Thursday 17 September 2015

Teviot Water Gardens

Teviot Water Gardens smokery Scotland Scottish Borders Eckford Kelso
The first time we visited the Teviot Smokery and Water Gardens it was not our intended destination. Situated in the Scottish borders between Kelso and Jedburgh the weather in this part of the country can best be described as 'changeable'. So it was while we were driving along in heavy raining that we decided to stop at for a while at what we thought was just another garden centre...

If you stop here wanting to see a smokery at work you'll be disappointed as it's not open to the public. Although I will point you to the way of the deli counter in the shop where you can buy their delicious smoked salmon. If you're after some fine terraced water gardens then walk this way.
If you go out of the back of the shop you'll find the start of the water gardens. It overlooks the River Teviot, a tributary of the River Tweed, which is known for its salmon and sea trout.
On the day we visited it had just stopped raining giving the water garden the perfect fresh feel as if there should always be raindrops on the leaves.
There are various paths you can make your way down. Along each one you'll find inspiration for waterfalls and lily ponds.
The red bridge gives a nod to oriental influence in the design. Painted in a traditional lucky colour bridges are used as a point to contemplate and to enjoy the garden without any other barriers in the way. The water it crosses over is an expression of nature and symbolizes renewal and continuity in life.
If you have the time you can continue walking along the river enjoying the swans as they gracefully glide along the water. If you're lucky you may also spot a kingfisher or the woodpecker that had knocked a perfect hole into one of the trees.
As we made our way back up through the lythrum and pink Japanese anemones we could see the clouds coming over again. Before we knew it the rain was coming down again but by then we were waiting for our lunch in their restaurant. I recommend the cullen skink.



Mammasaurus

12 comments:

  1. what a beautiful place! must have been magical with the sound of water around

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  2. Looks lovely!
    Hope you'll swing by http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/09/nighttime-paddle-on-jordan-lake.html to link up.

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  3. It made me think of you walking through a magical back door. There's something rather special when you come upon a beautiful place when you're not expecting it.

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  4. Sounds like you timed it right - I've been dodging the rain this week (mixed results!) - fab photos and yes what Claudia said about the water x #hdygg

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  5. You got lucky with a clearing in the weather! I always say that if the British waited for the rain to stop before going out, we'd never go anywhere :) Nice to see there's still some bright colour dotted around.

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  6. I've driven that road so many times, and I had no idea this was here! It looks beautiful, magical in fact x #hdygg

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  7. Beautiful gardens? Smoked salmon?

    Book me in for a weeks visit!

    Well done dodging the rain and enjoying the gardens. Any garden where you can buy good food is always a win in my books. I'm longing to spend some time up in Scotland, goodness only knows when that will happen though.

    Thanks for sharing a lovely spot Jibber Jabberz x

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  8. This place looks so atmospheric - from your photos it feels like it's perfectly match to the local weather. It's so great to find more than you bargained for when you visit somewhere isn't it - particularly if there's nice food involved ;)

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  9. The scenes here are just awesome! I could wander around there for hours :)

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  10. Ooooh - I see echoes of Monet's Garden at Giverny here.

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  11. What a great find, a nice surprise to find such a beautiful garden. I saw a kingfisher a few days ago in Pembroke, darting along a stream - I was so giddy!

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  12. the water gardens look like somewhere i could spend quite a bit of time at

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