Cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them or accept our recommended settings. Using this tool will set a cookie on your device to remember your preferences.

Options
Necessary cookies enable core functionality on our website. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
We use marketing cookies to personalise your visit to our website and show you tailored advertising based on your likes and interests.
We use analytics cookies to monitor visitor behaviour patterns and improve our website performance.

Your preferences have been set. If you wish to change your preferences, you may do so on our cookies page.

Search My Trust
Join now
Join
Close

Looking for places? Use our place search to find them by name, town or postcode.

A bird's eye view of the great garden at Pitmedden. A large lawn is split into sections, with manicured hedges and trees surrounding designed beds of flowers and plants.
Places
Aberdeen City & Shire

Pitmedden Garden

Getting here

The garden is just off the A920, 1 mile west of Pitmedden village and 14 miles north of Aberdeen.
Address Pitmedden Garden Ellon Aberdeenshire AB41 7PD OS Ref: NJ884280

By car

Please note that sat navs tend to send you around to the work area or to estate residential homes. Once you get to Pitmedden village, please follow the brown signage provided by Aberdeenshire Council.

Please note Pitmedden Garden car park is open daily between 9.30am–4.30pm. The car park is locked/secured overnight.

By bus

If you arrive by bus (from Aberdeen on the No. 290/291 or from Ellon on the No. 49), leave the bus at the Bonnyton Road bus stop and walk as if you are leaving Pitmedden village until you join the Pitmedden Garden estate walk, starting just outside the village. Follow the estate walk around to the entrance of the garden.

By train

Pitmedden Garden is part of ScotRail’s 2-for-1 initiative, which allows two adults entry for the price of one, when they present a valid rail ticket and a paper voucher.

Find out more and download your voucher from the ScotRail website

Contact information

Telephone: 01651 842352

Get directions

Provided by Google Maps

Opening times

Garden, museum, tearoom and shop

Current period 3 Apr–28 Sep, Thu–Mon, 10.30–16.00 29 Sep–31 Dec, closed
Grounds

Please note Pitmedden Garden car park is open daily between 9.30am–4.30pm. The car park is locked/secured overnight.

Current period 1 Jan–31 Dec, daily, dawn–dusk

Entry prices

Garden & Museum of Farming Life
Adult
£10.50
Concession
£8.50
Family
£23.00
One adult family
£17.50
Young Scot
£1.00
Car park (free for members)
Car park
£5.00

Members go free

At all Trust places, admission is free for members.

Join us today

Planning your visit

Please note Pitmedden Garden car park will be open daily between 9.30am–4.30pm. The car park is locked/secured overnight.

Please also note that we do not have charging points for electric cars.

Dogs are welcome on the woodland estate. We are currently trialling allowing well-behaved dogs in the garden. Dogs must be kept on a short lead, and owners are reminded to pick up after them (spare bags are available from the admissions desk). Bags can be disposed of using the dog bin in the public car park. Assistance dogs are welcome in all areas.

Grazing livestock are present at this site, outwith the main visitor areas. However, please keep your dog under close control and let the animals have some space if you encounter them. Thank you for showing consideration for the safety of our livestock and wildlife.

Recycling facilities – recycling bins are now available beside the tearoom/shop.

For more information about planning your visit, please see the drop-down facilities below or our frequently asked questions.

Facilities & access

Please be aware that Pitmedden Garden is a heritage site and has some uneven surfaces. There are 16 steps from the upper to the lower parterre gardens. Our staff are happy to help make your visit as enjoyable as possible for you.

The best views into the lower garden can be seen from the long terrace left and right from the central Peron staircase, and especially from the north terrace border. The lower garden is accessed via the original staircase – please be aware of uneven steps. For wheelchair access, a member of our team can take you around via a detour. Please note that the detour involves some length, slopes and uneven ground.

Most museum buildings are accessible but some contain original uneven cobblestone flooring. The upper levels are only accessible by stairs.

We have an ongoing programme of accessible content development. Detailed accessibility guides for the most visited Trust places are available on our Accessibility pages as well as links to useful resources.

We’d love you to visit the Euan’s Guide website to review the accessibility of Trust places and tell us (and others) what’s good and where we need to do better.
 

Disabled parking is available.

Please note Pitmedden Garden car park will be open daily between 9.30am–4.30pm. The car park is locked/secured overnight.

There’s an accessible toilet.

Baby changing

Bike racks are available.

Please be aware that Pitmedden Garden is a heritage site and has some uneven surfaces. There are 16 steps from the upper to the lower parterre gardens and our staff are happy to help make your visit as enjoyable as possible for you.

  • The tearoom, upper garden and parts of the museum are all accessible.
  • The lower parterres are accessible via an alternative entrance – please ask staff.

The award-winning tearoom offers delicious bakes and light lunches as well as your favourite hot and cold drinks.

Recycling bins are now available beside the tearoom/shop.

We offer a Taste of Scotland afternoon tea at £20 per person. Please call 01651 842352 or email cmasson@nts.org.uk to book.

Children will enjoy discovering the nature hut on the woodland walk. In the walled garden, they can follow our kids’ scavenger trails and get hands-on with the garden.

Please note the car park gates are closed when the garden is shut.

Take a guided tour with our friendly volunteers as they share the history of the garden and Museum of Farming Life.

We offer guided tours for groups.

Highchair

We have two holiday properties at Pitmedden Garden:

Beechgrove Cottage (sleeps 4)

North Wing (sleeps 7)

Booking a holiday with the National Trust for Scotland helps us to protect this special place, now and for the future.

Parking is free for members of the National Trust for Scotland.

Otherwise, there are pay & display charges.

Please note Pitmedden Garden car park will be open daily between 9.30am–4.30pm. The car park is locked/secured overnight.

The picnic area is an ideal spot to stop for lunch.

The heart of the property is the formal walled parterre garden. There are also extensive herbaceous borders with an abundance of colour and scent. Fountains, topiary, sundials and a fascinating herb garden add to the sense of discovery.

The surrounding woods are a haven for birds and other wildlife.

The adjacent Museum of Farming Life boasts an extensive collection of domestic and agricultural artefacts.

Our gift shop has a great selection of gifts, as well as seasonal garden produce when available, including our delicious apple juice and jelly.

Toilet
Walks

Please be aware that Pitmedden Garden is a heritage site and has some uneven surfaces. There are 16 steps from the upper to the lower parterre gardens and our staff are happy to help make your visit as enjoyable as possible for you.

  • The tearoom, upper garden and parts of the museum are all accessible.
  • The lower parterres are accessible via an alternative entrance – please ask staff.

More places you might like

The entrance hall of Pollok House, with a black-and-white chequered tiled floor. A double staircase leads to the first floor landing, while a single staircase leads down to the basement. A very grand pendant light hangs from the ceiling.

Haddo House

An elegant and luxurious stately home designed by William Adam

Aberdeen City & Shire

Fyvie Castle

An imposing 800-year-old fortress, with Raeburn portraits on the walls and wildfowl in the loch

Aberdeen City & Shire
View of Castle Fraser’s main entrance in autumn

Castle Fraser

One of Scotland’s largest tower houses, with an impressive portrait collection

Aberdeen City & Shire

Drum Castle

Jacobite tales whisper through the medieval grand hall of this castle

Aberdeen City & Shire
Find on map
A room set up to resemble how it would have looked in Thomas Carlyle's day. Furniture includes a writing desk covered with a red and white patterned cloth a chaise lounge, cradle and a large fireplace.

Thomas Carlyle’s Birthplace

Childhood home of one of Britain’s most influential thinkers

Dumfries & Galloway
The interior of Bachelors’ Club, including a fireplace, Burns’s portrait, wall clock and violin

Bachelors’ Club

Robert Burns learned to dance and debate in this authentically restored house.

Ayrshire & Arran
A view of Falkland Palace from the gardens on a sunny summer's day. A stretch of green lawn ends in a collection of different trees and shrubs. Behind those the stone walls of the palace are visible, with the tower stretching up into the blue sky.

Falkland Palace

A fine Renaissance palace with an extensive formal garden and one of Britain’s oldest tennis courts

The Kingdom of Fife

Malleny Garden

Tranquil oasis on the outskirts of Edinburgh, where heritage roses sit alongside 400-year-old yew trees

Edinburgh & The Lothians
Back to top