You can always be sure of a warm welcome at Leith Hall, a charming and intimate Scottish family home. The house itself was built over three centuries, starting in 1650, and remained the home of the Leith-Hay family until the mid-20th century. Along with the house, all the furnishings and paintings were left to the Trust by the family, and walking through the elegant rooms it’s easy to get a feeling for how they lived.

Today, it’s a picturesque and tranquil place – but it has been touched by tragedy in the past. The last two lairds died within months of each other in 1939. And in 1763 John Leith was murdered in Aberdeen. His ghost reputedly still walks the hallways and the story was recently featured on the TV programme Most Haunted.

The top floor houses an exhibition – For Crown and Country – featuring family military memorabilia dating from 1745 until the last laird in 1939.

Out in the gardens, flowering trees and shrubs are everywhere, with roses, fruit, vegetables and ornamental grasses giving year-round interest. But in summer the magnificent zigzag herbaceous border and serpentine catmint border provide a dazzling display.

Among the estate’s rarest species is blunt-leaved bristle moss, found at only a few sites in the UK.

From the top of the garden you will get spectacular views of the surrounding hills. There are also three waymarked walks through mixed woodland, as well as the unique 18th century stables and an ice house.