GARDENS & CASTLES OF SCOTLAND FROM EDINBURGH TO THE HIGHLANDS JULY 2-16, 2018 TOUR LEADER: MICHAEL TURNER GARDENS AND CASTLES Overview OF SCOTLAND Scotland is one of the oldest and best-loved countries in the world. Defined by its geological past, it is a country of dramatic landscapes, Tour dates: July 2-16, 2018 sublime beauty and haunting history. From the sophistication of Edinburgh, to the great lochs, the wild and magnificent Highlands, and on Tour leader: Michael Turner to the mystical isles of the West Coast, this new 15-day tour visits some of the most beautiful gardens and castles in this enchanted land. Tour Price: $9,950 per person, twin share Scotland uses the word castle as the French use chateau to often mean a Single Supplement: $2,700 for sole use of large, sometimes fortified country house. It is a land therefore of many double room castles, and we shall be visiting the very best of them. It is the individual men and women (like Sir Walter Scott), the clans, and families associated Booking deposit: $500 per person with these castles that give us the all-important background colour and context for many of the gardens we will be visiting. Recommended airline: Etihad Airways Not all of the gardens we visit are associated with castles, however, as our Maximum places: 20 travels take us to farmsteads, small loch-side houses, and even a house referred to by its owner as a Garden Temple. And of course, as well as the Itinerary: Edinburgh (5 nights), Loch Lomond (3 gardens, we shall be exploring the landscape in which they’re set and nights), Isle of Skye (3 nights), Pitlochry (3 enjoying Scotland’s rich heritage and culture to the full. nights) Your tour leader Michael Turner, who lives in Sussex, will provide detailed Date published: September 13, 2017 background information on the estates and accompany all the excursions. Nights will be spent in the vibrant city of Edinburgh, into the Highlands to lake-side Loch Lomond, on the picturesque Isle of Skye – the largest of the Inner Hebrides – and the tour ends in beautiful Pitlochry. Your tour leader Michael Turner Turner is a garden and art historian. The former Senior Curator of the Nicholson Museum at the University of Sydney (2005-2016), he now lives in Sussex from where he writes and lectures on garden history as well as creating garden tours. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in London and a member of The English Gardens Trust. When in Australia, Michael appeared regularly on television, radio, and in the press. He has been a featured guest on the ABC’s In Conversation with Richard Fidler and on Classic FM’s Midday with Margaret Throsby Enquiries and talking about the 18th century English landscape architect Capability bookings Brown. Michael can also proudly claim Scottish ancestry through both the clans Buchanan and Russell, and has been known to wear the kilt. For further information and to secure a place on this tour “Michael Turner was just great, his enthusiasm about all he showed us please contact Kathy was infectious, we were excited every day!” Wardrop at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 Feedback from Academy Travel’s ‘Gardens of Southern England: 699 (outside Sydney) or email Gardens of a Passionate Mind’, June 2016. [email protected] Tour Highlights LANDSCAPE OF SCOTLAND Scotland packs spectacular landscapes, as well as rich history and tradition, into a small country. From the rich countryside and great rivers of the Lowlands to the dramatic glens and mountains of the Highlands, from deep lowering lochs to islands washed by the Gulf Stream, from great cities to abandoned crofts, Scotland is a land of remarkable contrasts at every turn. GARDENS AT THEIR SUMMER BEST July is the perfect month to visit Scottish gardens as they are glorious in their summer best. Scotland, warmed by the Gulf Stream, is home to some of the finest gardens in Britain: Drummond Castle with its Renaissance parterres, Inverewe with its superb plantsmanship, and Broadwoodside, a garden of delight and whimsy. We can expect to see the gardens at their absolute peak! GREAT CASTLES OF SCOTLAND Whether in ruins or pristine condition, castles dating from the medieval period to Victorian times are among Scotland’s glories. Like France, Scotland has a habit of calling a large country house a castle. As a result, there are many castles throughout Scotland, some large (Floors Castle), some small (Eilean Donan Castle), some ancient in parts (Cawdor Castle), and some Royal (Balmoral). OVER THE SEA TO SKYE Skye is an island of mystery and legend known for its rugged landscapes, picturesque fishing villages and medieval castles. The largest island in the Inner Hebrides archipelago, it has a coastline of peninsulas and narrow lochs radiating out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillins, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in Scotland. EDINBURGH Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is justly seen as one of the most beautiful and cultured cities in Europe. It has been shaped neither by the heavy industry of Glasgow nor the oil wealth of Aberdeen, but by its long-held position as a centre of business, the arts, learning and entertainment. Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D. Monday July 2 Arrival If you have booked your air travel through Academy Travel we will organise a transfer from Edinburgh airport to our hotel. Please note that hotel rooms may not be available until early afternoon. In the early evening we gather in the hotel for welcome drinks and dinner. Overnight Edinburgh (D) Tuesday July 3 Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Garden Today we begin to explore Scotland’s historic capital. Following a talk, we take a guided tour of the Royal Botanic Garden. Relocated in the 1820s at the time of the creation of the city’s New Town, ‘The Botanics’ was originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden. As such, it is, after Oxford, the second oldest botanic garden in Britain. Its Palm House, built in 1858, is the Above: Edinburgh Castle perched on Castle Rock, towering over the city tallest in Britain. The afternoon is free to relax and explore the sites and shops of Edinburgh. In the evening, we gather at a local restaurant for dinner. Overnight Edinburgh (B, D) Below: Scotland’s largest inhabited castle, Floors Castle; and Abbotsford, the ancestral home of novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott Wednesday July 4 Floors Castle and Abbotsford Today we head south into the rich countryside of the Scottish Borders and to the banks of the beautiful River Tweed. First stop is Floors Castle, the largest inhabited ‘castle’ in Scotland and home since the 1720s to the Dukes of Roxburgh. After a tour of the Castle, we walk through the grounds to the large and colourful Victorian walled garden – part potager, part herbaceous borders – beautifully complimented by the new Millennium Garden with its intricate parterre and architectural fruit trees. In the afternoon we travel to Abbotsford, the iconic Scottish Baronial-style house created by Sir Walter Scott in the 1820s. Together with his near contemporary Robert Burns, Scott is the most famous of all Scottish writers, and Abbotsford, still furnished exactly as he left it, is a testament to his creation of our romantic notion of Scottish identity. We take a guided tour of the house, before exploring the formal garden designed by Scott as a series of three interlocking ‘rooms’. Overnight Edinburgh (B) Thursday July 5 Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh This morning we continue our exploration of Edinburgh, beginning with a walking tour of the Royal Mile before arriving at Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Rebuilt following the restoration of Charles II in 1660, the Palace incorporates a 16th century tower associated with Mary Queen of Scots. We will discover the fascinating history of the gardens from the 14th century to the present day including the site of the ancient menagerie, the rare Wentworth elm trees, the 17th century sundial and the Jubilee Border. We will also see how the grounds are used today for the Queen’s annual Garden Party. Following refreshments in the café, we will be free to explore the Historic and State Apartments at leisure with an audio tour. The afternoon will be free to further explore the sites of Edinburgh; the Castle and the many museums and galleries for example. Overnight Edinburgh (B) Friday July 6 Broadwoodside and Little Sparta An exciting day of contemporary, and very idiosyncratic, private gardens awaits us. First port of call, an hour east of Edinburgh, is Broadwoodside. This elegant garden has been created, from scratch in 2000, in and around a once derelict 17th century farmhouse by its owners Robert and Anna Dalrymple, who will welcome us. Broadwoodside is an eye-catching, heady mix of classic herbaceous and landscape planting intermixed with the most whimsical of contemporary and classical art. After lunch at a local pub, we drive to the intriguingly named Little Sparta. This Arcadian landscape garden in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh was created by the artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay between 1966 and his death in 2006. Spread throughout the 5-acre garden are over 275 artworks: concrete poetry in sculptural form, polemic, and philosophical aphorisms, together with sculptures and two temples. Overnight Edinburgh (B, L) Saturday July 7 Drummond Castle Today we bid farewell to Edinburgh and head to Drummond Castle, home to one of the finest formal gardens in Europe.