WHEN FRANCIS and Dorothy Ogilvy married 10 years ago, they took on a challenge that would daunt the most enthusiastic of young newly-weds. They moved into Winton House in East Lothian, Francis’ historical family home. Parts of it date from the 15th century and there are 17th-century additions. Francis and his family had moved out when he was 12, and the house was lived in by tenants and caretakers. Moving back was both daunting and exciting.

The 25 acres of formal garden and policies surrounding the house had been looked after as a family garden by one man and his barrow for many years, and then by a part-time helper. They coped as best they could with the acres of lawns planted with thousands of daffodils, two formal terraces below the house, a 12ft-high walled garden that contained nearly a quarter of a mile of borders and woods filled with bluebells.

The question of finding a purpose for the house and gardens immediately arose, while establishing how future work might be funded and justified as part of overall estate commitments. While priority was being given to restoring the house for use as a private and corporate hospitality venue, with the emphasis on its principal role as a family home, the idea of extending the garden and merging it into the surrounding 2,000-acre estate began to form.

“One gets such inspiration from nature, and we don’t want people to be confined to the house,” says Francis. “We’d love to encourage them to explore beyond the limits of the policies.”

One of the first projects they undertook was digging out a large loch – named Sir David’s Loch in memory of Francis’ father – in a dip below the house, where it is fed by a burn and springs. While their eldest son Robert sat in his high chair and looked out of the kitchen window, the diggers were brought in. “We had to be bold,” says Francis. “Anything you do here has to be on a large scale – a little pond would have looked ridiculous.” It is now an excellent place to swim, as well as attracting wildlife.

Meanwhile the family was expanding fast. The couple, who now live in a flat on the west side of the house, have four children. As well as Robert, now 7, there are Calum, 5, Hamish, 3, and Elspeth, 17 months. They are possibly only the second family to grow up at Winton – the other children were those of Francis’ grandfather in the 1920s.

As Dorothy, who is a musician, became increasingly interested in gardening, she wanted a manageable area of her own just outside the back door – somewhere for the children to play while she weeded. A visit to Inverewe Gardens in Ross-shire provided inspiration, and once again the diggers were called in to transform a dull grassy knoll below their flat into a gracious south-facing curve retained by a stone wall. “That £5 entrance ticket to Inverewe turned out to be very expensive,” jokes Francis. “Dorothy came home saying ‘we could do that’. By chance, the light tone of the sandstone reflects light into the house, so it has been worth it.”

The two-and-a-half-acre walled garden, which is open to the south, presented the next challenge. Situated on the north side of the house, it had been leased to nurseries for growing trees and herbaceous plants. “We designed a box parterre in the centre of the garden, and backed it with a trellis and beech hedge, before realising that we were out of our depth,” explains Dorothy. That project is now on hold, as the couple decide what to do with the space. “Anything we do will have to tick all the environmental boxes and fit in with the house,” explains Francis. He recently installed a new central-heating system fuelled by woodchips.

The next stage of the plan focuses on expanding the gardens into the estate. They already include the Winton Walks, a network of 12 miles of pathways that highlight points of interest for all age ranges and abilities. To help manage this stage of the project, the Ogilvys recently hired head gardener Toby Subiotto. He shares their sense of excitement and understands the importance of retaining Winton’s character as a private home.

“The first objective is to enhance the formal gardens about the house and highlight the natural aspects of the surrounding area,” explains Francis. “We already have some wonderful wildlife, and we want to incorporate this into the overall vision.” k

Open today, 12.30-4.30pm, under Scotland’s Gardens Scheme. Admission to grounds and café £2.50; guided house tour £2.50; OAPs £1.50; children under 10 free. Disabled access to café and most of the grounds. Entrance off B6355 Tranent to Pencaitland road.

For details of Winton House as a hospitality venue (www.wintonhouse.co.uk)

source : living.scotsman.com