Spring In to Scotland 

Spring In to Scotland 

Scotland is truly beautiful all year round however Spring has a special aura about it, the lighter nights creeping in longer, the milder air, the freshness of the trees, budding flowers and of course the emergence of our wonderful signal of Spring, Snowdrops. Due to the exciting nature of the snowdrops many of the beautiful gardens around Scotland take this time to really embrace the moment of these little bundles of hope. The Gardens are all organised by the Discover Scottish Gardens and tends to take place from the end of January to the middle of March. Scotlands Gardens Scheme - Home is a wonderful resource to look at what gardens are involved, what they have planned and how to sign up to get the information. There are currently over 500 gardens registered with them. 

If you are looking for one to start with Scone Palace is just a stones throw away from our Scottish Tourer Depot and is a lovely place to visit. This garden is open from 1000-1500hours, entry for children is free and adults are £5. Here they do demonstrations for you to see how to improve your own snowdrop collection and often they even give you a few to take home. Here you have the additions of the grounds of the castle, the cafe and shop and the maze so there is lots to fill everyone’s day, ensuring plenty of education, fresh air and feeding back into the local community. There is a campsiste close by making this a great first or last night stop.

If it’s the borders you are heading down to Floors Castle has one of the most amazing backdrops for the snowdrops. The castle itself has been home to 11 generations of the Roxburghe family. You can view the snowdrops but also visit the castle and take in the fine art and the magnificent rooms. There is an adventure playground for the children to get plenty of exercise and there Deli has some delicious local produce to stock up your Motorhome. 

Across in Fife Cambo has so much to offer, they have lots of events organised over the year and this year they are hosting a session in the Lost Elf Nature Play Area where the children can experience a camp fire, hot chocolate and nature crafts. Kids go free and adults pay a small fee to enter the gardens. The snowdrops here are ran as a social enterprise and all the funds raised are placed towards their learning programmes and helping young people and adults locally. 

Back near Perthshire Cluny House near Aberfeldy is open everyday from 0900-1800, the gardens started off as a few trees in the 1950s. Here there are of course snowdrops however there are also a number of fantastic Himalayan plants which thrive here. One of my favourites has its home here that of the Meconopsis, the blue poppy. Remember here that they are unable to accept card payment and you need to remember cash, which is something we often forget. You can buy lots of home produced plants here or seeds which is a lovely way to start your collection and remember your holiday in your Motorhome. One of my favourite views of Cluny is the red squirrels of which there are so many, the best time to view is earlier in the morning.

Heading to Angus Glamis Castle has some breathtaking grounds. If you help to plant snowdrops here you can be treated to a abowl of soup in the cafe. The grounds are just £5 to enter and children under 5 are free. The head gardener Des Cotton is fantastic and encourages anyone to come and walk around the Nature Trail. Here they plant both single and double snowdrops. In addition Glamis also puts on several events throughout the year, this year they are looking at the stories of children who have grown up at Glamis, with 650 years of history there is a huge amount to look, see and learn about.

There are so many gardens to see and explore however they are worth the trip and each garden has its own unique quirks and qualities to offer. So get in one of our luxury motorhomes and get out exploring our beautiful gardens and all they have to offer. The bonus of these is there are so many that are local to our depot or many further afield should you wish to explore the length and breadth of the country.