Pitmedden can be explored through two closely related themes: the design of the Great Garden and the agricultural past covered by the Museum of Farming Life. When deciding what to see, you can focus on the garden and its historical details, or include a museum visit featuring tools, machinery and a replica farmhouse living room. There is also a garden walk that you can extend, a path to the garden entrance and a tearoom serving ingredients from the garden. This distinction is helpful if you do not want to give equal weight to every interest: the garden focuses on formal planting and a historic feature, while the museum also explores agriculture and domestic life.

Garden Art in the Great Garden

The Great Garden was originally laid out by Sir Alexander Seton in 1675. Its parterres contain 30,000 annual bedding plants. The Great Garden also features a striking polyhedral sundial, which dates to around 1675. A parterre is a formally designed flower bed that divides up the garden. The term therefore draws attention to the layout, while the number of plants highlights the planting. Polyhedral describes a shape with several flat faces. The precise year given for the garden’s creation and the approximate date of the sundial offer two historical reference points with different degrees of precision.

Agricultural History at the Museum

The Museum of Farming Life connects the origins of Pitmedden Garden in the 17th century with its more recent agricultural past. A tool shed with tools and machinery, together with a replica farmer’s living room, provides two distinct points of focus: agricultural work and domestic space. The museum’s interpretation thus complements the garden’s history with a later focus, rather than viewing the grounds from just one historical perspective. The museum’s history also includes an earlier exhibition tradition: the Art Exhibition was held annually in the stables at the Museum of Farming Life for more than two decades.

Garden Walk and Woodland Trail

The yellow trail extends the garden walk and leads through more of the estate’s woodland. This lets you base your choice on what you would like to focus on: follow a route around the garden or extend it to include the wooded section. The Pitmedden Garden Estate Walk runs from the Bonnyton Road bus stop to the garden entrance. If you plan to include this path in your journey, check bus services before setting off. This brings two different planning questions into focus: choosing between the garden walk and the additional woodland trail, and walking from the bus stop to the garden entrance.

Garden Produce in the Tearoom

The tearoom at Pitmedden Garden uses rhubarb, apples, pears and salad leaves from the garden in its dishes. It also serves Pitmedden’s own apple juice, made from apples grown on site. The menu may change; check the current selection in advance if you plan to make the tearoom a fixed part of your visit.

Discover more destinations: New Aberdour, Westhill, Turriff, Aberdeen, Dinnet, Insch, Balmedie, Gourdon

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