点评:My wife and I, both senior citizens, and both National Trust for Scotland members visited this charming house and gardens on what was mainly a drizzly day, and we had a splendid few hours exploring all that it had to offer. We walked through the gardens to begin with, and although some of the gardens were in the middle of being replanted there was still plenty to see, and such a vast variety of flowers, which gave us ideas for our own garden. We then stopped off in the café where we had a snack and hot drink before exploring the house and its treasures. Now, we’ve visited many NTS and NT sites over the years and the volunteers are always a joy to listen to as they impart their knowledge of the site, but the ones working here are truly outstanding – so erudite and interesting to listen to. Luckily for us we booked onto the free church and Stew Ponds (medieval fish ponds) talk and walk, as it was something that you can’t do on your own (you have to be part of the guided tour, which can be booked at the ticket lodge when you arrive), and it was a fascinating talk given by Martin and Helen, both of which deserve high praise for the running of this hour long talk in the church and perambulate around the ponds (the weather was kind to us as we walked across the field and around the ponds) – we loved it. The only pity was that the time of the year wasn’t really conducive for spotting wildlife, but I’d imagine that in mid-summer this walk would be even more interesting than they made it during our visit. Anyway, we had a fabulous day and would recommend this NT site as a place to visit.
翻译:我和妻子都是老年人,也是苏格兰国民信托的会员。在一个细雨蒙蒙的日子里,我们参观了这座迷人的宅邸和花园,度过了几个小时美好的时光,尽情探索了这里的一切。我们先漫步于花园之中,虽然有些地方正在重新种植,但依然有很多值得一看的地方,而且花卉种类繁多,给了我们很多打造自家花园的灵感。之后,我们在咖啡馆稍作停留,享用了一些小吃和热饮,然后才开始参观宅邸及其珍藏。多年来,我们参观过许多苏格兰国民信托和国家信托的景点,志愿者们总是热情洋溢地讲解景点的方方面面,令人愉悦。但这里的志愿者们尤其出色——他们博学多识,讲解生动有趣。幸好我们预订了免费的教堂和斯图池塘(中世纪鱼塘)讲解和徒步活动,因为这可不是自己就能体验的(必须参加导览团,可以在抵达售票处预订)。马丁和海伦的讲解非常精彩,他们俩组织了这场在教堂里持续一小时的讲解,并带领我们绕池塘漫步,值得高度赞扬(我们穿过田野、环绕池塘时,天气也格外晴朗)——我们非常喜欢这次活动。唯一遗憾的是,我们去的季节不太适合观赏野生动物,但我猜想,盛夏时节,这条徒步路线会比我们去的时候更加有趣。总之,我们度过了美好的一天,强烈推荐大家来这个国家名胜古迹参观。