A toddler and the Rock Garden at the Crichton
The Crichton is a unique business park, leisure facility, hospital, Park and farm set on the outskirts of Dumfries.
It really is the jewel in Dumfries’s Victorian architectural crown.
One of its overlooked little charms is the Rock garden which we visited it in the morning storm Isha hit Galloway.
Which of course seems like a funny time to pop to a rock garden. But needs must when you have a toddler to entertain and the impending doom of being housebound for several days made it into a sensible idea.
To be fair, it did end up being an excellent idea.
We struck up the idea that the rock garden was Makka Pakka’s house ( from In The Night Garden) and the setting was perfect.
From a bridge to a hidden cave to a wee waterfall, winding paths and a pond, it has everything even a small throne, a flat rock that could be Makka Pakkas bed and trees big enough to be the tomeleboo’s house.
The setting was ideal and good fun.
The rock garden at the Crichton is a wonderful place for us with a toddler. It becomes an excellent place to take the imagination of a toddler to In the Night Garden, help them burn energy splash in puddles and get fresh air. Although we never found Makka Pakka.
Even if you have not got a toddler to entertain ahead of a storm, it really has its charms and is a forgotten corner of the Crichton.
In the windy, wet weather the interplay of rocks, old trees, plants, moss and meandering paths was fun to walk about and would make a great picnic spot in better weather.
I look forward to returning during the spring and summer.