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.
Parking
An entry charge of £2.50 per car is made to visitors, 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 The Homestead Cafe.
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.
Homestead Cafe and Farm Shop
There is always a warm welcome, from Ann and her staff, at the Homestead Cafe and Farm Shop! Set in the heart of Hirsel Estate, this is the ideal place to visit and indulge yourself with tasty cakes and scones or light nutritious lunches, all offered with a varied and wide range of teas, coffees and soft drinks.
The Hirsel Homestead Arts & Crafts
There are a number of craft units at the Homestead selling a variety of locally produced arts and crafts, providing a wonderful opportunity to buy that special gift with a difference.
Come and have a browse, then ponder over a cup of coffee and a piece of home made cake in the The Homestead Cafe, before deciding what to buy.
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 importance of farming, food and where their food comes from.
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.