Hirsel Visitor Activities

Today, the Homestead and the Hirsel Walks (open 365 days of the year) provide visitors to the Hirsel with a fascinating day out in the beautiful surrondings of Hirsel Estate Policies.

An entry charge of £2.50 per car is made to visitors to the Hirsel enabling them to enjoy the facilities provided by the Estate and assisting in the cost of maintaining the walks around the Lake and in Dundock Wood. Regular visitors may choose to purchase a Season Ticket at a cost of £15 per annum and become a Friend of the Hirsel - allowing them entry to the Hirsel's visitor facilities throughout the year.

Season Tickets can be purchased from Carole at the Tea Room.

The Museum

The Museum’s aim is to introduce visitors to what can be seen and heard as they explore the Estate and to provide some historical background, so that they can understand how people lived and worked at the Hirsel in the past, as well as discovering how different departments and operations affected each other, and the natural history of the Estate as a whole.

Arts and Crafts www.thehirselcraftscentre.com

There are a number of craft units at the Homestead, including a potter, glass worker, a textile worker, along with two excellent shops selling a variety of locally produced arts and crafts - providing a wonderful opportunity for buying that special Wedding or Bithday Present with a difference or of course Christmas. Click here to download our publicity leaflet

So come and have a browse, then ponder over a cup of coffee and a piece of home made cake in the Tea Shop, before deciding what to buy from:

Ticketty Boo

Open all year, from 11am to 5pm. Closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays

Telephone: 07970 396383 Website: www.tickettyboo.co.uk

Daisy Dots and Sleepy Thistle

Open Monday 9.15-2.15, Tues & Fri 9.15 - 4, Wed (9.15) & Thurs (12) til 4.45 & Sat 11-2 (winter) Closed on Sundays

Telephone: 07472 799082 Website : www.daisydotsboutique.co.uk & www.sleepythistle.co.uk

Julia Linstead Glass

The workshop is typically open between 10:30am and 5pm six days a week.

Telephone 01890 882555 Website: www.julialinsteadglass.com

The White Fox Gallery

Telephone 07765831927

Abbey Ceramics

Telephone: 01890 883160 (Mobile 07765320735) Website: www.abbeyceramics.co.uk

Field to Fork

The Homestead is the base (incorporating a purpose built classroom) for the Field to Fork education program, run by the Estate, providing farm visits and educating children about the impotance of Farming, Food and where their food comes from.

For further details please contact Sally Fleming. Telephone: 07802 788744 Email: sally.fleming@daestates.co.uk

Tea Room

There is always a warm welcome, from Carole and her Staff, at the Hirsel Cottage Tea Room! Set in the heart of Hirsel Estate, our traditional-style tearoom is the ideal place to visit and indulge yourself with our tasty cakes and scones or light nutritious lunches, all offered with a varied and wide range of teas, coffees and soft drinks.

Our all day menu provides items from traditional bacon rolls, to homemade sandwiches, salads and soups. Border cream tea and full afternoon tea are also available daily.

We try to support local businesses by sourcing fresh produce from local suppliers where ever possible. All of our food is freshly prepared and served by friendly and helpful staff and we always have a large selection of traditional home cooked daily specials and much more!

In addition to the main tearoom, there is a charming outside seating area in a secluded courtyard - which is lovely on a sunny day!

The Cottage Tearoom is open daily apart from Christmas day and New Year's Day - 10am to 4pm (Nov to Feb) & 10am to 5pm throughout the rest of the year.

Large parties and visitors to the Holiday Cottages can be catered for by prior arrangement - by ringing Carole Williams on 01890 883645.

The Studio

The Studio up the stairs on the right handside, provides more display/office space and is often available for hire/rent - please contact Sally Watts at swatts@clarkeandsimpson.co.uk for further details

Walks

There are a number of way marked Estate walks (Crooks Walk, Lake Walk, Dundock Walk, Riverside Walk, Dunglass Walk) around the Estate Policies.

In the Spring, there are Snowdrops, Aconites, and later on acres of Daffodils. The birds (for which the Hirsel was made famous by Henry Douglas-Home know as “the Birdman”) resident and migrant (of which 170 separate species have been identified) nest in the woods in and about the lake.

From the middle of May, the Rhododendrons and Azaleas in Dundock Wood provide a kaleidoscope of breathtaking colours and scents - attracting visitors to the Hirsel from far and wide.

In October and November, the leaves start turning on the trees and shrubs, providing wonderful autumn colouring, as thousands of duck, geese, and gulls make their way to overwinter on the Hirsel Lake - for which it is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Members of the local community who walk to the Hirsel from Coldstream are not formally charged – although there are a number of honesty boxes at the Homestead and in Dundock Wood, for those people who care to make a donation towards the cost and upkeep of the walks, policies and the Homestead museum.