You may be forgiven for thinking that the far north of Scotland and the Orkney Isles in particular are more about mountains and moorlands, crashing waves with booming surf and high seaside cliffs than a picture of manicured gardens. Well of course it is all about wild landscape and open seascapes, however it is also home to a collection of very determined gardeners who have created, in some cases over generations, a collection of excellent gardens, set amidst a beautiful landscape of long summer days and evenings when it hardly gets dark – a twilight that is known as the ‘simmer dim’.  

We begin in Caithness and Sutherland with a visit to the Castle of Mey before crossing the Pentland Firth to Orkney. Here we follow Orkney’s Garden Trail with visits to a selection of private gardens who have kindly allowed us special access. Of course, we could not visit Orkney without calling in at some of its archaeological and historical wonders, such as the standing stones at Stenness and Brodgar, all the while enjoying those endless Orcadian summer days.