FEATURED in Stairs, Steps, Staircases 31-03-2012

Camera: Canon EOS 400D, Lens @ 30mm, ISO: 200, Aperture: f5.6, Shutter: 1/50

These lovely old steps, urns and pathway are at Dawyck Botanic Garden just outside Stobo in Scotland. Dawyck is an arboretum covering 25 ha (62 acres) at Stobo , 8 miles (13 km) south of Peebles in the Scottish Borders region. The garden is situated in the Upper Tweed Valley, a National Scenic Area. The name is also given as ‘Dawic’, and ‘Dauwic’ in circa 1200. It may derive from the Gaelic for an ox and the Old English ‘wic’ for a camp or dwelling. The Veitch family planted the garden at Dawyck House in the 17th century until the Naesmith family took over in 1691. Sir John Murray Naesmith supported plant-hunting expeditions, especially those undertaken by the explorer and plant hunter David Douglas (1799 – 1834). In 1897 the Balfour family acquired the Dawyck Estate, and in 1978 they gifted the Garden to the Royal Botanic Garden, with the exception of Dawyck House and chapel which remain in private use.