Gardens Tours in Scotland

Scotland has a different geological structure from England. North of the Southern Upland Fault, Scotland was once part of a separate tectonic plate to England. Scotland's climate is also different: the growing season is approximately a month shorter with West Scotland wetter than England and East Scotland drier than all but the east of England. Scotland also has separate design tradition. This is more evident in architecture than in garden design but the presence of Scots baronial buildings and local constructions materials and techniques gives Scots gardens a distinctive character and, in good weather, a brilliant clarity of form and colour which sets them apart from other UK gardens.

Scotland's Gardens Scheme facilitates the opening of mostly private gardens, normally inaccessible, to the public as a means of raising money for a selection of charities. The annual handbook "Gardens of Scotland", provides information on the 400 or so gardens that open for the Scheme.

Travel arrangements for Scottish garden visiting

Many garden tour companies operate in Britain with the main groups of operators being based in the UK and the USA. The UK operators tend to be lower priced but do not organize travel to Britain and are likely to use larger vehicles. Independent travelers can visit many gardens, but by no means all, using public transport. Car hire is also easy. One of the difficulties for the independent traveler is that many gardens are open only on a few days per week and only in the afternoon. This makes it difficult to visit as many gardens in a day as might appear possible from their geographical proximity.

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