Landscape Design

The friendship between Charles, the 4th Duke of Buccleuch, his kinsman Sir Walter Scott and the landscape architect, William Gilpin, led to a great period of change for the policy woodlands around the house.

Gilpin, himself a major proponent of the 'picturesque' artistic movement had a tremendous influence on how the landscape around the house looks today.  The terraced lawns in front of the house, the creation of the vista with views to the south across the Ettrick valley and the construction of the upper loch in 1816 were all thanks to Gilpin's involvement on the estate.

From Victorian times to the present day, people were able to walk around the loch and observe the splendour of the house reflected as it is in the loch waters.  The grass banked dam can be observed in the north-east corner of the loch.  This form of landscaping has often been labelled 'forest gardening'.