Smeaton Nursery Garden and Tearoom

After coffee in the sunny cafe, with close-up views of the popular bird feeder on the other side of the glass, we investigated the Lake Walk.

The lake was formed in the 1830's from marshy ground that was dug out and filled, the wood, alive with birdsong, composed of a collection of unusual species, acquired from a variety of  foreign parts, so significant that it is listed in the National Tree Collection of Scotland (NTCS). At the far end of the path drifts of snowdrops carpet the ground, as the path turns back between the lake and a wall of volcanic rock, to emerge on the main drive a short walk from the field of Highland Cattle, all of which are named.

We loved it and will return before long.