The Smeaton Estate belonged to the Hepburn family for 400 years, until 1934. It is now owned by the Gray family, but it remains to be called "Smeaton-Hepburn Estate". The mansion no longer exists.
(Smeaton House, which is 19 miles away and located within the Dalkeith Palace Estate, is not an adjacent or related property.)
Smeaton Lake is one of a handful of "lakes" in Scotland - most are referred to as lochs. With the exception of the Lake of Menteith, they are all artificial.
In 1764, George Buchan-Hepburn succeeded George Hepburn as laird of Smeaton. He was a passionate farmer and agriculturalreformer. His descendants continued his work, and in 1820, a lake was created with a circular walkway. It is renowned for the variety of mature specimen trees.
The gales of 1968 and of Boxing Day 1998 caused damage to a number of trees, and in 2005, a team of forty tree surgeons did some remedial work.
In the winter months the lake was used for curling competitions and continued to do so until 1982. Sit Thomas Hepburn, Baron Smeaton, was President of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. In recent years, curling matches have not been possible because the tall trees provide good protection from the frost.
Although Smeaton is a privately owned estate, members of the public are allowed to walk around the lake from 10am till dusk, free of charge, using either of the two gates. The lake entrance is about 20 mins walk from the entrance lodge.
Smeaton Nursery
Smeaton Nursery & Gardens is a plant nursery in a 2-acre (8,100m2)Victorianwalled garden, with a Victorian conservatory serving as a tearoom.
Blickling Hall is a Jacobean stately home situated in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure, near the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England. The mansion was built on the ruins of a Tudor building for Sir Henry Hobart from 1616 and designed by Robert Lyminge. The library at Blickling Hall contains one of the most historically significant collections of manuscripts and books in England, containing an estimated 13,000 to 14,000 volumes. The core collection was formed by Sir Richard Ellys. The property passed into the care of the National Trust in 1940.
Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, construction began in 1889 and was completed in 1895. It was built for lawyer Sir Frank Crisp, and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatle George Harrison. The site covers about 30 acres, and features caves, grottoes, underground passages, a multitude of garden gnomes, and an Alpine rock garden with a scale model of the Matterhorn.
East Linton is a village and former police burgh in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the River Tyne and A199 road five miles east of Haddington, with an estimated population of 1,790 in 2022. During the 19th century the population increased from 715 inhabitants in 1831 to 1,042 by 1881. The 1961 census showed the village had a population of 1,579. The number dropped significantly at the end of the 20th century, but has subsequently risen again.
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about 17 miles east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the sixth or seventh century AD when the area was incorporated into the kingdom of Bernicia. The town, like the rest of the Lothian region, was ceded by King Edgar of England and became part of Scotland in the tenth century. Haddington received Burgh status, one of the earliest to do so, during the reign of David I (1124–1153), giving it trading rights which encouraged its growth into a market town.
Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of 2,020 hectares, including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private 265 hectares Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century. Historically the park covered an area many times the current size known as Windsor Forest, Windsor Royal Park or its current name. The park is managed and funded by the Crown Estate, and is the only royal park not managed by The Royal Parks. Most parts of the park are open to the public, free of charge, from dawn to dusk, although there is a charge to enter Savill Garden.
Gosford House is a neoclassical country house around 2 miles (3 km) northeast of Longniddry in East Lothian, Scotland, on the A198 Aberlady Road, in 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of parkland and coast.
Muckhart commonly refers to two small villages in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, Pool of Muckhart and Yetts o' Muckhart. Muckhart is one of the Hillfoots Villages, situated on the A91 around 3 miles northeast of Dollar. The Gaelic name, Muc-àird, comes from muc ("pig") + àird ("height"), and may derive from the fact that the surrounding fields may once have been used for pig farming.
Mid Calder is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on a steep hill overlooking the River Almond and Calder Wood, around 15 miles (24 km) west of Edinburgh. The settlement has been on a major crossroads since its origin some time in the 11th century.
Perceton is a medieval settlement and old country estate in North Ayrshire, Scotland, near the town of Irvine. The ruined church in Perceton is one of the oldest buildings in the Irvine district. The earliest legible gravestone dates from 1698, though older stone coffins will certainly still rest deep within the small hillock on which the chapel and graveyard sit.
Trevarno is a private country estate in south-west Cornwall, England, UK, near the village of Crowntown, 2 miles (3.2 km) north-east of Helston. First developed in the 13th century, the estate was owned by a succession of families until 1994 when it was sold for development as a tourist attraction based around its extensive gardens. It was open to the public from 1998 until 2011, but the estate has since been broken up and the house and gardens are again a private residence.
Grangewood Park is an extensive woodland area situated in South Norwood, London. It is managed by the London Borough of Croydon. It is bounded by Grange Road, Wharncliffe Road, and Ross Road. It covers an area of 27.7 acres. The park is located on the main A212 road between Thornton Heath and Upper Norwood/Crystal Palace. The nearest stations are Thornton Heath, Selhurst and Norwood Junction.
Tyninghame is a small settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, about two miles north-east of East Linton. Together with the nearby settlement of Whitekirk, it gives its name to the parish of Whitekirk and Tyninghame.
Peel Park is a 22.6-hectare (56-acre) urban public park in the Bolton and Undercliffe area of Bradford, England, located about 0.75 miles (1.2 km) north-east of the city centre, and named after Sir Robert Peel (1788–1850). Peel Park was Bradford's first public park and is on the English Heritage and National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens online databases. The park is a Green Flag Award winner and has been for a number of years.
Preston Mill is a watermill on the River Tyne at the eastern edge of East Linton on the B1407 Preston Road, in East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated close to Prestonkirk Parish Church, the Smeaton Hepburn Estate, Smeaton Lake, and Phantassie Doocot. It is a Category A listed building.
Morrison's Haven is a harbour at Prestongrange, East Lothian, Scotland, UK, on the B1348, close to Levenhall Links, Prestongrange Industrial Heritage Museum, Prestonpans, and Prestongrange House.
Smeaton House, which was originally known as Smeaton Castle - in 18th century as East Park House - and most recently as Dalkeith Home Farm, appears originally to have been a courtyard castle, dating from the 15th century. It was rebuilt in the 16th century by Robert Richardson, and in the 18th century as a Classical house, attributed to James Smith. This was a 3-storey U-plan opening to the east. Less than half of that house remains.
Longstock Park is in the civil parish of Longstock in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, and forms part of the Leckford Estate, wholly owned by the John Lewis Partnership.
Linton Park, formerly Linton Place or Linton Hall, is a large 18th-century country house in Linton, Kent, England. Built by Robert Mann in 1730 to replace a much earlier building called 'Capell's Court', the estate passed through the ownership of several members of Mann's family before coming into the Cornwallis family. The house was enlarged to its current size in 1825.
Agnes McDouall was a Scottish gardener and plant collector.
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