Nine acres
What there is to find
The garden is not large, but it is layered: an old wall around the whole thing, a terrace cut into the hill, a ruined tower at the top and the yews in the middle. Give it an hour and a half. Two if the weather behaves.
01
The Ancient Yews
Nineteen English yews at the centre of the walled garden, at least 500 years old.
They stand in a rough grid in the middle of the garden, dark and low and enormously wide. Walk in under the branches — the light goes green, the noise of Ellon disappears and the ground is bare needles. Most people stay longer than they meant to.
02
The Walled Garden
Laid out in 1715 by Baillie James Gordon, and still the shape of the place.
High stone walls, a nine-metre terrace cut out of the hill and nine acres inside. The walls have been made safe, drainage and services run through the garden, and the borders replanted section by section.
03
The Castle Ruins
What remains of the Fortalice of Ardgith, built about 1413.
The round tower and part of the wall still stand at the top of the garden, with the Kennedy coat of arms visible on the stonework. The building beside it is a conversion of the old castle stables and offices.
04
The Terrace
A raised walk along the top of the garden with the best view in Ellon.
Cut from the hillside in 1715 and held up by a wall nine metres high. The border at its foot is one of the garden's showpieces in high summer. The Terrace is reached by steps and is not currently wheelchair accessible.
05
The Rose Garden
Sheltered by old walls, at its best in July.
Roses in a walled corner where the stone holds the heat — which in Aberdeenshire matters more than it sounds. Underplanted and cared for largely by volunteers.
06
The Sundials
Carved stone dials, one on a tall baluster column.
The garden's sundials are among its oldest movable pieces — the sort of thing an eighteenth-century owner installed to show that the garden was properly done. Look for the fountain and dial on the main axis.
07
The Borders
Deep herbaceous planting along the west and terrace walls.
The western border was planted up in 2019 and has filled out year by year: lupins, geraniums, delphiniums and a long run of colour from June until the first frosts.
08
The Deer Park
Open ground below the garden wall, bought from the council for £1 in 2017.
A large green space outside the wall, on your right as you walk up the track to the main gates. It is where the outdoor theatre audiences spill out to and where most of Ellon walks its dogs.
09
Wildlife
Red squirrels, roe deer and a lot of birdsong for the middle of a town.
Nine acres of mature trees inside a wall makes very good habitat. Red squirrels are seen regularly, particularly around the yews and the woodland edge. Early mornings are best.
10
Seasonal colour
Snowdrops in February, blossom in May, apples in October.
The snowdrop weeks are the reason a lot of people first come. After that: bluebells and blossom, the borders through summer, fruit and leaf colour in autumn, and the evergreens carrying the garden through the dark months.
None of this reads as well as walking round it does.
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Adults £5, children free.