We will visit privately-owned gardens nurtured by the same families for centuries and will have special access to important houses, designed landscapes, and plant collections cared for by the National Trust for Scotland, Scotland’s largest conservation organization.

Aberdeenshire is known for its fairytale castles and gently rolling countryside. Located in the shadow of the Grampian Mountains, the region features a unique micro-climate that offers challenges and rewards alike for gardeners and garden lovers.

Our tour is scheduled for June, when the days are long and the gardens at their most vibrant and fragrant. While we can’t promise anything, Aberdeenshire is regularly named Scotland’s sunniest city!

Highlights of our visit include:

• Pitmedden Garden, which contrasts a 17^th-century design inspired by Le Notre’s Vaux-le-Vicomte with a contemporary reinterpretation of a parterre garden by British landscape architect Christopher Beardshaw
• Haddo House, an elegant Georgian manor designed by William Adam featuring opulent Victorian interiors and a terraced garden
• Castle Fraser and Crathes Castle, two of Scotland’s most evocative and enchanting tower houses, which date back more than five centuries
• Angus’s House of Pitmuies, considered to be among the best private gardens in Scotland
• The acclaimed walled garden at Dunninald Castle, another private home, entered through the marvelous wrought-iron Union Gate with its design of roses, thistles, daffodils, and shamrocks

Our tour features:

• Accommodations at Douneside House, a four-star hotel located within seventeen acres of gardens dating from the early 20^th The family’s story is one of self-made fortune followed by incredible tragedy and resilience during World War II
• A welcome reception at The Georgian House, a Robert Adam-designed townhouse in Edinburgh’s iconic Charlotte Square, with a private after-hours tour
• A celebratory last night at the five-star Waldorf Astoria – The Caledonian in Edinburgh, with a farewell dinner in the elegant Versailles Suite
• Special access to the National Trust for Scotland’s landscape and curatorial team

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For questions about the tour, please email events@ntsusa.org or call 617-227-7500.  For questions about registration and payments, please email meg@travelmuse.net, or call 617-480-0250.