On Sunday 2 September the Glasgow Group were at Kilmahew Estate at Cardross, finishing off some path clearance work. The original Victorian paths and tracks on the estate have been covered with decades of leaf-mulch and rainwater run-off, to a depth of six to seven inches in places. This gets very muddy and slippery in wet weather, and the paths need to be cleared to facilitate and encourage public access to the estate. The day started off grey and we all thought we were in for a soaking, however the skies cleared, the sun emerged and it turned into a lovely day.
Sean, the gardener in charge of reclaiming the walled garden, took us on a tour of relics of the estate’s hey-day that he has discovered among the undergrowth over the last few months – pear, plum and apple trees, redcurrant bushes and a gardeners’ bothy. We also harvested some of the potatoes from the walled garden, including the heritage variety Pink Fir Apple potatoes which score extra points by being both delicious and amusingly-shaped – oh, how we sniggered.
For more information about future plans for the estate, see here http://www.nva.org.uk/past-projects/kilmahew+st+peters-28/and to keep up with latest happenings see here https://www.facebook.com/#!/KilmahewWoodlands