Walk The Line
Country Life UK|August 22, 2018

Scotland’s first formal gardens have been reinvigorated with geometric precision by their current custodian.

Non Morris
Walk The Line
NOTHING quite prepares you for your arrival at Kinross house. I’m gently making my way along a side street in the village of Kinross when, quite suddenly, I find myself before a pair of imposing iron gates. Beyond is a dazzling surprise: a long, tree-lined avenue that guides my eye to the centre of a splendidly proportioned house, the first proper neo-Classical country house in Scotland—architect Sir William Bruce was the father of Classicism in Scotland.

As I get closer, the enormous, immaculately mowed West Lawn is revealed. When Donald Fothergill bought Kinross house in 2011, he was determined that the tradition of playing cricket on the lawn should continue. With one of the charming ogee-roofed pavilions concealing an outdoor loo and the backdrop of the house making it ‘surely one of the finest imaginable pitches in the country’, the annual match hosted by the Kinross house invitation Xi must be a spectacular sight.

These days, the lawn is also used for arrivals by helicopter. head gardener Kenny Stewart, who meets me on the front steps, recalls mowing a tartan lawn for a guest passionate about his Scottish lineage.

Looking back at the drive, he remembers guiding a team of tree surgeons to prune back the mature woodland ‘just enough’ to create a band of light on either side of the house. it was a subtle, but effective move and typical of the attention to detail that drives the restoration of this garden. the revitalised house (Country Life, August 12, 2009; March 11, 2016) won the historic houses Association Restoration Award in 2013.

However, the real wonder of the garden is yet to come. From the top of the steps, one can see through the ground-floor rooms of the house to the formal gardens on the other side, where a path is exactly aligned with the centre of Loch Leven Castle on the island in the lake.

Denne historien er fra August 22, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 22, 2018-utgaven av Country Life UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA COUNTRY LIFE UKSe alt
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
Country Life UK

Kitchen garden cook - Apples

'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
The original Mr Rochester
Country Life UK

The original Mr Rochester

Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Get it write
Country Life UK

Get it write

Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
'Sloes hath ben my food'
Country Life UK

'Sloes hath ben my food'

A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Souvenirs of greatness
Country Life UK

Souvenirs of greatness

FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Plants for plants' sake
Country Life UK

Plants for plants' sake

The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson

time-read
7 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Capturing the castle
Country Life UK

Capturing the castle

Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Nature's own cathedral
Country Life UK

Nature's own cathedral

Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024
All that money could buy
Country Life UK

All that money could buy

A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages

time-read
8 mins  |
October 23, 2024
In with the old
Country Life UK

In with the old

Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery

time-read
5 mins  |
October 23, 2024