Oyne’s Westhall Castle opens its grounds for a glorious day of daffodils

OYNE'S Westhall castle daffodils and gardens sprang into colourful life once the rain stopped on Sunday afternoon.

Gavin and Pamela Farquhar have been opening their Westhall gardens under Scotlands Gardens scheme for ten years now.

A work in progress is removing the many trees which fell victim to storm Arwen two years ago and there is also the ongoing task of maintaining the castle, which dates back to the 13th century in parts.

History is a strong point in the Farquhar family as Gavin's father, Gavin himself and his son Conall have all pursued history academically

The Farquhars are one of Scotland's oldest families tracing their ancestry back to 677AD.

The Westhall estate is compact, mixing the traditional activities of farming, forestry, shooting and private housing and the castle itself was run as a hotel for many years in the 80 and early 90s.

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