Finlaystone Country Park — Attraction in Scotland

Finlaystone Country Estate is one place we always try to visit when we stay in that area of Scotland. This year we were on a short break in the middle of September so paid a visit. The Walled Garden still had some Roses in bloom and beautiful Hydrangeas with well looked after lawns and flowerbeds. Leaving the Walled Garden we went to The Knot Garden with Astilbes waving their seed heads in the breeze and another large flowerbed full of lovely lilac-blue, feathery plants. The gardener working there told us it was Spearmint. We then walked through the Smelly Garden, Bog Garden and the Folly passing shrubs and trees, some already changing to their autumn colours. We followed the herbaceous borders and arrived at the Sunken Garden in front of the Mansion House where we had nice clear views over to the Clyde. With the well kept clipped yew hedges around the Sunken Garden it all looked very smart. Before moving on we went to see the very old John Knox Yew Tree close to the mansion, passing a huge Copper Beech tree on the way and then back into the Walled Garden. They have a Tea Room but due to restrictions in 2020 it was not open. Before leaving we decided to take a walk to see one of the waterfalls where the best view was from a short distance down Paradise Path. Crossing the road we had a good view from the road bridge of the Old Laundry, and another waterfall. We continued through the woods, through The Glade then across the children’s play area and back to the car park. A...

This park has a lot of potential but was let down on our visit due to the condition of the play park which is borderline dangerous due to rot and lack of maintenance. I have been long term friends with a former groundsman at finlaystone for 20+ years and he is shocked at the state of repair of this small but important part of the estate.

Other than this, the welcome at the ticket office and gift shop was warm and the gentleman there was very knowledgeable. We 1st took a walk through the walled garden then out towards the main house which is quite impressive and must have excellent views. Then through the "smelly garden" which was quite a lovely experience , though smallish. After a nice icecream we took a short walk over the stream that was barely a trickle due to recent weather but I have seen that it can have quite impressive short waterfalls when in spate. Within 2 minutes we reached the rather decrepit playpark and my son had a go on the swings which shook the entire frame holding 5 swings about 4 inches! The small wooden train had seen better days too. The highlight was the wooden pirate ship that was in much better condition.

A little further down is a small open glade suitable for a kickabout or sunbathing with a shelter adjacent, possibly for those pesky showers. It appears ro be a designated bbq area too which is useful for picnics.

Overall a potentially lovely park with woodland trails but lacking modernisation and some basic...

I have been visiting the park for more years than I care to remember, firstly with my children and now with my grandchildren. I have given the Park 5 stars primarily due to the lovely memories that I have. However the Park and it's environment are badly in need of some TLC. The 'dolly mixture' where there is a wonderful collection of antique dolls is badly in need of refurbishment. The day we visited many of the light bulbs were not working and many of the exhibits were in darkness. The display cabinets look as though they have not been cleaned for years. The reception area could be more inviting and again the rear of the reception area was in darkness when we visited. The Big Pirate Ship which was for my sons and grandchildren one of the highlights of the visit is now cordoned off due to rotting timbers. Such a sad sight. At the time of our visit the 'old laundry' was cordoned off due to a BBC production being filmed with a 'sentry' on duty to ward off uninvited visitors. Maybe we will see the laundry on TV!!! The cafe was nice and the food was ok nothing special and in my opinion, over priced. Had to wait quite a while to be served but I suppose on the bright side it is freshly cooked. We will visit again but please, please, my message to the owners is 'dip into your pockets and spend some money on improvements to the park, surely a worth while investment...