REPORTS SHOW THERE IS ‘SNOW DROP’ IN VISITORS AT CASTLE KENNEDY

Visitors to Castle Kennedy Gardens rose by *50% last year during the Garden’s participation in the annual Snowdrop Festival which begins again this weekend.

The figures for this event are based year on year and it is hoped the Garden’s participation in this year’s festival, which includes the opening up of the route around the Black Loch, and a new seasonal menu in the Tea Room, will once again prove popular.

Due to harsh weather conditions over the winter period, Snowdrops are appearing a little later this year and are just beginning to show in time for the Garden’s weekend opening hours (10am-5pm) which commence this Saturday 6 February. Pretty displays of Snowdrops can be seen by the 16th century Castle Kennedy ruins with more specialist varieties waiting to be discovered inside the Walled Garden.

Visitors are encouraged to use the route around the Black Loch, part of the Gardens which opens up especially for this time of year to show off areas with particularly great coverage of Snowdrops. Here winter improvements have included the erection of a new bridge over the Tongue Burn.

Each year the Gardens take part in Scotland’s Snowdrop Festival marketed nationally by Scotland’s tourism agency, VisitScotland. During the peak of the Snowdrops’ lifetime, which is dependent on many factors, visitors can enjoy wonderful sweeps of the pretty, bell shaped flowers that persevere through Scotland’s coldest months and produce pretty coverage in woods and gardens alike.

Following the ‘Snowdrop Trail’ visitors to Castle Kennedy Gardens are encouraged to enjoy healthy, homemade carrot & orange soup and delicious, Snowdrop-themed home baking in the Garden’s Tea Room available from a new menu which uses the best of fresh, local produce.

For more information on the Snowdrop Festival at Castle Kennedy Gardens please contact the Gardens on 01581 400 225 or the Stair Estates office on 01776 702 024 visit www.castlekennedygardens.com