Leith Hall, Garden & Estate

Leith Hall was home to ten generations of the Leith-Hay family from 1650 until just after the Second World War, when they gave the house and everything in it to the National Trust for Scotland, one of the most complete collections in its care. The rooms mix elegant and eccentric: Henrietta Leith-Hay's watercolours in the Oval Room, a giant turtle shell, the boxing squirrels, and a military exhibition on generations of soldiering Leith-Hays. The garden climbs the slope above the house with herbaceous borders, spiral-cut lawns, a moon gate and a rock garden, and three waymarked trails take in a pond and a hilltop, with a Pictish stone by the garden gate. Reviewers praise the tearoom and say the garden alone is worth the trip. Tips from visitors: the hall opens only a few days a week, so check first; park at the stable block if the slope to the garden is a problem; and dogs are welcome on the estate but not in the walled garden or hall.