansion with warm British hospitality - that is, by offering us complimentary tea and biscuits! Many of our hosts on the tour offered us warm tea and coffee while visiting their gardens. It was very much appreciated because even in the summer month of June, it was brisk and cold most of the time! Whenever it would rain, thankfully it would only last a few minutes or so.
Jupiter Artland
Taking a break from the gardens, our itinerary brought us to Jupiter Artland, an interesting gallery of artistic creations including mounds of grassy hills representing the cells of life and random sculptures scattered along a wooden trail. My favorite exhibits included “The Light Pours Out of Me,” “The Rose Walk” and “You Imagine What You Desire.”
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| The "cells of life" |
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| The "temple of Apollo" |
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| "The Light Pours Out of Me" - an exhibit where we walked underground into a surrounding chamber of amethyst. |
North Berwick
By the end of the week, we stopped in North Berwick and went on a wildlife boat trip to Bass Rock. On the ride there, a small puffin did its best to flap its wings above the surface of the waves, heading toward the shore. It looked so cute with its bright orange beak and webbed feet, and it was smaller than I had expected. Our guide told us that although puffins are able to fly, they struggle the most out of all the birds, needing to flap their wings 300–400 times per minute. She said the reason we were able to spot one was because they all go inland in June to breed. How lucky of us to be there on that month!
We were also taught about the lifestyles of gannets, who look the most similar to sea gulls but with pale yellow heads, as we watched thousands of them fly around and perch on the 7-acre island known as Bass Rock. Our guide told us the reason we didn't see fish dangling from their beaks when they'd dive into the waves was because they had already eaten the fish by then. I've never seen birds torpedo into the water that fast. They're capable of diving 60 miles per hour!
On a more somber note, in the 1600s some prisoners were sent to Bass Rock and ended up dying out there. Our guide also told us that a monk used to go to the rock to retreat from the world and meditate on the Scriptures.
After our boat ride, we had a couple more hours to spare so my mom and I dined at a hotel restaurant and then I discovered a bookshop and was lost within the world of literature for about an hour... 📚
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| Over 100,000 gannets reside on Bass Rock |
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| North Berwick |
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| A Celtic cross memorial to Catherine Watson, aged 19 from Glasgow, who tried to rescue two boys and a girl that were drowning and died doing so... 🙁 (the children were eventually rescued) |
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| This vegan hot chocolate was sooo good... ☕️ |
Johnnie Walker
From North Berwick, our coach bus transported us back to Edinburgh where we had the Johnnie Walker experience on Princes St. Although I don't typically drink, I decided to try their fruity and creamy whisky highballs at the end of the tour because the hosts did an amazing job presenting the process of making whisky and winning our hearts to the Walker family legacy. The fruity highball was topped with a slice of apricot and the creamy highball had a sprig of barley in it; both were really good!
Portmore Gardens
Stobshiel House
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