Winton Castle invites visitors to its family open day

Winton Castle, formerly Winton House, is opening its gardens and doors for its Family Open Day on Sunday 9^th April (12-4.30 pm), when it will be raising funds for Marie Curie and Scotland’s Gardens charities.

Visitors will see Winton’s famous wild daffodils, the 17^th century walled garden and the sheltered terraces leading down to Sir David’s Loch.  The Open Day will include a raft of family entertainment, from falconry displays and archery, to treasure hunts and homemade teas.

Scottish Gardens Scheme Garden Party June 2016 at Winton Castle’s terraced gardens. Left to right: HRH Duchess of Rothesay, Francis Ogilvy, Terrill Dobson from Scotland’s Gardens.

Last year Winton was chosen to welcome HRH the Duchess of Rothesay to celebrate the 85th birthday of Scotland’s Gardens with a giant tea party, having opened longer than any other garden under the nationwide scheme.

Winton House always was ‘the Castle’ to many of its visitors, so the move back to its original name was long overdue. It was only as recently as the 1960s that the name was changed from ‘castle’ to ‘house’.

Left to right: Francis Ogilvy, Toby Subiotto head gardener, HRH Duchess of Rothesay in Winton walled garden.

Winton Castle has a 500 year old fortified tower, Royal Coats of Arms, battlements, seven foot thick walls and history that predates Columbus. Visitors on guided tours can see the castle’s old walls and coats of arms from the Octagon Room.

Winton Castle is still the Ogilvy family home, and, as Sir Francis Ogilvy says: “External features like Winton’s famous twisted chimneys shine out to visitors to say ‘welcome!’ Just as they would have done for the visit of King Charles I. Winton is a glorious mix and we’re delighted to share it.”

As part of a major effort to raise funds for Marie Curie, the annual Winton Trail Run is taking place the day before the Open Day on Saturday 8^th of April (2pm). Last year, the 3.5k, 5k and 10k runs attracted nearly 600 visitors.

There’s more information on the Winton Trail Run and Open Day at Winton’s new website www.wintoncastle.co.uk