holiday details
Gardens of Scotland with Saga Holidays
Activities: | Garden Tour |
Holiday Provider: | Saga Holidays |
Area(s): |
Europe Scotland |
Location: | Glasgow, Scotland |
Reference: |
1827 |
months available
July
Facilities & Awards
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Description
Gardens of Scotland with Saga Holidays. 5 nights half-board from £469. Visit Scotland’s world-famous botanic garden and explore some of the country’s finest walled gardens, including colourful Greenbank.Accompanied by one of Saga’s expert horticulturalists, you will experience the Victorian formality and the dramatic Scottish landscapes on visits to some of the finest gardens in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Your host will also give two evening talks in your hotel and will be available to share their experience and knowledge with you.
Greenbank Garden and Pollok House
Your morning visit is to Greenbank Garden in Glasgow. This demonstration garden was left to the National Trust for Scotland in 1976 on condition that it was developed as a teaching resource for people with small gardens. The walled garden has been divided into sections - a rock garden, a dried flower plot, a raised bed winter garden, a fruit garden, herbaceous borders, a woodland garden and roses of many kinds.
Remaining in Glasgow, this afternoon you visit Pollok House and Park. Pollok House is an elegant mansion in the middle of a park that is now managed by the National Trust for Scotland. It houses some of the finest privately owned collection of Spanish paintings in the UK, including works by Goya, Murillo and El Greco.
The park was originally part of the Old Pollok Estate, which was home to the Maxwell family for over 700 years until it was gifted to the City Council in 1966 by Mrs Anne Maxwell Macdonald on condition that it remained a public park.
The beautifully kept gardens include many Rhododendron cultivars and species reflecting Sir John Stirling Maxwell’s great interest in the subject. Sir John was not only a plant collector but also a Rhododendron breeder and expert.
Royal Botanic Gardens and Malleny Gardens
Your first visit today is to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Situated on a hillside, with wonderful views of the city, it is one of the finest botanical gardens in the world. It covers approximately 75 acres and has year round interest. The rock garden is wonderful and together with the nearby heather garden, there is also some colour. As well as a stunning herbaceous border, lilies and campanulas, there is also a peat and woodland garden. A few years ago, the Pringle Chinese Collection was developed which has a spectacular wild-water ravine crossed by bridges which ends in a tranquil pond at the bottom of the hillside. The garden also possesses Britain’s tallest palm house.
Your afternoon visit is to Malleny Garden. A Deodar cedar dominates this three-acre walled garden which contains the NCCPG collection of 19th-century shrub roses and a permanent display from the Scottish Bonsai Association. The superb 12-foot wide herbaceous borders have superb colour. The Campanula lactiflora with contrasting white roses is one example. There is also an attractive herb garden and ornamental vegetable garden.
Culzean Castle and Aiket Castle (13 July departure) or Culzean Castle and Carnell (20 July departure)
This morning you travel into South Ayrshire to visit Culzean Castle. Like a storybook castle, this fantastic example of Robert Adam’s genius stands dramatically on a cliff with superb views across the sea to the mountains of the Isle of Arran. Between 1777 and 1792 Robert Adams converted an old fortified tower castle for David Kennedy, the 10th Earl of Cassillis, creating Culzean (pronounced Cullane) probably the finest Georgian castle in Scotland. The castle contains a good collection of pictures and 18th-century furniture, together with an armoury, set up in the 19th century. There is also an Eisenhower Room recalling the president’s links with Scotland. The castle is set within 500 acres of Scotland’s finest country park, and the attractions include an orangery, swan pond, adventure playground, otter park, camellia house and walled garden.
You stay in South Ayrshire this afternoon to visit either Aitken Castle or Carnell.
Aiket Castle has a delightful seven-acre garden with richly planted borders, a summer garden and two oval ponds reflecting the colours of the garden. The recently-restored castle provides a stunning backdrop to the garden. Although some areas of the garden may be difficult to reach for those with walking difficulties there is plenty for all to see in this garden which has been developed by the present owners since 1976.
Parts of this beautiful mansion house at Carnell date back to the 16th century. Alterations to the estate, with landscaping of the gardens, were carried out in the 1840’s and a new house, designed by William Burn, was built in 1843. The park includes two squares of lime trees, planted soon after the actual battle, representing the Scottish squares at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, including two ‘officers’ on either side. There is also a very fine cut-leaf beech and a copper beech. One of the main features of the garden is the long herbaceous border full of delphiniums and a variety of unusual plants.
Glasgow Botanic Gardens and Finlaystone
Your first visit today is to Glasgow Botanic Gardens with its herbaceous, shrub and annual borders, plus a garden containing plants hardy in Scotland. The main attraction is the Victorian Kibble Palace, a glasshouse dating from 1872 housing temperate plants and classic marble statuary. The tropical glasshouses contain orchids, cacti and the National Collection of species begonias.
This afternoon the final visit of your holiday is to Finlaystone. Designed in 1900 and maintained over the course of 50 years by the late Lady MacMillan, doyenne of Scottish gardens, and her family, this large garden is laid out over 10 acres with a further 70 acres of mature woodland. Elegant lawns are edged with herbaceous borders and shrubberies overlooking the River Clyde. A walled garden is planted in the shape of a Celtic ringed cross, while a fragrant paved garden and a bog garden add to the delights of the charming parkland.
We would advise holidaymakers to wear sensible shoes as some of the paths are of gravel or uneven stone and occasionally steep.
Due to their nature, the gardens we plan to visit can occasionally close at short notice. This could be because of adverse weather, change in ownership or ill health of the owners. When this is the case, we may regrettably have to change a venue in order to uphold the high standards of our garden holidays. We will always try to substitute this for a garden of equal interest and standard.
Please bear in mind that this itinerary is also subject to change due to local weather, traffic, road works and other unforeseen factors. Alterations may be made in the interest of your comfort and convenience.
David Hammond (July 13th) or Susan Minter (July 20th)
David is a professional horticulturalist with extensive experience in the amenity of the landscape sphere.
Sue retrained in horticulture following a career in publishing and joined the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew where she became supervisor of the Palm House in the 1980’s. She was appointed curator at the Chelsea Physic Garden in 1991 and became Horticultural Director of the Eden Project in 2001.
Your Hotel
The Thistle Hotel Glasgow is situated in the city centre and within easy reach of the city’s museums and art galleries. There is an excellent selection of facilities including the Annlann Restaurant with its varied menu and Scottish cuisine which is open for all meals. The hotel bar serves a selection of light snacks and bar meals as well as an array of wines, spirits and beers while the Coffee Stop is open throughout the day for light refreshments, drinks and snacks.
• 300 en-suite rooms
• Restaurant
• Bar
• Health and Leisure Club
The 300 en-suite rooms are spread over eight floors and all are accessible by lift. Each room is provided with television, telephone, tea and coffee making facilities, trouser press and hair dryer. Laundry service is available at extra charge.
The Annlann Restaurant offers a varied menu of Scottish cuisine which is open for all meals. The hotel bar serves a selection of light snacks and bar meals as well as an array of wines, spirits and beers while the Coffee Stop is open throughout the day for light refreshments, drinks and snacks.
The Otium Health and Leisure Club has swimming pool, sauna, steam room, spa pool and work-out facilities available at extra charge.
About Saga Holidays
Saga Holidays is where the Saga Group began more than 50 years ago, with Sidney De Haan's launch of low-cost, off-peak trips first to Folkestone and other British destinations, and later to worldwide resorts too.
We have always maintained that to serve our fast-growing 50+ market effectively, we should not only offer excellent value-for-money, but also reflect the changing values and aspirations of what is an increasingly sophisticated and experienced group. As a result, we have long been committed to developing holidays which break many of the boundaries seen elsewhere in the travel industry.
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Date: |
July | ||||||
Duration: |
5 nights | ||||||
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Price range: |
From: £469 | ||||||
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Travel insurance, some meals, personal expenses, tips | ||||||
Travel booking |
available | ||||||
Excursions available: |
yes Please see tour details |
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Pets welcome: |
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Holiday customisable: |
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Web: |
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Contact: |
Contact this advertiser | ||||||
Address: |
Saga Holidays The Saga Building Enbrook Park Folkestone Kent CT20 3SE United Kingdom |
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