Abbotsford, The Home of Sir Walter Scott’s Post

Where's Wattie goes international! 🌍 The Where's Wattie children's trail around our house has gone worldwide thanks to Karen, who recently left her Volunteer Co-ordinator role at Abbotsford to set off on a round the world trip. Our tiny Walter Scott has already travelled through Africa, visiting the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, Dune 45, Namibia, Okovango Delta, Botswana, the Namib Desert and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe If you'd like to take wee Wattie on your next holiday (or just put him on your Christmas tree) they're available to buy in our gift shop!

It’s almost the end of #FriendshipMonth, but there’s still time to be our friend! Join us as a friend of Abbotsford to help us share and care for Walter Scott’s extraordinary home. You’ll get: 🏰 Free access to the house, chapel and gardens 🧙♀️ Free access to Witch Corner 🚗 Free parking at Abbotsford ☕ 10% off in our café and shop 🎟️ early bird offers and discounted ticket prices to selected events And much more! Find out more and sign up: https://lnkd.in/ewMXt2Hv

Head Gardener Tim talks butterflies and biodiversity in his #ScotClimateWeek special blog post! 🦋 Find out about the impact the climate has on our natural environment at Abbotsford and what you can do to improve biodiversity in your garden at home. Read it: https://lnkd.in/e_ZGgpkp

This door was once the entrance to the infamous Tolbooth Prison of Edinburgh 🚪 On the prison's demolition in 1817, Scott arranged for the doorway and some of its stonework to come to Abbotsford where he later incorporated this door to oblivion into the building, facing towards a section of flat roof. This deliberately evokes the high viewing platform erected at the prison where public executions had been witnessed since 1785. The Old Tolbooth features prominently in Scott’s 1817 novel, The Heart of Midlothian.

It's the first day of Autumn! 🍂 The colours of the season are slowly appearing at Abbotsford.

We're enjoying a beautiful bright sunny day at Abbotsford 🌞

The bees and butterflies make the most of Abbotsford's gardens on a sunny afternoon 🐝🦋

If you’re visiting Abbotsford this week, you might see some talented stone conservators hard at work! ✨ 2024 is a special year for Abbotsford as the end of this summer marks 200 years since the building and interiors of Scott’s original house were completed. To celebrate, earlier this year we launched the Bicentenary Conservation Fund to help preserve the fabric of the buildings from the effects of climate change and for future generations. Thanks to donations we’ve received so far, we’ve been able to ask specialist conservators to complete a range of stabilisation works to some of our sculptured stonework on the estate and in the gardens. One of the most difficult jobs was cleaning and lifting the original pediment to the door of Edinburgh’s Tolbooth Jail, or Heart of Midlothian, up onto new supports to better protect it from the damp earth. We’ll also be turning our attention to the paws of our beloved Maida mounting block and the stone inscription from the Book of Genesis on the archway into our Kitchen Garden. If you’d like to help make a real difference to protecting Abbotsford in its 200th year and beyond, donate to the fund here: https://lnkd.in/e7uwkeUq

This beautiful stone arcade was inspired by the cloister at Melrose Abbey 🏰✨ It creates lovely shadows across the grass on a bright evening.