Dalswinton Estate owners Peter and Sarah Landale are planning to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III in style with two public event days.
With help from the community, the festivities centre around a noon outdoor picnic and late afternoon tea at their usual May gardens open day on Sunday, May 7.
This follows a special church service on Friday, May 5, in the distinctive red Dalswinton Barony Kirk – which is one of the last remaining examples of a “flat-pack church” after being ordered from a missionary catalogue and built on site in 1881.
It is hoped the events will also raise funds for Scotland’s Gardens Scheme’s supporting beneficiary charities – including the Maggie’s Centres, Perennial and the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland – as well as Kirkmahoe Parish Church.
Sarah, who is a Dumfriesshire depute lord lieutenant, said: “We are all really excited about it all and hoping that the sun will shine throughout.
“We are going to start with a 40 minute-long Coronation Church Service in Dalswinton Barony Kirk on the Friday at 6pm and we hope the public will come along.
“There will be uplifting hymns, short and relevant stories, and a celebration of the new king. It should be quite memorable.
“Afterwards there will be coffee and cakes in Dalswinton Village Hall and we will have a collection for the charities.”
With the Coronation taking place in Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6, it has been left for the thriving community around the estate to mark that day how they want themselves.
Sarah is the Dumfriesshire area organiser for Scotland’s Gardens and annually opens up the Dalswinton grounds to the public for one day to enjoy its herbaceous beds and well-established shrubs overlooking the loch.
She said: “Our garden opening is really the start of the season with this year’s programme looking quite good. On Sunday, May 7, it will also be our version of the nationwide Big Lunch for the Coronation.
“We’ll open our gates at noon and visitors are invited to bring their own food and something to toast the new king with. They can come up to the house and find a picnic spot on the lawns and listen to live music from the Psallite Quartet. We will raise a toast to the new king and they can enjoy roaming the gardens.
“We hope as many people as possible come and celebrate the king’s coronation and the garden opening. Everyone is welcome and there will be no charge for entering the gardens but any donations will go towards the SGA charities and Kirkmahoe Church.”
Thornhill Pipe Band will be playing during the late afternoon and, in addition, from 2pm to 5pm, there will be a chance for visitors to buy a £4 coronation tea created by the ladies of Kirkmahoe Church.
An added bonus for the Scotland’s Gardens fans is that, this year, the impressive grounds of Dalswinton’s Gardens Cottage – home of head gardener, Sandy Hutchison and his wife, Netty – will also be open for the public to enjoy.
■ If you, your street, school, workplace or community are doing something special for the Coronation weekend, please let us know as soon as possible. Send details in an email to: sharon.liptrott@reachplc.com or call 07917516142, so we can include you in our Coronation stories and pictures.
