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Culzean Castle Special Guided Event
AN EXCLUSIVE GUIDED TOUR OF CULZEAN CASTLE GARDENS
Tuesday 21st May 2024
Please join us for a rare opportunity to spend the day with the National Trust for Scotland’s Simon Jones, Gardens & Designed Landscapes Manager and Iain Govan, Head of Gardens and Grounds at the wonderful Culzean Castle, in collaboration with Scotland’s Gardens Scheme.
ITINERARY:
10 - 10.30am
The day starts at the Walled Garden where parking will be available for tour participants. Tea and coffee with shortbread will be available in the Japanese Teahouse on arrival.10.30am - 12.30pm
Walk and talk with the Gardens team. Join Iain Govan and Simon Jones to explore the gardens, learning all about its history and horticultural treasures.12.30 - 1.15pm
Walk to the Castle visiting the Camellia House and the lovely Fountain Garden at the front of the Castle.1.15 - 2pm
Lunch in the Castle’s Billiard Room; you will enjoy a homemade Garden soup, sandwiches, chicken skewers and salads, with something sweet and tea/coffee to follow.2 - 2.45pm
Lunch will be followed by an illustrated talk led by Simon Jones on the spectrum of the NTS gardens and their innovative approaches to the management and restoration of their garden estates, including a Q&A session.2.45pm
The formal tour ends and all guests are then welcome to explore the estate and Castle, which is well worth a visit.
TICKET PRICES INCLUDING ALL CATERING AND ACCESS TO THE GROUNDS
£40.00 per person for National Trust for Scotland Members (please bring your membership card to show on arrival)
£47.00 per person for Non-National Trust for Scotland Members
Please note places are limited to 30.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS
Simon Jones is a Chartered Horticulturist and works as a regional Gardens & Designed Landscapes Manager for the National Trust for Scotland, covering the South and West Region of Scotland managing gardens such as Threave, Culzean, Broughton, Greenbank and Holmwood House. Prior to starting with NTS, Simon worked for 15 years for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland based at Edinburgh Zoo, designing and constructing over 30 exhibits during this time and he still does freelance zoo design consultancy work, mainly in China, UAE and India.
Outside of his role with the NTS, Simon is a past Vice President of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society, Member of the Incorporation of City Gardeners of Glasgow, past Director for Gardening Scotland Show and charity and now and advisor with Kinghorn Community Land Association. He lives in Kinghorn with his wife and two daughters.
Iain Govan is the Head of Gardens and Grounds at Culzean Castle and Country Park where he has worked for the last 7 years. It was somewhat of a homecoming when he came to work at Culzean as having grown up in South West Scotland he spent many school visits and family trips on the estate. In the past seven years, Iain has masterminded the entire revival of the superb historical Walled Garden with an innovative creative approach to appeal to all ages.
He started his gardening journey as a 'Boy with a strimmer' at Logan House around 19 years ago before going on to work as an estate worker at Edinburgh Zoo while studying his RHS qualifications at the RBGE.
This led to a position at the NTS School of Heritage Gardening at Threave Estate near Castle Douglas, gaining a Diploma in Heritage Gardening in 2012. Iain has been with the NTS ever since working as a gardener at Kellie Castle in Fife and as First Gardener at Crathes Castle in the North East of Scotland before 'coming home' at the same time as starting his family in 2017.
