The Walled garden, of traditional Victorian design, serves both as a wonderful public space and a fully functioning nursery supplying much of the floral displays seen within the park grounds.

This highly commended addition to Wilton Lodge Park regularly receives praise as Hawick vies with other small and medium towns to secure the prestigious ‘Scotland in Bloom’ award. The scene of many themed displays, you are sure to be surprised again and again as this garden moves through one year to the next. Walk beneath her scented archways, stroll through her open glasshouses or simply sit by her cooling pool, this is one place of which you will never tire.

A more recent addition to Wilton Lodge is the scented garden, to the west of the Museum

While the main emphasis here is to provide a profusion of wonderful aromas it seems this is impossible to do without also providing a feast for the eyes. Why not follow the path that leads through the flowerbeds, you will soon notice the growing roar of a distant waterfall.

Walking on you soon discover the secluded nook where Wilton Burn makes it’s magnificent and noisy entrance into Wilton Lodge before tumbling sedately away, flowing on through the Parks mature gardens before joining the river Teviot.

To the front of the Museum the mood changes, here floral beds give way to an array of trees from across the globe. This garden is criss-crossed with a confusion of pathways, be sure to try them all, somewhere within there’s a wishing well and a wonderful cast iron fountain from the parks Victorian period. Cross the Dean Burn and pay tribute to one of Hawick’s famous sons, Steve ‘Hizzy’ Hislop, wander a small distance again to where his forebear, the legendary Jimmy Guthrie gazes quietly on.

But don’t stop now, the Park has barely begun, follow the pathway on to the peace and tranquillity that waits. Visit the beautifully sculptured Boer War Memorial and then the breathtaking views of the River Teviot that lay beyond, at the Parks western boundary, follow the rivers course back to where you began. The Café will keep until then, by which time you’ll have earned that rest and refreshment.