Drummond Castle Gardens

A fabulous day out!  We headed north to visit Drummond Castle Gardens near Crieff.   They are formal gardens dating back to the 17th century although they were redesigned and terraced in the 19th century.  In the photo you can see the dominant feature of the parterre design is a St Andrew's Cross with a 17th century sundial at its centre.  The other strong design feature is the Roman / Greek style statues and urns all around the gardens.  

The castle isn't open to the public but makes an impressive backdrop to the gardens.  The lands of Drummond were the property of the Drummond family from the 14th century.  The original tower house was built on a rocky outcrop from around 1490 by John, 1st Lord Drummond of Cargill.  In 1605 the 4th Lord Drummond was made the 1st Earl of Perth and he added the castle.  The 2nd Earl laid out the first terraced garden around the castle in the 1630s.  

The gardens have featured in films and TV dramas including Outlander where the gardens stood in for the Palace of Versailles as it might have been during Louis XV's reign.